Almelo, the Netherlands to Osnabruck, Germany

Without exaggeration, the Van der Valk Theaterhotel Almelo served the best breakfast buffet I have ever seen. Besides a large array of breads, pastries, fruits, meats, cheeses, an egg station and so on, there was a fresh orange squeezing machine and even a honeycomb! Enjoying this breakfast was a perfect way to start the day, and then I headed out, leaving Diana to enjoy Almelo and area while I headed towards the German border.

I was making good time and it was a lovely morning for cycling.

However, as I was passing through Denekamp, the final Dutch town before the border, I was cycling past the Sint Nicolaas church and came down a curb I had not judged well. Actually, it was not a significant drop, but it was enough to bounce the pannier into the wheel and snap spokes. Dammit.

The bike shops in Denekamp seemed to be closed on Mondays when I searched on Google, but across the border I saw shops open in Nordhorn, about 8 kilometres away. I fixed up the pannier and the spokes such that I figured I could do another 8 kilometres. So, I headed across the border . . .

. . . and with that I had biked across the Netherlands in less than two and a half days!

But, my prospects for getting through much of Germany were definitely in jeopardy if I could not get the wheel fixed. 

My first stop went very poorly. Evidently, English is not as widespread in Germany as it is in the Netherlands and neither man I talked to at the bike shop seemed to speak any English. Really, I did not feel lack of English (or, more accurately, my lack of German) needed to be an issue--it seemed fairly obvious when looking at my wheel what was wrong and that I needed it fixed. But, for whatever reason, they seemed unwilling to help, and the second man in fact sounded and appeared to be getting angry! 

So, I carried on another three kilometres to City Bike. 

Here, I found a much more helpful man, who even spoke a little English. He was happy to help me out and was able to tell me in English to go get a coffee and come back in one hour. Perfect!

There was a McDonald's across the street, so I got coffee and an early lunch and relaxed for an hour.

Thankfully, when I returned an hour later my bike was as good as new, and all for a very reasonable 20 euro. The man asked if I would give him a good review on Google which of course I was happy to do. 

Shortly after 12:00 I was on the road again, and for over ten kilometres I rode along a canal and it was quite idyllic, although the road was not paved the whole way.

The canal took me past an air force base, and then by a nuclear power plant, before I rejoined more stereotypical rural roads that often included bike paths. In Canada in similar places there would not be bike paths at all, but I must say the quality of the German infrastructure is definitely inferior to that I rode on in the Netherlands. 

I stopped in a town called Recke to buy more water and an orange soda, and then carried on into Osnabruck, arriving at the hotel just before 16:57, and just a few minutes before Diana got there by train. The visit to the bike shop had involved a small detour, and in all I rode 115 kilometres from Almelo to Osnabruck.

I must admit, I had never heard of Osnabruck before planning this trip, but it is a pretty cool place! We really enjoyed exploring!

To end our evening, we took a seat under one of the umbrellas below and enjoyed drinks and brie . . .

. . . with Marienkirche behind us . . .

. . . and the old city hall next to it.

We have seen this elsewhere in Europe, too, but in places in Osnabruck we ran into these small plaques on the sidewalk that commemorate people who died in the Holocaust, I believe outside of the places they used to live. They are quite potent. In this case, they appear to memorialize a family that included two four year olds.

Amersfoort to Almelo, the Netherlands

I had a wonderful breakfast this morning at the hotel, with fresh croissants, yogurt, fruit, eggs, and so on. So, I really fueled up, and then hit the road around 9:00.

As I rode out of Amersfoort I passed this impressive gate, which I stopped to cycle through.

My late grandfather's hometown was Apeldoorn, so I was happy to pass through there today.

I stopped for lunch in Apeldoorn and then headed out. The afternoon of riding was tremendously idyllic. 

My wife landed at Schiphol this morning and was working her way by train towards me as I was cycling. I reach Almelo, where we are meeting, just before 15:45. I had ridden 102 kilometres at an average speed of 21.2 kmph. 

The hotel here is pretty cool--it is called Van der Valk Theaterhotel. I guess the theatre is not open right now, and the lobby of the theatre has become bicycle parking, so I was able to store my bike there.

I rushed to shower and then headed out to meet my wife at the train station. I did not get that far, but we met halfway. After she settled in we went out to explore Almelo a little bit and get some food.

Our hotel has a lovely spa, so after our early dinner we went back there and enjoyed a swim and the steam room and sauna. 

To fight jet lag, I suggested we go for an evening walk, so we went to see Almelo's most famous home, Huize Almelo, and the park around it. 

We circled back through the town and to our hotel.

Almelo is a nice little place, and the hotel is a gem, but I had a good laugh at this t-shirt . . .

Hook of Holland to Amersfoort, the Netherlands

I am on the bike again, this time riding from Holland (specifically the Hook of Holland) to Berlin. I will do this over the next seven days. 

I flew into Amsterdam yesterday from Central Asia, and this morning I headed into downtown Amsterdam by bus.

Frederic's bike shop opened at 9:00 and I headed over to pick up my bike.

Mostly Frederic's rents bikes for tourists with more local plans, but when I messaged them a couple of months ago they said they could get me set up for a ride to Berlin. This is not the style of bike I am used to riding, but it seemed okay, so I loaded it up, and left a backpack in the rafters of the shop.

From Amsterdam Central Station I took the train to Schiphol, then to Schiedam, and finally to the Hook of Holland. Here, around 11:45, by the shore of the North Sea and outside of the ferry terminal, I mounted up and began heading east. 

The route I am traveling is far from straightforward, but the trails and paths I am riding on are basically a dream. Here are some examples . . . 

Luckily, the rental bike includes a really good phone holder on the handle bars, so I could have my GPS on. This was essential given that the route involved a lot of turns and merges and zig zagging. A lot of navigation made the trip interesting, for sure, but did detract a little bit from my ability to enjoy the scenery or even at points know where I was. For example, the route took me right through the middle of Delft, and I did not really understand where I was until I turned a corner and saw the impressive Nieuwe Kerk! Unfortunately I did not stop in Delft, but kept on moving, as I felt a bit pressed for time given my relatively late-in-the-day start.

I did stop for lunch shortly before reaching Utrecht, and then joined the crowds of pedestrians and cyclists in the centre of the Netherland's fourth largest city and the capital of the province of the same name. 

About an hour after Utrecht, largely along this wonderful bike path, I reached Amersfoort. 

It was just before 18:00 when I arrived, having ridden 106 kilometres. My average speed of 20.9 kmph is unimpressive, but I was happy enough with the ride.

My hotel is a nice place, with a large outdoor patio . . .

. . . and, apparently, some history.

I am traveling with very little, so I had to ride into the centre of town to do laundry. I got the laundry going in a laundromat and then walked around the very quaint historic centre.

After my laundry was finished I ate dinner and bought some snacks for tomorrow's ride, including a very economical pack of Stroopwafels.

I parked my bike underneath the hotel and was super impressed at how well equipped they were for bicycles! You never see this in Canada.