2014 - Zurich to Amsterdam by Bicycle

Forecast: 8-23 deg C, sunny Due to the late arrival in Brisbane we had to contend with 3 other flight arrivals all trying to get through Immigration and Customs.   It was an absolute shocker and we missed our 8:20am connecting flight to Hervey Bay.   There was an 11:45am flight, however, there were no seats so we had no other option than to take the 4pm flight.   What's another 10 hours in an airport when you've been on the go for 36 hours already? The joys of international travel hey?   By the time we get home tonight (6pm Wed 30 Jul) we would have been traveling for 49 hours.   The Europe timings have blown out since Qantas climbed into bed with Emirates who have a 10 hour stopover in Dubai. We will seriously consider our flight options for next time.     To rub salt into that, the baggage handlers somewhere absolutely destroyed Greg’s bike box.   We do not know how they managed that as we had them taped up really secure, however, we suspect ...

Forecast: Hot and sunny, 31-39 deg C; Temp on departure: 38 deg C! Distance to destination: 12 297km; Travel time: 13h10m; Departure time: 11:15am; Arrival time: 6:38am After finding the Emirates lounge we found what we thought would be a nice quiet spot and settled in. No sooner had we shut our eyes for a little sleep than a couple of Chinese turned up and sat right behind us and proceeded to speak at the top of their voices despite no one else doing so.  I guess they are used to talking loud or they would never be heard.  So we packed up and found another quieter area.  Because Wendy was now awake she had a shower and was instantly refreshed.  Greg continued to nap.  About another hour later an African couple came and sat right next to us and also spoke to each other as though they were on opposite sides of the room.  And then they proceeded to have a domestic right there in the lounge - aaaagggghh! So we moved again!!  This time the only disturban...

Forecast: rain! Hmmm... We were planning to ride to the airport to make the trip complete.   However, the weather had other plans.   It was particularly nasty weather and continued through breakfast and after.   So, after breakfast we walked briskly across the square to the train station to buy our tickets.   We also had to buy tickets for the bikes and they were more expensive than tickets for humans?!! When we got back to our room we received a message from Wendy’s mum saying that Joe (our neighbour) was unable to pick us up from the airport.   Well, that put us in a spin for a bit and then we realised there were a number of people that could possibly help.   We gave mum the Wheeler's numbers and eventually got a message back to say they could pick us up and were happy to do it.   Greg had also emailed Grahame so we got the "yes" from two sources. Upon arriving at the airport (Schipol), we found a nice quiet spot still in the station to clean ...

Forecast: 16-22 deg C, showers and a few thunderstorms; Listed distance: 0km; Actual distance: 23km; Cumulative distance: 1892km; Av speed: 15 km/h; Max speed: 26.2 km/h This is our last full day in the Netherlands before we start our long journey back home tomorrow afternoon. A ride to the beach about 10km away was first up. Our first stop was Bloemmendaal aan Zee, via a leafy path adjacent a national park, then made our way along the esplanade (which looks man-made to keep the sea from taking over the country) to Zandvoort.   Both were fairly quiet as it was still a bit early for most of the locals who tend to stay up late and then sleep in, especially on Sundays.   The beach in this area had nice sand (not quite Bondi but ok) with the usual array of bars, restaurants and deck chairs.   The North Sea water was a grey/brown colour and not all that inviting. On a different path back to Haarlem we passed some beautiful mansions; seems like a popular place to have a 'shack...

Forecast: 17-23 deg C, cloudy with showers in the afternoon; Listed distance: 0km; Actual distance: 58km; Cumulative distance: 1869km; Av speed: 15.3 km/h; Start time: 8:45am; Stop time: 2:30pm; Ride time: 3h43m As it was such a lovely day, we decided to ride out to the airport to make sure we know which way to go on Monday and don't get lost and then panic.   We were originally going to follow the numbers, but found an actual “Airport” sign instead and the route was much more direct and probably a better/smoother path.   At one stage we were directly under the flight path and stopped to watch a few planes come in.   We found the entrance easily and Greg then went to check on bike box availability.   As we were leaving we saw an Italian who was unpacking his bike to set off for Copenhagen and he was getting rid of his packing material so Greg disposed of it into his saddle-bag as it will be handy for us on Monday. On the way home Greg decided we should go via Ams...

Forecast: 17-21 deg C, cloudy with showers and thunderstorms; no riding Just because we did not need to get up early, we were both awake before 6am, so had a cuppa in bed and then went downstairs for breakfast.   It was another good spread, but for a 4* it could have been a little better, ie. it could have a bigger selection of cereals than only 2.   There was a good selection of meats and cheeses though. The bikes stayed in the bike park today as we explored on foot.   After brekky we caught the train to Alkmaar to watch the world famous Friday Cheese Market in the 'Weighing Square'.   It first started about 400 years ago and the tradition has continued to this day, albeit with some theatrics for us tourists.   Judging by the enormous crowd it is a very popular spectacle.  In short, a whole stack of cheese is carried onto the square on a shoulder slung platform by blokes dressed in traditional kit.   The buyers then negotiate a price with the selle...