North-Holland
Tour
Amsterdam
Sunday - 10
to 15 km
(6 to 9 miles)
Arrival on board the Elodie in Amsterdam
where the crew will welcome you with a nice cup of coffee or tea. Introduction to the crew,
explanation of the rules on board, information on the program.
After the introduction
We
will make a short tour through the rural
area of Amsterdam North to get comfortable with your bike. In the evening
after dinner your guide will take you for a walk through Amsterdam .
Amsterdam
- Hoorn
Monday - 45
km (28 miles)
Today we will
experience a medley of wonderful landscapes and little “South sea”
Villages. We will start in
Amsterdam and will follow the IJsselmeer coast through the wetlands to the former Island of Marken. In this village we can see some of the inhabitants wearing
traditional clothes and enjoy the
beauty of their traditional houses. We take the cycle on board the Marken express ferry
back to Volendam a verry touristic
little town From Volendam we will cycle along the IJsselmeer coast to
Edam, the origin of the famous
Edammer cheese.
From here we will go to Hoorn. “The Horn” in South America was named after this place, home of some
of the most famous Dutch Sailors.
Hoorn
- Enkhuizen - Texel
Thuesday - 30
km (19 miles)
We have a full programme today so we start on time. By cycle from the "Houten
Hoofd" (Wooden Head) in Hoorn along the coast of the IJsselmeer to Enkhuizen,
where you have an opportunity to visit the "Zuiderzee" (Southern sea)
museum. There are also many other places of interest in Enkhuizen,
including the magnificent architecture of the distant past. The Elodie is
lying just outside the town, waiting to take you to the island of Texel. On the way we pass the locks of the Afsluitdijk and sail through the
salt water of the Wadden Sea to the fishing village Oude Schild on the
Island of Texel.
Texel
Wednesday -
45
or as much as you like
km (28 miles)
Today we
spend the whole day on Texel. We will cycle completely round the island with
those that are keen to do so; because this day also offers you an excellent
opportunity to formulate your own programme. Some of the places of interest
that we visit on the island are: the seal centre "Ecomare", the Nature
Reserve "de Slufter", the beach by "de Koog" and the local distillery "het
Juttertje". In Oude Schild there is the Jutters museum with a fine
collection of rarities that have been found on the beach or fished out of
the sea by the fishermen.
Texel
- Den Helder - Alkmaar
Thursday - 20 or 40
km ( 25
or 12 miles)
We make an early departure from Oude Schild and on board the Elodie cross
over to Den Helder. On arrival at the harbour, you will see that this is a
real navy town. There is often a part of the fleet in the harbour, and there
are submarines, minesweepers and other naval craft to be seen everywhere.
We follow our way through the North Holland canal to St Maartensvlotbrug
where the bicycles are put ashore. Now we cycle through the dunes and the
bulb fields are here in the Spring. We pass through typical northern Dutch
seaside resorts such as Schoorl, Bergen and Groet. The Elodie is lying
waiting for you in the town centre of Alkmaar. After dinner, our guide
organises a walk around this charming town, famous throughout the world for
the cheese markets.
Alkmaar - Amsterdam
Friday -
45
or 15
km (28 or 9 miles)
Today we
experience a real windmill day. After visiting the cheesemarket in Alkmaar,
we cycle via Oterleek and Ursem along the Eilandpolder to Graft and de Rijp.
Here we pause and visit this pleasant village. After that we cycle to the
ferry at Spijkerboor and along the Knollendammervaart to Zaansche Schans. We
take time for this open-air museum because there is a great deal to be
seen. Perhaps we can see here too the Zaansche mustard mill in action,
and take home with us a jar of mill-pressed mustard.
From here you will start on you last
cycle kilometers back to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam
(Saturday)
You can
now do what you had no opportunity to do on the first day. Amsterdam is
certainly well worth exploring because of its many possibilities: a boat
tour around the canals, the Van Gogh museum, and the Rijks museum; or just
savour the atmosphere and gape at the colourful procession of people
strolling by as you enjoy a cup of coffee at an Amsterdam sidewalk café. In
the evening you can choose a restaurant to you liking out of the many good
restaurant you can find in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam
(Sunday)
We take
leave of you after breakfast.
Top
