Ahhh.... looking back at my long list of photos that I wanted to post about, there are now many fond memories of my time in Europe. Actually, quite a few... seeing as I have quite a long backlog of things and places that I have visited that I really want to write about!
Anyway, one of the main things that I will miss about the Netherlands is the incredibly biking infrastructure that is paired with a landscape that is completely flat... actually, the completely flat part is incredibly good for me, as I'm a pretty poor cyclist generally, but in the Netherlands I can actually manage when there are no hills to climb! That said, our little electric assisted bike chews up the hills with no problem at all... so, I'm hoping that I'm going to manage to keep up with the biking when our shipment arrives! I can't really say that much for the infrastructure in Australia though... likely I will be aiming to stay alive first... and then sweating like crazy under the mandatory safety helmet!
So, this was one leg of a trip that I had made in the early parts of winter... a really nice looking day, but one that was actually quite cold! I was loaded up with a violin and viola, and a heavy side pack with a computer and concert clothes. A ride to play at a funeral, and then all the way back to teach. From Rijswijk to Kralingen (22km) to Wassenaar (35km) and then back to our old home in Rijswijk (17km)... making for a grand total of about 70-75 km of riding for the day! Needless to say, this would be something that I wouldn't even consider if I didn't have an e-fiets... and even with the e-fiets it was a pretty tough ride for me! On paper it looked good, but at the end of the day... I was completely buggered! Plus, I had to charge the battery on the bike at a student's house... just in case!
It is pretty impressive how much we have used the e-fiets over the years... by the time that we left Netherlands, we were pushing towards 6500 kms... and the Earth is only 6400 km in radius!
The ride between Rijswijk and Kralingen-Rotterdam was incredibly pleasant on this particular day. Nice clear light, and cool almost too cold... gloves, hat, and winter coat were necessary... unless you wanted to be frozen! Nice two way bike paths with very few people out and about... and some very nice areas that were lined with end of autumn trees. Really some of the nicest and most classic Dutch views that you can find!
Lining most of the ride were light industrial sites... or many greenhouses or small farms (both plant and animal). It is pretty impressive how the areas between the cities in the Netherlands are completely packed with these sorts of industries and little villages. Unless you bike between the major cities... you would never notice these from the motorways.
Ah... lovely old-style Dutch houses with the denuded trees! Again, a classic old Dutch landscape painting.
Much of the time between cities (or even within cities), you are going to be cycling next to the little canals that drain the water from the land...
... or the large canals that serve as water connections from goods transport.
It isn't something that I managed to quite capture very well in this photo... but sometimes, the bike path is below the water level in the next section. It is a little bit disconcerting... but it is something that you see quite often in the Netherlands... where the land level is contrasted with a canal or water wall that is much higher right next to it!
... ahhhh... finishing off the post with a little photo of another classic Dutch view. An old-style windmolen (windmill) next to a wide expanse of canal water. It is beautiful, and I will miss it a lot!