Netherlands 16

By 2016, The Netherlands was turning into a yearly visit for us. For the first week of the trip we stayed in Vlissingen, our first time in Zeeland, having mainly stayed around North and South Holland before. While we were there, we took the bikes to Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland.

We spent the second week at Duinrell, our sixth visit, and finally made it to Katwijk aan Zee.

As well as the places we went, this series includes a selection of photos of Dutch bikes and a look at some of the myths about cycling in The Netherlands, based on our experiences.

Dutch bikes

I have to admit, I’ve got a bit of a fondness for Dutch bikes. I don’t know if it’s the sheer practicality of them, the robustness or the fact that they’re difficult to get in the UK. But I can’t help but like them, old or new, two wheels or more.

Around Vlissingen

In the first week of this year’s Netherlands trip, we decided to stay in Vlissingen, Zeeland. This was our first time in Zeeland, we’ve mainly stayed around North and South Holland in previous trips.

The route to Middelburg

While staying in Vlissingen, we decided to take a trip on the bikes to Middelburg, about 8km to the north east. Middelburg is the capital city of Zeeland and dates back to around the 8th century. As with a lot of the Dutch coastline, about a third of the city was destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt.

The route to Katwijk aan Zee

This year marks the sixth time we’ve visited Duinrell. We spent the second week of our holiday here, after spending the first week in Vlissingen. Given the number of times we’ve been, it’s surprising that we’ve never been to Katwijk before. We decided to remedy this with a ride there on quite a sunny day.

5 myths about cycling in The Netherlands

As you may have noticed, we’ve experienced cycling in The Netherlands a number of times, during what has pretty much become our yearly visit. In this post, I’ve highlighted some of the myths when it comes to cycling there, based on our experiences.