September 1, 2012 Day 9 Amsterdam to Haarlem and then some 31.5 miles, total mileage 212.5

Last night Jan and Anne Marie treated our table to a bottle of wine and a heartfelt toast to the end of a lovely week and a great tour.

This morning we packed up and left the boat to start the portion of this trip on our own.

 Navigating through Amsterdam was less difficult because we had been in the center city more than once and we had a better understanding of the ways of the bicyclists in town.  Even early on a Saturday morning, the streets were busy with merchants setting up for a street sale.  I guess the bike lane won't be in use today.  It seems that you have to be more careful of the bicyclists than the cars!

 This is an amenity that we have seen throughout the fietspads in Holland.  They are most prevalent in parks and off road paths.  It is a garbage container that is set at the right height for a passing cyclists.  And they are used.

When we reached  Spaamwe , there was a repair shop for the Netherlands Railway.  As you can see, there were an impressive number of wheels.  We also stopped here for our morning break.  As we sat in the local park eating our pastries, a pair of green parrots were flying around.  Not what we expected.

 By noon we reached Haarlem.  The town dates back to the 10th century and has seen good times and bad.  Along the canal are many of the the very old buildings.  We went through Grote Market which is the center of old town.  It is very charming.

 We made our way to the southern part of the city and our hone for the first night off the Angela Esmee.  This Bed and Breakfast is run by Mr. and Mrs. Bhullar.  It is perfect.  After a nap I didn't know I needed, we rode off to find the sea.

 A few miles to the east, we found one of the entrances to the National Park Zuid-Kennemerland.  It is a huge park with many paved paths for walking and riding and unpaved paths for walking.  We rode through birch, oak, and fir forests and then through the hilly dunes.  It is amazing how in a very short distance, one goes from canals with water everywhere to sandy dunes as far as you can see.

 The bake paths were an easy ride and we pedaled the distance in no time.

 It is also quite obvious that we are no longer below sea level!

At last we reached the Noordzee.  Most people stayed off the beach and on the seats at the top of the dune.  Today was on the low 60s and of course, there is always some wind in Holland (although after yesterday, I would call today a breeze).