Amsterdam - Enkhuizen 82 Km. - Friday 11. 06. 04

The sun welcomes us at the station in Amsterdam. A strong wind blows from South-west which means tailwind.

I once worked in this city for 4 years, and now haven't any difficulty to find the way out of the urban area. Soon we are on the right way along the "ijselmeer" (lake). The 80 km. for today we are cycled mostly on quiet paths, sometimes dykes next to the "ijselmeer", through picturesque hamlets, villages and little towns like Volendam and Hoorn. The lake "ijselmeer", now fresh water, was salt water 70 years ago.
In 1932 the Dutch completed a 30 km. dyke through the North Sea and separated this stretch of water (Afsluitdijk). An enormous interference with nature. Now there is a motorway and of course a cycle path. How would you expect anything else in Holland?

Hoorn has many "Grachten" (navigable canals), which gives a cosy atmosphere, and a port. We watch how young people are surfing with a sail. A new kind of sport I have never seen before. In Enkhuizen I had a room reserved from home. The address I got from "Vrienden op de Fiets" a typically Dutch association. (Fiets is the Dutch word for bike, Vrienden means friends) For euro 6.50 yearly you receive a booklet with listings of up to 2500 addresses for private overnight accommodation, (bed and breakfast) distributed over Holland and Belgium. Price per person/per night is euro 15 with breakfast. The three nights in Holland, we slept excellent and had good breakfast.
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