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| Date | Starting Place | Ending Place | Author | Last Update |
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| 05-15-17 |
Zeist, Utrecht, Holland |
Nijmegen, Gelderland, Holland |
ray | 08-11-17 23:00:18 |
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I got up to see Rivka off in the morning. When Naomi left to take her to school, I went to the store just around the corner and got food for breakfast and biking. I returned, ate and talked with Naomi. She told me about a book she was trying to finish and I told her to go up and start writing, which she did. After some on-line issues were resolved, I was off by about 10:30. Just before I left, I got an action shot of Naomi working on her book.  The ride through Zeist proper showed it was an affluent area with some spectacular buildings that had been turned into bank offices.  Just past Zeist, and the reason I rode this way, is a national park that is a forest with major roads through it. It was nice to ride among the trees.  A short way into the forest, not far from the town of Austerlitz, was the Pyramid of Austerlitz.  This monument has nothing to do with the Battle of Austerlitz, which actually took place in today's Czech Republic. According to wikipedia, this was built by Napoleonic French forces stationed in the Netherlands to oppose any English invasion. To fight boredom, their commander had them build this pyramid. Later, it acquired its current name. After that, I was quickly out of the forest and into farmland.  The Netherlands is a crowded country. I was amazed that I would smell a dairy and see a field of cows surrounded by nice homes. I couldn't imagine living in a place with such an awful stink! I alternated between farmland and towns for several miles. In one of the towns, I saw this bit of art.  I rode for a couple hours through uninspiring farms and fields. I did see my first red poppies, though.  I also saw something I'd always wondered about: How do they put thatch on a roof?  The reason I was riding this route was to visit the National Park De Hoge Veluwe, a big patch of green near Arnhem toward the eastern border of the Netherlands. I approached it on a paved bike path.  I encountered my first sustained uphill.  It was pleasant riding among trees through dappled sunlight.  One interesting feature of the route was detailed maps with dozens of numbered bikeways posted about every mile.  I had planned to stop and see the Kröller-Müller house, which is housed inside the National Park. I thought it was a small art museum. Instead, I discovered it was a huge estate with both a sculpture garden and house that would have required another 15 or 20 miles to circumnavigate. I decided I didn't need the mileage and rode on, though I hope to go back and visit someday. I turned south toward Arnhem. At the edge of the park I passed a (closed) World War II museum with this hardware outside.  The route was through the trees with a bit of uphill. Once past the top, there was a good downhill run into Arnhem, which looked to be a bustling city. This fountain was in the center of town.  My destination for the night was Nijmegen, about 10 miles south of Arnhem. This required crossing the Rhine twice! Here is a norhtern branch of the river just outside Arnhem.  From Arnhem to Nijmegen I followed a dedicated bike path during rush hour. The path was crowded and I had to pay attention as I rode. At first, it went along a canal edged with pretty yellow flowers.  Then, it went along busy streets and a few parks. I passed this intriguing bit of art at some point.  For the most part, the ride to Nijmegen was uninteresting urban biking. Here is the view of Nijmegen from the bridge over the Rhine.  I was tired when I arrived and I rested before walking out to look around. My hotel was in the older, pedestrianized, part of the city. This area had been heavily bombed in World War II, but there were still some classic buildings around. On a main square was the old Rathaus.  These structures were just to the left of the Rathaus.  The Cathedral (visible in the above "across the river" photo) was hemmed in on all sides by unattractive housing blocks. It wasn't possible to get any angle on the building, other than one looking straight up.  I walked around the nearby shopping area, found tomorrow's Subway Shop, and ate an OK meal at a fast food wok place. I returned, did some route planning for the next day, and went to sleep. |
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