Visiting the Netherlands the Dutch way

This Summer in Ireland has pretty much happened for a couple of days in March... since then, we haven't really seen the sun or heat much. So this year we were really looking forward to our (real) Summer holidays!
My boyfriend and I just came back to Ireland after spending a week in Netherlands. And, what a better way to visit this country, than doing it the Dutch way: Cycling around the country. Or, well, a tiny portion of it.



This trip was special, not only because we cycled over 200km in total, but because we weren't staying in hotels/hostels but at locals' houses. Thanks to AirBnb we met some very nice Dutch hosts and we got to discover their traditions and stay at their lovely houses by the canals.

My boyfriend and I both cycle back "home" (ie. Ireland). He cycles 16km a day on his way to work, but I mostly use the bicycle at the weekends and I probably don't cycle more than 5km straight... So planning a road trip around Netherlands with only a bicycle was interesting for me.
Let's be honest, we didn't plan long days on the bike, but only routes of 30-40km a day. I know, not too impressive... but we are no Dutch experienced bikers and we didn't want to spend all day with our butts stuck on the bike seat either. We also wanted to do some sightseeing&relaxing.

Hello! This is us (Marta and Claas) with our bikes.

Our tour started in Amsterdam, where we rented two lovely typical Dutch bikes (but with handbrakes!). Cycling around Amsterdam is as cool as chaotic. If you don't know where you are going, biking in a city might be quite hard. Specially in Amsterdam where bikes always seem to have the preference. Bikes can go either direction on a street and people don't normally use their brakes (sure, the pedal brake is not as easy as the hand brake!), instead they ring their bell. So if you happen to be in the middle of a street in Amsterdam and somebody rings the bell, you might wanna hurry up and move out of the way!

I have to admit that I loved the fact that everybody was cycling around Amsterdam (and Netherlands in general). Parents with their little kids, teenagers, older people... no matter their age, they use their bikes for everything. In fact, we met a couple in their sixties who told us they did a bike tour in Europe and they cycled over 150km per day! Amazing how fit they were... and how unfit they made us feel ;)

Amsterdam is an amazing city, so if you get the chance to go there, don't miss walking around the canals, visiting the Rijksmuseum, getting lost in the street markets and parks, sneaking in the Red Light district and enjoying a couple of beers in the sun.

Spot the other sofas on the boat

Boat house

Chilling out on my sofa

Beers by the canal

Rijksmuseum at the back

Flower market

Cheese heaven (in a street market)

Vondelpark (good place for a nap, I promise)

Platform to cross the canal

After spending a couple of days in sunny Amsterdam, we spent the following week cycling around North-Holland. Our first stop was in a lovely house close to Edam (yes, where the cheese comes from! Yum!). This was a very special place, since we had to cross a canal using a typical Dutch platform to get to the house. It was a great feeling to reach the other side without falling into the canal with bikes and all ;)
On the way to Edam, we also stopped in Broek in Waterland, a small town with very cute boat-houses, and Monnickendam, a town where we happened to come across a smoking-fish festival. And funny enough, a woman from Cork that lived in Netherlands greeted us after spotting Claas wearing his Irish rugby jersey. Quick way to make friends!

Boat houses in Broek in Waterland

Neighbours enjoying their smoked fish in Monnickendam

Cute Edam

Dinner in the garden

After spending a very relaxing evening in this lovely spot (see awesome dinner just on the right), we cycled our way up to Wervershoof. On the way there, we passed Volendam, a very cute but (too!) touristy town by the sea. To get to Wervershoof, we left the big roads behind and followed the small roads by the sea. There we found some windmills and a lovely quiet beach on the way. There was also lots of farms close to the sea and I found funny to see all the sheep, horses and cows by the beach, like they were ready to jump in for a refreshing bath.

Windmill!

Beach hiding behind the dyke.

Once in Wervershoof, we arrived to our accommodation for that night: a very hippie and arty place that used to be a school. We were given a massive room (including 4 sofas, our beds, a table, a kitchen, a projector...) that used to be the classroom. We could also borrow a canoe from our hosts to explore the town by strolling down the canals! Another great Dutch experience.

Hello from...

...our massive room.

After Wervershoof, we came across another lovely beach by Medemblik and then cycled all the way to Anna Paulowna. This Northern area is meant to be known for growing bulbs. So in Spring, we would have been cycling between lovely tulip fields, but sadly in Summer there was no flowers left.
Our guests in Anna Paulowna kindly drove us to Den Oever to see the 30km long dyke (the Afsluitdijk), which was built between 1927 and 1932. This dyke separates the sea and the sweet water lake IJseelmeer, connecting the provinces of North Holland and Friesland.

Afsluitdijk map

Sea on my left and IJseelmeer lake on my right

The next day, we cycled towards Alkmaar passing a lovely area with dunes and a small forest. This town is like a small Amsterdam known for its cheese. If you are lucky to be there on a Friday (and not Thursday...) don't miss their famous cheese market on its main square (from 10am to 1pm). As I am a big fan of cheese (I'd say it's my favourite food), I regret not being able to visit the cheese market in Alkmaar. There I have a reason to come back ;)

Great Dutch cycling routes!

Alkmaar canals

Our last stop before coming back to Amsterdam was Haarlem. This city is a bit bigger than Alkmaar and if you come here, you need to stop at Jopenkerk. This is an old church that is now a restaurant and brewery. So you can have dinner surrounded by beer-making tanks! Another mandatory stop on the west to Haarlem is the natural park Zuid-Kennemerland. Here you can cycle around dunes and   have a bath in the t-Wed, an artificial lake. But be careful with the cheeky seagulls, who won't doubt to steal your sandwich lunch off your hands.

Main square in Haarlem

T-Wed lake

After dipping our toes into the cold water of t-Wed, we made our way back to great Amsterdam. I have to say that I loved cycling around Netherlands and I would highly recommend it to anybody willing to visit this country. You couldn't wish for better routes... and if you get lazy, they've told us we could take our bikes into the train for only 6euro. I promise we didn't fall into temptation ;)

Tell me your experiences if you have cycled the Netherlands. And if you haven't yet, I'll give you a tip: Even though Netherlands is pretty much a flat country, don't underestimate the wild Dutch wind! It's not that easy to cycle against it :)

See you on the next adventure!

Bye bye :) x