NOORDEN BOUND

(Tour Date: June 27, 2019) [click on pics to enlarge]

Today is a shorter hop of around 28km to the town of Noorden, whose main attraction are the myriad of shallow lakes that originally were dug for peat harvesting in the 16th century.  Cooler temps today of around 69 degrees, but the wind has kicked up so we are at its directional mercy.  Before leaving Gouda, we went over to the main market square the see the weekly farmer's market cheese auction.  These days, this is just a show for the tourists, but it was interesting to watch.

The seller and the buyer go through what looks like an Abbot & Costello routine of rapid hand slaps as they call prices until this somehow produces an agreed figure whereupon they shake hands and deliver the cheese to the waiting cart.  Fun to watch, and full marks to the city and the volunteers for putting on a good show.  Apparently, this sort of thing went on in earnest until the 70's.  

Loni's back is really hurting, thus our shortened (from 41km) route today.  She's dosing heavily with ibuprofen, but this is becoming an ordeal.  Our route today was along larger roads, resulting in us having to give way to a number of trucks.  Loni almost hit a wall at one point, but managed to stay upright.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely cafe on the waterfront where beer and sandwiches (a salmon and a tongue for us) revived us.  That's Dede on the left with Loni. He's a student of American politics, god knows why, and got up at 4am to watch the first Democrats debate.  Not for me.  Run away, run away!

In the background is a group of school kids on an outing.  Couldn't resist the shot:

We are relaxed!

Well, as I write this, it's almost a year and a half since I posted the above.  I figure it's about time I finished this trip before we all expire of old age.  Using Loni's notes, I'll pick up from here.  We continued on to the small town of Noorden to our accommodations at the Hotel De Watergeus, situated on one of the large, shallow lakes that cover the area.  While the rooms were ok, it was the gardens and the setting that made this place stand out.  The tired feet were drawn straight to the water.

Not wanting to get on the bikes for love or money, we took advantage of the hotel's very nice dining room for dinner.  Dorado for Loni and sea bass for me. We retreated to our rooms and took in the nice view from our room's porch.

Loni battled a pesky mosquito for much of the night until either she or it gave up and she got some sleep.  Have to say that bugs have not been a problem on our tour.  Maybe it was all the water surrounding us here.  The next morning we had a feast of a breakfast in the library room, which had windows giving out to the gardens.  Cereals, yoghurts, a variety of breads, cheeses, meats, coffee, juice.  A nice, relaxing start to the final day on the bikes.

We're on our way back to Haarlem, and today's route takes us along literal cow's paths with plenty of bovine company.  The girls loved getting up close and personal with the cows; Loni, not so much.

 Unfortunately, we had one final disaster awaiting us.  At one point, DD missed a turn and stopped, causing JC and Meghan to brake suddenly.  Loni, following, was looking elsewhere, and was trying to avoid crashing into them when she fell.  Again.  This time she hit her hip, knee, and elbow on the concrete curb.  Abrasions, goose egg on elbow, bruise on other arm.  She's a walking wreck.  But, she soldiered on!  DD took one last group photo in a beautiful area of fields.

Back in Haarlem, before hitting the hotel, we gathered with DD and Emil, from the bike service, at a rooftop bar to critique the trip.  Despite Loni's mishaps, we all gave it two thumbs up, and would recommend it to anyone.  They did a fine job.  

John & Meghan took a "date" night, so we ate with the girls in the hotel dining room.  Only ok, but we weren't complaining, as the hamburgers came with onion marmalade.  Yum to that.  Afterwards, we collected some paddles and a ball from the front desk and went across the street to a park where the girls played "tennis."

Back to the hotel for pajamas and a bedtime story, which Isla helped to read.  And excellent day to end an excellent bike tour.  We had one more day in Haarlem, and spent it at the Teyler Museum which was a mishmosh (in a good way!) of science and art, which we all enjoyed.  Afterwards, tho, Loni's back hurt too much to continue so we returned to the hotel for an afternoon rest while the family went on some more touring.  That night, we ate at an Indonisian restaurant recommended by DD and Emil.  Lots of rice, of course, and a couple dozen small bowls of meats, veggies and condiments to put over it.  Some satays as well.  I didn't much care for it because of the spiciness, but the other adults liked it.  Isla had a meltdown and said her stomach hurt, so Meghan cabbed her back to the hotel while the rest of us strolled back through the city.  Tomorrow, they will catch a morning flight to Stockholm, while Loni and I will make our way to the harbor for our cruise to Norway.  We had our final breakfast together that morning with the girls asking for Oma to sit between them.  Much smiling by Oma!  Sorry about the glarey eyes, I did try the redeye tool, but this almost looks worse.

Their taxi picked them up at about 8:15, and with much teary waving we parted ways.  We didn't leave until 11:00 and when we got into our cab, it turned out to be the same driver that had taken them to the airport.  She was making major dough off our family today!  She was really nice, tho, and gave Loni two drawings the girls had made for her.  One was a giraffe, and we think the other was an elephant.  Guess she knew they'd be more appreciated by Oma.  We ended up taking the Great Circle route to the harbor.  She said this was because the direct route was blocked today by a festival.  Hmmm.  That "festival" cost me 99 euros!