Holland '09
I'm back from Holland!
[still writing]
(Most of these photos are not mine. I didn't take any of Holland itself).
Amsterdam: We didn't do much to start with, just got settled into the idea of camping.
The ferry docked in Ijmuiden at around 09:30, from there we cycled to Camping Zeeburg, in Amsterdam (about 35km). That was the longest cycle we did. I lost my jacket on the way :(
Anyhoo, got to the campsite at 3:30ish...there wasn't much space so we set the tent up near the goat pen, hah.
We took the tram to central station one night, but it turned out to be really expencive (5 Euros for a return ticket!). Wandered around for a bit then headed back.
One morning it thundered and rained really hard. So we went canoeing! Had a terrifying experience when an angry swan decided to chase after us. They're pretty big up close!
After 3(or maybe 4?) nights in Amsterdam, we got the train to Harlingen so we could get the ferry for the Freisian Islands. 3 trains to be precise. This was the worst day of the trip. Me and Sam just got soo pissed off at each other lol. First of all, Sam cycled way ahead of me until I had no idea where he was so I stopped to phone him. When that failed, I carried on to central station, where he was waiting. Because of this delay, we missed the train. There were other trains, of course so everything turned out fine. Then we missed the second train because I found it really difficult to carry the bike down stairs when it was loaded with camping gear, which again really annoyed Sam. When we finally got on the train, Sam noticed my tyre was going flat. So he tried to pump it up...the pump didn't fit. He'd let my back tyre down. By this point I felt like crying to vent my anger. Luckily, there was a bicycle shop right next door to the station.
Got to the ferry for Terschelling at around 8pm. Sam phoned a couple of campsites but they were full. So, we got to the island but had nowhere to stay. Icing on the cake for a very bad day.
Terschelling: We came across a campsite not too far away from the port, Camping Cnossen. Then all built up anger seems to melt away and we spent the night lying on the grass looking up at the sky. It was a lovely clear night and we saw a couple of shooting stars! Lovely and romantic until Sam starts talking about physics ^-^
We cycled around the island on a lovely hot day. Its such a nice little place, but quite a tourist spot. We went to see Harry Potter one evening in the community hall/cinema.
Found out one of Sam's friends died while we were away, it was awful to show him the text I recieved letting us know :(
After Terschelling, we got ferry to Vlieland. Just.
When Sam bought the ferry tickets, the woman at the desk told him the ferry leaves at "half seven". We forgot "half seven" actually means "half an hour before seven" in Holland. While we were packing, I noticed the time on the tickets. We had half an hour to pack everything up and get down to the port! We made it with about a minute to spare.
Vlieland: Was lovely.
Much less touristy than Terschelling. We stayed at a nature camping site so the facilities wern't great but it was cheaper. The beach was a 5/10minute cycle away so we went there a couple of evenings. Sam got ill near the end of our stay, he had a fever. So spent an extra night on the island. Luckily, we'd met a dutch couple a day before after they asked for a puncture repair kit. The guy (Hessel) gave us lots of advice as to where to visit so we invited them to eat with us. So I asked them for paracetamol and they went out and bought us a whole packet. They were really generous.
After Vlieland, we took the ferry (I say ferry, it was a small wreck) to the island of Texel. We didn't stay in Texel, cycled straight across it. From there, we got a ferry to Den Helder, on the mainland. The ferry turned out to be free as you're meant to pay for a return ticket on the way to the islands, but obviously we came from the other side.
From Den Helder, we took the train to Alkmaar, where we visited Hessel. He picked us up from the campsite and took us to the supemarket to buy stuff for dinner. I have never seen someone shop as fast and a furious as this guy. Now, his girlfriend went on about how great he is at cooking so I was expecting a good proper meal. He made Mexican wraps. Bit of a dissapointment lol but his hospitality made up for it. He had the cutest little kitten that follows you everywhere! After dinner, he showed us his many photos of his gap year to Austrailia. Some very nice photos but theres only so many pictures of sharks you can look at before getting bored.
Stayed two nights in Alkmaar, didn't do much, just explored. Found the most amazing ice cream in a shop called Austrailian. There seemed to be a few dotted around Holland.
