Bike Nederlands

Start of the new bike tour this time in the Netherlands, in a ten hour drive we reach Kockengen our starting point.

Here is our accommodation for the next days. Farm holidays Boerderij Hazenveld is a small campsite and B&B accommodation 3 stars in the middle of fields, next to the dairy farm. Located in the green heart of the Netherlands, between Utrecht and Amsterdam.

Farmer Piet has provided everything including the bicycle gagrage, with sockets to recharge e-bikes with solar power.

today we are on tour along the waters to Woerden .

Woerden City Museum The Stadtmuseum Woerden is located in the heart of Woerden. Various events are held in this 16th century house. The ground floor was inaugurated in 1501, in the 17th century the building was extended by a first floor in Renaissance style. On the façade you can still see the sandstone pillory from 1567, which is unique in the Netherlands. The town museum collects works by artists who lived or worked in Woerden. The Woerden City Museum organises four exhibitions a year. The themes are landscape, photography, graphics and textile art.

I liked this picture in the city museum very much, it comes from: Leo Gestel, a Dutch painter. Leo Gestel received his first drawing lessons from his father Willem, a painter and director of the Woerdense Avondteekenschool. He was also taught by his uncle Dimmen, a printer and painter who painted with Vincent van Gogh. Leo was one of the very first Dutch artists to experiment with Cubism and Expressionism. Thanks to him, these art movements have established themselves in the Netherlands. He is one of the most important Dutch modern artists.

Cheese market Woerden Woerden is a real cheese town, the town has a centuries-old cheese market tradition that has survived to this day. As early as 1885, the first batches of cheese were transported from the surrounding area to the centre of Woerden for trade. The farm cheese is traded on the Woerden cheese market. During the season, traders and farmers show their cheese, while the master cheesemaker introduces visitors to the world of the cheese dairy. The classic "handshake" means that there is still trade between the farmers and the merchants. In addition to the award-winning Gouda farm cheeses, there is an infinite selection of numerous cheeses.

Cheese market Woerden This market revives the old cheese history of Woerden. The cheeses are delivered with horses and tractors, those involved in the market appear in their typical traditional costumes.

a short visit to the Petruskerk after the cheese market reflection on a chandelier. The Petruskerk was built on the site where a wooden church used to be, the early church history of Woerden is almost unknown, a stone church was built in the thirteenth century.

The conductor of the fairground organ Fairground organs are barrel organs, which are used at various occasions and produce music with large volume. A separate type of fairground organ is used in the classic carousel. Fairground organs are equipped with loud pipes and drums. This type of organ was particularly popular in the years 1880-1950. From 1950 onwards, the fairground organ was increasingly replaced by modern sound technology.

Along one of the many waterways on the way back towards Kockengen The canals Gracht is a general term for canal, ditch or water ditch. In the narrowest sense, narrow, artificially created waterways are called canals, the best known are the Amsterdam canals.

Swans (Cygnus) Swans a type of the duck-birds, within this family, they are added to the geese, they are the biggest of all duck-birds. Thanks to the pure white plumage and the impressive size, they appear in numerous myths and fairy tales. The only completely black appearing swan-type is the mourning-swans.

On the way back to Kockengen 26% of the Netherlands are below sea level. The constant battle with water has given rise to many canals and great cities. Canals play an important role in the design of towns and villages. Canals were built to perform various functions: transport, irrigation and drainage. As a very useful function, the outermost canals were built around the city like a kind of moat to protect it from outside threats.

The bicycle/foot ferry Zegefeld - Kamerik, a self-service chain ferry Bicycle and foot ferries are connections for cyclists and hikers. Bicycle and foot ferries are usually located where other ferry connections are missing.

They are ferries, in small format; sometimes it is simply a rowing boat. Self-service bicycle/foot ferry, where you have to exert yourself and drive the rope or chain to get to the other side. In the Netherlands there are over 150 cycling and walking ferries.

Today our Bike Tour goes to Utrecht / Oud -Zuilen through agricultural area from infinite wide

Between the two lakes of Haarrijnseplas Haarrijnseplas is a lake area in the Dutch municipality of Utrecht. The two lakes have a total area of around 90 hectares. The lakes were created at the beginning of the 21st century along the A2 motorway. You can swim in the lake, there is a beautiful sandy beach with a sunbathing area, a playground with sports and play facilities. The Haarrijnseplas is an important part of the water system in the area. In the rainy season the lake is a reservoir for excess water in the region, in the dry season water from the Haarrijnseplas is directed to the drier parts.

Polder mill Westbroek The mill of the Polder Westbroek is situated in a beautiful area between Oud-Zuilen and Maarssen. Next to the mill is the mill van de Polder Buitenweg which burned in 2016, was restored in 2017. Together they form a striking picture. The Westbroek polder mill is the largest in the province. The mill of the Polder Buitenweg is the smallest in the province. Until 1946, the mill emptied the polders on its own. Today, the mill functions as an auxiliary pumping station. After the war the mill was equipped with a diesel pump station, in 1971 a new electric pump station was put into operation. In 1983 the bucket wheel was replaced by a screwdriver with special drive. In 2003 the interior was restored by the volunteers. Between the two mills there is a monumental lock complex.