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| THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM 2006: Trip Report |
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We decided to start with a day trip north to Edam. We cycled along Prinsengracht to the waterway and then took the free ferry to the northern part of the city. From there we followed the bicycle path along coast to the island of Marken. The first part of the route wound through brick paved streets lined with small cottages, all spic and span, with very few cars. The path then ran along the top of a dike and continued across the causeway that connects Marken to the mainland.
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The photograph shows Glen asking for directions oblivious of the bicycle path sign on the opposite corner.
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| It so happened that the ferry was leaving for the 20 minute trip from Marken to Volendam a few minutes after we arrived and so we didn't linger but jumped on. |
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| We arrived a Volendam rather late for lunch so we took a seat on the terrace of a pleasant restaurant overlooking the harbor and looked forward to a pleasant meal. Ten minutes later we managed to catch the eye of a sullen looking waiter who cleared our table, brought a menu and took our order for two beers. After another ten minutes another waiter took our lunch order, but the drinks still hadn't arrived. After another ten minutes neither drinks or food had arrived so we left. |
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| We expected that we would come across more restaurants. We found one that was open in Edam, but it was extremely busy with only one waitress. Time was getting on and so we decided to skip it and hope to find something less crowded. We had planned to follow the inland bicycle path back to Amsterdam but lost the signs, and our way, in Purmerend and ended up going an extremely long way round through industrial areas and alongside busy roads back to Amsterdam. We didn't pass anywhere that sold food until about 4pm when we finally passed a pub and got a beer and a toasted ham sandwich. |
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