From Alkmaar, we took the train to Haarlem. This was the hottest day by far. We didn't know we had to travel via Amsterdam for some reason, so we ended up wasting an hour travelling 30 mins from Alkmaar and back again (the train terminated then turned back the other way, hah).
Finally arrived in Haarlem and looked for somewhere to stay. The guidebook we had recommended a hotel but the internet said there were no vacancies. Sam thought we should check anyway and we got a room! It was decorated with an Egyptian theme:
Although the room was tacky, the bed was soo comfortable. The best sleep I'd had for a month.
In Haarlem, all we did was go shopping. It is the best shopping city in Holland so we can be forgiven for that. I say "we", Sam is the one who spent loads. I bought nothing.
From Haarlem, we cycled to Amsterdam. It was a lovely cycle, not too long. Stopped for lunch by a small channel. Realised the ice cubes we'd bought were from Yorkshire and the fudge was from Cornwall lol.
Amsterdam: The last 3 nights of the trip. We went back to stay at camping Zeeburg.
It was nice to go back to Zeeburg, since it was all familiar. We spent the night times playing cards and drinking cocktails in the bar, which was much fun. Visited the Van Gough museum, went to a market (which was a let down) and went to a sauna! It was SO nice! Also did a bit of walking around the shops but they were pretty much what you'd get back in the UK. Had a lovely meal after we got out of the sauna. We were just walking around looking for somewhere to eat (we were too floopy and relaxed to cycle anywhere) when this (Jamaican? idk)guy recommends the small restraunt hes sitting outside of. I got chicken with vegtables and rice. It was looooooovely. Really big serving too. Then I got a huge tiramsu, which was HEAVEN.
Left the next day to go home :(
Almost missed the ferry :/ We got lost on the way to the port, luckily another cyclist helped us out and pointed us in the right direction. We made it by about 10 minutes. Because we'd rushed to get home, we didn't have anything for dinner, so we had a meal on the ferry. Soo expensive, and not even that nice. 6.50 euros for a (big) bottle of water!
Bumped into a couple of people from school on the ferry the next morning, they were coming back from thier trip around Europe. Chrissy and Elaine(Sams mum and her partner) met us at North Shields, with camera in hand. So, we got a very welcome lift home.
[still writing]
(Most of these photos are not mine. I didn't take any of Holland itself).
Amsterdam: We didn't do much to start with, just got settled into the idea of camping.
The ferry docked in Ijmuiden at around 09:30, from there we cycled to Camping Zeeburg, in Amsterdam (about 35km). That was the longest cycle we did. I lost my jacket on the way :(
Anyhoo, got to the campsite at 3:30ish...there wasn't much space so we set the tent up near the goat pen, hah.
We took the tram to central station one night, but it turned out to be really expencive (5 Euros for a return ticket!). Wandered around for a bit then headed back.
One morning it thundered and rained really hard. So we went canoeing! Had a terrifying experience when an angry swan decided to chase after us. They're pretty big up close!
After 3(or maybe 4?) nights in Amsterdam, we got the train to Harlingen so we could get the ferry for the Freisian Islands. 3 trains to be precise. This was the worst day of the trip. Me and Sam just got soo pissed off at each other lol. First of all, Sam cycled way ahead of me until I had no idea where he was so I stopped to phone him. When that failed, I carried on to central station, where he was waiting. Because of this delay, we missed the train. There were other trains, of course so everything turned out fine. Then we missed the second train because I found it really difficult to carry the bike down stairs when it was loaded with camping gear, which again really annoyed Sam. When we finally got on the train, Sam noticed my tyre was going flat. So he tried to pump it up...the pump didn't fit. He'd let my back tyre down. By this point I felt like crying to vent my anger. Luckily, there was a bicycle shop right next door to the station.
Got to the ferry for Terschelling at around 8pm. Sam phoned a couple of campsites but they were full. So, we got to the island but had nowhere to stay. Icing on the cake for a very bad day.
Terschelling: We came across a campsite not too far away from the port, Camping Cnossen. Then all built up anger seems to melt away and we spent the night lying on the grass looking up at the sky. It was a lovely clear night and we saw a couple of shooting stars! Lovely and romantic until Sam starts talking about physics ^-^
We cycled around the island on a lovely hot day. Its such a nice little place, but quite a tourist spot. We went to see Harry Potter one evening in the community hall/cinema.
