Bunnik can be reached by train from Amsterdam Airport. Free parking at the hotel.

 

Today’s scenery is a charming mix of woods, water and polder. Have a break at the old pancake inn round the corner from Queen Beatrix’ Castle Drakensteyn. Amersfoort is famous for its lovely old town centre, its canals and ... Gelateria Mazzoli which won a prestigious international award in 2007 for its banana flavoured ice cream!

 

The bike tour continues past farms, through woods and onto the agricultural polder of Flevoland. On the shores of the Randmeren, lakes formed in 1957 when the polder was created, you will reach Harderwijk, once a .member of the Hansa League, a Northern European alliance of trading guilds in the 13th-17th Centuries. Harderwijk remained a fishing and seafaring town until 1932 when the Zuiderzee was turned into Lake IJsselmeer and work was started on the Flevopolder. Today, the Fish Gate and fish restaurants are among the many reminders of the town’s fishing past. Centuries old, bustling Harderwijk is proud of its history.

 

Cycle through the woods and farmland of Flevopolder to Lelystad. In Nieuwland Museum see an exhibition on how Lake IJsselmeer and the polder came to be. Cross Lake IJsselmeer to lovely Enkhuizen atop a 30 km dike! In the excellent Zuiderzee Museum, delve into Holland’s Golden Age. In the 17th Century the shipbuilding, map making and seafaring Dutch (ruthlessly!) dominated world trade. The VOC, the Dutch East India Trading Company, owned a big fleet of ships and trading vessels that sailed from Holland all over the world trading in tulip bulbs and spices such as pepper, nutmeg and cloves. It was the world’s first multinational. The Dutch merchants became extremely wealthy, built beautiful houses and sponsored arts and science, which flourished. The museum also boasts a recreated Zuiderzee village of old.

 

After looking around the pretty town of Hoorn, which made its fortune trading in the Golden Age, you will set off on today’s coast-to-coast bike route from Lake IJsselmeer to the North Sea. You will pass by Holland’s oldest polder, Beemster, drained by windmills in 1612(!). You can also visit a "museum windmill” as well as "cheese town” Alkmaar. The traditional cheese market is on Fridays.

 

The North Sea coast offers endless sandy beaches backed by dune systems which not only protect the hinterland from the sea, but also harbour many species of dune flora and fauna. The villages along the coast each have their own character. At the end of this stage of the bike route Amsterdam awaits! Everyone has their own reasons for loving this remarkable city. What will yours be?

 

After you have crossed the North Sea Canal at the town of Velsen, you can opt to catch a Fast Flying Ferry which will take you to the heart of Amsterdam in 30 minutes.

 

A lovely route will take you to Zaanse Schans. It’s a recreated neighbourhood in the typical style of the green wooden houses, warehouses and windmills of the 17th - 18th Centuries around the River Zaan.

 

Follow the River Amstel out of town. On the banks of the lovely River Vecht, you’ll see beautiful stately homes and garden pavilions built by rich Amsterdam merchants in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The lively centre of the big city of Utrecht will draw you to its peaceful canals and unique wharves. Go for a walk in the pretty Museum Quarter or go (window) shopping in one of the quieter shopping streets.