Wed. May 31
Evening departure from JFK, New York.
Thurs. June 1
Morning arrival in Amsterdam. Check into hotel.
Guided city walk in Amsterdam.
Afternoon museum if desired.
Evening dinner at women's restaurant.
Friday. June 2
Full day in Amsterdam to visit museums or day trip by train
to visit Kroeller-Mueller Museum and Sculpture Gardens where
we can also do some countryside bike riding.
Saturday, June 3
Amsterdam museums or travel by train to Haarlem to visit the
Frans Hals Museum.
We board our ship in Amsterdam at 4 PM. Optional cycling,12mi
(20 km). Bicycles are distributed and you can do a short bike
trip through quiet parts of town. If time permits, you can also
bike outside the city.
Dinner on board.
Sunday, June 4
Amsterdam - Volendam, 26 mi (42 km).
We leave Amsterdam and travel by ferry to a peaceful part of
the city in the north where we begin cycling through the rural
'Waterland' region (in the province of Holland). We visit the
former island of Marken which was flooded several times during
the Zuiderzee period; the old houses were built on poles above
the ground, putting them about 2.5 meters above street level.
Marken is strictly for pedestrian visitors as cars are prohibited
except for those belonging to the local population. We cycle
to Monnickendam, a flourishing wealthy town in the past, as
you can see from the many old gables, plaques, churches and
towers. We continue biking over the dike of the Gouwzee to Volendam,
originally a small fishing village founded by the survivors
of a capsized Spanish fleet.
Monday, June 5
Volendam - Enkhuizen 36 mi (58 km), or embark in Hoorn 15 mi
(25 km). If you choose to ride the entire route, you first visit
Edam, well-known for its cheese, pass through vast grasslands
and stop in Hoorn. Or you can choose to sail to Hoorn to start
cycling. Hoorn was a major trading town in the 17th century
where ships sailed for the Dutch East Indies, America, Scandinavia,
and the Mediterranean. We cross the dike, with its beautiful
view over the Markermeer on one side and West Frisian villages
on the other and finish today's route in Enkhuizen which has
a number of interesting museums.
Tuesday, June 6
Enkhuizen - Den Oever 33 mi (54 km), or embark in Medemblik
or Oude Zeug 26 mi (42 km), sail to Texel. The cycling route
begins over the dike of the IJsselmeer and goes through a nature
reserve and some of the characteristic villages of West Friesland.
We take a break here, and if you wish, you can re-board the
boat. For those continuing biking, the route goes through a
polder created in 1932. This created new land (when the country
needed more agricultural land due to the food crisis from WWI)
out of the old Zuiderzee and turned the inland sea (IJsselmeer)
into the largest sweet water basin of The Netherlands. You can
choose to re-board the ship or continue riding through a forest
to the fishing town of Den Oever. We sail by boat over the Wadden
Sea to the harbor of the island of Texel.
Wednesday, June 7
Texel, round trip, 25/31/41 mi (40/50/66 km). Today you
can choose to visit the beach or ride around the island of Texel
where there are numerous bicycle paths. In the north is the
nature reserve 'de Slufter', with an open connection to the
sea. The largest village on the island is Den Burg, a prototype
of the little Dutch town with its circle of canals around an
old church. The local museum gives a good impression of island
life and is housed in a building dating from 1599. As well as
a nature centre, with lots of information about the local flora
and fauna to be found, De Koog has a rescue centre for seals.
Cocksdorp is entered through a unique tunnel of interlocking
tree branches. If you cycle to the most extreme northerly tip
of the island you may be able to see Vlieland, the next island
making up the chain of Wadden islands. This part of the island
is called the Slufter, a nature reserve open to the sea. The
villages of Den Doorn, Osterend, and de Waal have escaped modern
architectural influences and are now officially protected with
many of the old dwellings preserved.
Thursday, June 8
Texel: sail to Den Helder, cycle to Alkmaar 36 mi (58 km) or
embark in 't Zand/Schagerbrug/St. Maartensvlotbrug, 25/18 mi
(40/30 km). We travel by boat to Den Helder, or 't Zand, Schagerbrug
or St. Maartensvlotbrug. Today we ride through the dunes and
over the Hondsbosse Zeewering (seawall) with its spectacular
view over the North Sea. If the weather allows you to cross
to the island of Texel, you will head straight for Den Helder.
Otherwise, you will take a leisurely tour around the land bounded
by the dikes. This part of the country, known as the Kop van
Noord Holland (head of North Holland), is well known for bulb
growing. We finish in Alkmaar, which boasts almost four hundred
buildings on the monument list, and typical Old-Dutch canals
and harbor. Alkmaar is often called the cheese town as the weighing
and selling of cheese in the 'Waag' (weighing house) was a popular
activity in the past.
Friday, June 9
Alkmaar - Amsterdam 37 mi (59 km), or embark in Zaandam, 12
mi (20 km). You can ride the entire route or sail as far as
Zaandam. In Alkmaar the famous Cheese Market is held in the
morning. After leaving Alkmaar the bike trip takes you through
the 'impoldering' with the 17th century villages of Schermerhorn,
Graft, and De Rijp. An 'impoldering' is a part of a lake or
other water around which a dike is built; the water is then
pumped out. A polder is a diked-in piece of land inside which
the water level can be regulated. Many polders were first impolderings.
At Schermerhorn you can visit a mill that gives you a good picture
of how the impoldering worked. Close to Zaandam you can visit
the Zaansche Schans, a unique residential/industrial area where
authentic houses and mills from this region have been assembled
on the banks of the Zaan. Finally the route takes you through
a park-like area called "Het Twiske" and then to Amsterdam.
When you arrive in Amsterdam your bike will be collected, and
you still have time to visit the city. In the evening you can
enjoy a round trip on the canals and/or walk in town.
Saturday, June 10
Amsterdam - Day of departure Breakfast and departure around
10 AM. Recommended: Since you'll be flying via Iceland, this
is an excellent opportunity to extend your trip and experience
the Hot Stop at no additional airfare. Additional hotel costs
will be incurred.
Note:
If you do not choose to bike on any day, you can always stay
on board ship and sail to the next stop.
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