Uncategorized – Northern Loon Travelogue

From Amsterdam we trained to Brugges. Paid big $$ to ride a bullet train, which returned the favor by steaming by us (and many others) in the station without stopping. No one, including professional help, seemed to know where to board this train. We hopped on the next one, a commuter. Ok ride, but slow, stopped multiple times. Started picking up many people. Pretty soon it was packed, standing room in the aisle. It gets better. Some kerfuffel on a track. The system shut down for about 45 minutes. Out train didn’t move.

What was supposed to be a 2 hour ride turned into 5. But we made it, took a cab to our Airbnb. Turned out we were only 2 miles from the city center, bike paths the whole way (does it even need to be said?) The airbnb offered us two bikes. Mine was an ancient 3-speed. Wait – make that a one speed, stuck in a gear so high I could not start it from a dead stop.

I complained to our non-sociable, hermetic host. He secretly put out another bike for me. His own personal ride! The guy must be 6’4″ tall. I could barely stand over this bike, and better yet, it didn’t have hand brakes! Coaster brakes. I hadn’t used coaster brakes since I was 10. Given that I was sitting high off the ground like a Penny Farthing, I had tough choices. I could either brake to a stop, then tump over, or I could get down off the saddle before I came to a complete stop and deploy the bottom of my shoes as backup. Try it some time in heavy pedestrian traffic.

We did the usual sight seeing on day 1. On day 2 we circumnavigated the entire circle around town, barely made it to our chocolate making class, then had beers with friends we’d make on our river cruise at an obscure Belgian Beer Bar that claimed to be the oldest in town. Their bottled Belgian Beer list went on for pages.

The crowds in the main area were pretty intense, made especially so by multiple tour groups consisting of a good 50 or more bodies.

Click here for pictures

Europe Videos 2023

All the videos in no particular order.

Click here.

Amsterdam Oct 11-13

Amsterdam – everything we’d heard about (or were warned about). Large, dense, complicated. The most heavily used bike infrastructure on our trip.

Day 1 – off the boat, which docked near the main bus station. Found a direct tram to within a block of our airbnb. Typical approach to this unit, up a super steep, winding staircase with tiny step. We walked a nearby park that day and that’s about it.

Day 2 – got out and about, trained down to the thick of down town, walked around. Killed time before our afternoon bike tour. Bike tour was semi-nuts. Learned a lot, had a good guide. Bikes were “pure”, not electric. Maybe 15 people along, including a family with two younger kids. Not a great idea for them, they were way over their heads. We pedaled thru the thick of bicycle rush hour madness, crossed busy streets. Our group often got separated. I rode “sweep”, tried to keep everyone together.

The bike paths are for sure amazing. They’re everywhere, well marked, mostly separated from both cars and pedestrians. Painted red, there’s no mistaking them for a sidewalk. Americans are used to multi-use bike paths, bikes, walkers, skaters, anything goes. Not here. The bike paths are for two wheeled vehicles. The sheer number of miles pedaled in a day in this big city is incalculable. People seem to get along, but exposure and practice would make this easier. My main complaint is that electric motorcycles, and even gas powered scooters, commonly plow along these paths, often at high speeds. They probably aren’t supposed to, but who’s going to stop them. It was breathtaking to see Vespas burning thru heavy bike/people crowds at speeds faster than anyone else.

Day 3 – We had half a day before taking the train to Brugges. Hit the Rijksmuseim, lots of Dutch Masters paintings. Very crowded there.

Click here for photos of all three days

Category: Uncategorized

2024 January through December

Virden – Family Reunion

Brugges, Belgium Oct 13, 2023

Europe Videos 2023

Amsterdam Oct 11-13