Lemmer was a great village. I can imagine it gets very busy in the summer months.
In the morning Debbie and Janet went to a small bakery in our street and picked up some croissants and pastries. It was an easy and quick breakfast. We also did a bit of shopping in the hema store and the drug store. My friends gave me some money to purchase some cream we can’t get in Canada and we took everything they had on the shelf. We decided that if they wanted 50 euros worth it must be good (for insect bites) so we got some too. So instead of a backpack of stroopwaffles this time to come home (like last trip) we have one full of Azaron. LOL
Our cousin Bart met us at 10:30 am to cycle with us to Zwartluis. i have to say it sure was nice not having to figure out our route, and follow numbers and not get closed.
He took us a beautiful route which took us through the National Park Weerribben-Wieden. What I noticed is that all the farms are so neat and tidy! We saw lots of animals on the way – many birds and cows, sheeps, horses, pigs, dogs, and some really cute alpacas.
The towns were getting busier as it is a Friday and a long week, as Monday is a holiday. The second day of Pentecost is a popular day for outdoor activities, markets, sailing and other sports. Hmmm…Monday is the day we cycle back to Amsterdam! It will be busy!! You could see the towns we cycled through today were getting ready for the fun! The first stop where we would have coffee was not open until 1 pm due to a party they were having. We then stopped at an outdoor cafe in the park and by that time coffee was done and we enjoyed a cold beer! It was a gorgeous day – sunny and warm and the first that we could get into shorts and t-shirts to cycle.
Often we were cycling on the dijk directly between the ”new” and ”old“ land. The Dutch are brilliant in their building of dijjs, canals and pumps. Reclaiming land has a long history here. They slowly pushed back the water of the Zuiderzee and reclaimed a large piece of land, which we cycled much in the edge today. You could say we were cycling on the original shoreline. At one spot Bart pointed out an old wood structure which was from an old harbour. The Netherlands still has land reclamation projects going on now, one large one is an extension of the port in Rotterdam.
We stopped in Blokzijl for lunch, and sat on the patio beside a canal. When you are in the Netherlands you will often sit eating beside a canal, as they have them everywhere!
It was a great day to be cycling. Janet’s bike was working well! We had a fabulous guide. Bart surprised us in the morning with his Canada cycling jersey, but then he got a surprise as we were all wearing them too! We looked like a Team!
We arrived in Zwartluis around 4:30 pm and Bart delivered us right to the door of our accommodations. We had difficulty finding a place here, so we got a membership for the organization ”Vrienden op de fiets” and found a home through here. For 22.50 Euros per person you stay with them in their home. You get a place for your bike, a comfy bed, shower, and breakfast in the morning. We are about a 15 minute walk into the village. We walked in to pick up some lekker dings – like wine and chocolate!
We sat in the backyard of where we stayed and enjoyed the warm weather. we then cycled into town for dinner. The place our host Sandra recommended was having s private holiday party, so we found a nice outdoor patio where we had pizza.
Oh yes I forgot to tell an embarrassing thing. When we reached our destination, and Bart stopped in front of me, I stopped abruptly and got off on the left side (my wring side) , and my bike toppled over and there I lay on the ground. lol.
Another awesome day in the Netherlands!
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