Found out one of Sam's friends died while we were away, it was awful to show him the text I recieved letting us know :(
After Terschelling, we got ferry to Vlieland. Just.
When Sam bought the ferry tickets, the woman at the desk told him the ferry leaves at "half seven". We forgot "half seven" actually means "half an hour before seven" in Holland. While we were packing, I noticed the time on the tickets. We had half an hour to pack everything up and get down to the port! We made it with about a minute to spare.
Vlieland: Was lovely.
Much less touristy than Terschelling. We stayed at a nature camping site so the facilities wern't great but it was cheaper. The beach was a 5/10minute cycle away so we went there a couple of evenings. Sam got ill near the end of our stay, he had a fever. So spent an extra night on the island. Luckily, we'd met a dutch couple a day before after they asked for a puncture repair kit. The guy (Hessel) gave us lots of advice as to where to visit so we invited them to eat with us. So I asked them for paracetamol and they went out and bought us a whole packet. They were really generous.
After Vlieland, we took the ferry (I say ferry, it was a small wreck) to the island of Texel. We didn't stay in Texel, cycled straight across it. From there, we got a ferry to Den Helder, on the mainland. The ferry turned out to be free as you're meant to pay for a return ticket on the way to the islands, but obviously we came from the other side.
From Den Helder, we took the train to Alkmaar, where we visited Hessel. He picked us up from the campsite and took us to the supemarket to buy stuff for dinner. I have never seen someone shop as fast and a furious as this guy. Now, his girlfriend went on about how great he is at cooking so I was expecting a good proper meal. He made Mexican wraps. Bit of a dissapointment lol but his hospitality made up for it. He had the cutest little kitten that follows you everywhere! After dinner, he showed us his many photos of his gap year to Austrailia. Some very nice photos but theres only so many pictures of sharks you can look at before getting bored.
Stayed two nights in Alkmaar, didn't do much, just explored. Found the most amazing ice cream in a shop called Austrailian. There seemed to be a few dotted around Holland.
From Alkmaar, we took the train to Haarlem. This was the hottest day by far. We didn't know we had to travel via Amsterdam for some reason, so we ended up wasting an hour travelling 30 mins from Alkmaar and back again (the train terminated then turned back the other way, hah).
Finally arrived in Haarlem and looked for somewhere to stay. The guidebook we had recommended a hotel but the internet said there were no vacancies. Sam thought we should check anyway and we got a room! It was decorated with an Egyptian theme:
Although the room was tacky, the bed was soo comfortable. The best sleep I'd had for a month.
In Haarlem, all we did was go shopping. It is the best shopping city in Holland so we can be forgiven for that. I say "we", Sam is the one who spent loads. I bought nothing.
From Haarlem, we cycled to Amsterdam. It was a lovely cycle, not too long. Stopped for lunch by a small channel. Realised the ice cubes we'd bought were from Yorkshire and the fudge was from Cornwall lol.
Amsterdam: The last 3 nights of the trip. We went back to stay at camping Zeeburg.
It was nice to go back to Zeeburg, since it was all familiar. We spent the night times playing cards and drinking cocktails in the bar, which was much fun. Visited the Van Gough museum, went to a market (which was a let down) and went to a sauna! It was SO nice! Also did a bit of walking around the shops but they were pretty much what you'd get back in the UK. Had a lovely meal after we got out of the sauna. We were just walking around looking for somewhere to eat (we were too floopy and relaxed to cycle anywhere) when this (Jamaican? idk)guy recommends the small restraunt hes sitting outside of. I got chicken with vegtables and rice. It was looooooovely. Really big serving too. Then I got a huge tiramsu, which was HEAVEN.
Left the next day to go home :(
Almost missed the ferry :/ We got lost on the way to the port, luckily another cyclist helped us out and pointed us in the right direction. We made it by about 10 minutes. Because we'd rushed to get home, we didn't have anything for dinner, so we had a meal on the ferry. Soo expensive, and not even that nice. 6.50 euros for a (big) bottle of water!
Bumped into a couple of people from school on the ferry the next morning, they were coming back from thier trip around Europe. Chrissy and Elaine(Sams mum and her partner) met us at North Shields, with camera in hand. So, we got a very welcome lift home.