Arnhem-Hook of Holland – 51km
The morning started with a good hotel breakfast, then a brief ride to Arnhem Central station, a little short cut, catching a train to Leiden near the coast, avoiding a two day ride down the Rhine, which I’d done twice before . It meant we would also have time to do a bit of a sightseeing en route back to the ferry. Sorting out tickets for ourselves and the bike was easy thanks to the very friendly and helpful staff. No restrictions on travel, as long as it was outside peak hours. No special saver, awayday, off peak, cheap day returns etc – bliss ! Well not quite, the lift to our platform was out of action, so it was loaded bike up the escalator time. Not fun ! The perilous ascent done, bike carriage found and we were soon on our way.
A rather grey Leiden greeted us outside the station, a quick spin around part of the town and we found ourselves at a cafe, having what would most likely be our last apple cake of the trip.
We had plenty of time to savour the snack, before making our way leisurely to a late lunch stop in the pretty town of Delft. The main square and restaurants which were bustling the last time I was here, were almost deserted now, the occasional showers no doubt keeping tourists inside the cosy cafes. Again we had a quick spin around the sights of the old town, before sitting down to a leisurely lunch. In my case, a tasty chicken sate, with the compulsory chips and mayonnaise. Last night at dinner, I requested no mayo on a chicken burger. I joked with David that the chef would probably come running out demanding to know who dared to ask for no mayo, it turned out to be almost true, with the waitress sent back out to tell me the food would be too dry without the mayo (despite being served with a librrsl covering of juicy coleslaw. After a lengthy discussion where various gloopy alternatives were offered, David made the helpful suggestion to have the mayo on the side. This kept all parties happy.
Back to today, lunch donethere was chance to search out one last windmill before heading off to the Hook for a ferry. Unlike previous visits, no torrential rain or floods, just a gentle ride to the ferry. Just the one interruption, with a wait for a hand cranked bridge across the bike lane.
So another trip comes to an end. Already thinking about the next one, hopefully not too long in the future. After not doing much on the bike this year, I’m glad this was a gentle one, at just over 500km.
