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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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