Noordwijk

We're just about to head back south to Rotterdam to get our ferry to the UK. Before leaving we decided to take one last drive around the bulb fields.

 

Last time we were here we saw daffodils and a few hyacinths, this time round it's tulips as far as the eye can see.

There are still some hyacinths left in flower.

Kiki checks out the tulips before hitting the road again.

Bloemencorso Bollenstreek

Our last day in the Netherlands and we got up really early (5am!) and drove to a free parking place we'd previously recced on the outskirts of Noordwijk. We're come here to see the Bloemencorso Bollenstreek (bulb flower parade) which travels from here to Haarlem some 20km north.

 

Mijdrecht

Once again, because there are only four places, we decided to arrive at tonight's MH parking place early.... once again we needn't have worried. When we arrived at Mijdrecht there was only one MH there! We wandered around the town in the morning and then, after lunch, we unloaded our bikes and went for a ride around the area.

 

This afternoons cycle ride was around the very wet area to the east of Vinkeveen. On a map it looks like the whole area is under water. In fact there are lots of roads, surrounded on both sides by water.  

Most of the houses were surrounded on all four sides by water - the biggest, and probably most expensive properties, backed onto the lake and had boats on their own moorings. 

More waterways than roads around here!

Baarn

We left Huizen quite early and headed straight to the MH parking at Baarn. We were keen to arrive early as we knew there were only three spaces. When we arrived, we discovered the parking was owned by, and outside, a campsite. Unfortunately, what we didn't know, is that its only available from 17:00 to 10:00! We were offered a place on the campsite for twice the price or we could wait outside, literally meters from the parking place, until 16:30. We chose to wait and after lunch we took one of the signposted walks through the adjacent woodlands.

 

A little woodland walking.

Huizen

After lunch we headed to the free MH parking place at Huizen. It is quite popular here with some big rigs parked up, but we managed to squeeze in and others arrived after us. We set out for a walk looking for the harbour but, despite the fact that is was only about 200m away, we managed to walk in the opposite direction!

 

An hour or so later, after a pleasant walk through woodland and circling back along the edge of the town we came across the harbour.

Looking rather too squeaky clean - a bit like an American film set - the brightly coloured houses of Huizen.

Zeewolde

We left the parking at Lelystad this morning and headed back to the mainland. we stopped en-route in Zeewolde which is the youngest town in the Netherlands.

 

Nothing here apart from a pretty cow. 

Lelystad Beach

A stroll on the beach this evening as the wind drops and the sun goes down.

Cycling, Wooden Boats and a Bird Hide

This morning we left the marina at Zwolle and headed back for another night at the MH parking near Lelystad.  We were amused to find that in what was supposed to be parking for four MH's there were at least a dozen! After coffee we unloaded our bikes and set out along the top of the dyke.

 

The boatyard at Lelystad builds full-size replicas of wooden boats.

 

Is statue?

Part way along the dyke we spotted a track leading off into the marshland.

We came upon a bird hide....

...which had more birds on the inside than there were to be seen outside!

Lunch and a very big bag of cheese wotsits :-)

Jachthaven de Hanze

This is the view we have from Kiki. This afternoon we took advantage of being in the lee of a large boatshed and topped up our tans! 

Zwolle

We left the parking area at Lelystad and headed to Kampen to fill and empty our tanks. Unfortunately, we arrived to discover that the parking had been taken over by a circus, which meant we couldn't use the facilities. We consulted our trusty MH parking app and discovered that there was an aire at a nearby marina on the outskirts of Zwolle. After performing our service and parking next to the boats in the marina we walked the 3km into the city.

 

The cathedral in the Grotte square with a glass angel sculpture.

 

A small section of the original city walls has been restored.

A very ornate sign outside the chemist shop.

Through gaps in the skyline in the distance we spotted what looked like a space ship.... getting closer we discovered that it is actually the roof of a museum. Looking somewhat our of place in between the old buildings but the café opposite had free loo's - something of a rarity in NL! 

Lunch today is a local delicacy - frites with mayonnaise. We certainly know how to live it up! 

 

 

Dutch barges in the old canal.

 

We spotted this rather funky bridge on our way back to Kiki.



Lelystad

We're now parked up for the night in a MH parking area on the outskirts of Lelystad. We arrived here around 15:00hrs and using Kiki as a windbreak we spent a pleasant few hours sunbathing and reading our books. 

 

After dinner we've come for a walk to the marina

A lovely evening for sailing in a catamaran.

Sign of the Day

Old crocks only!

Urk

We spent last night in a free MH parking place at a sports centre in Hogeneen. After a lazy start this morning - well it is Sunday - we set out for Urk on Flevoland. 

 

Flevoland is the newest area of reclaimed land in the Netherlands, having only been reclaimed from the Zuiderzee in the 1930's. En-route we had to stop whilst a boat crossed (under) the road!

 

The pretty harbour of Urk.

Boat maintenance and some nice reflections.

The old lighthouse.

The water looks nice but I bet its freezing! Although this is a nice place to wander around and MH parking is free during the day, it's an exorbitant €13 overnight - needless to say we didn't stop here.

Het Boomkroonpad

Next stop today is Het Boomkroonpad which was described as a journey from root to the treetops. Unfortunately, we were expecting to see the real roots, so we were a little disappointed when the underground part turned out to be made of plastic!

 

Emma meets Brock - fortunately he's made of plastic otherwise I fear he might not have been so welcoming!

After climbing up a spiral staircase from the underground area, things were looking up - real trees.

On the top of the world - well 22.5m above ground - and we're at treetop level.

After descending from the treetops we followed a pretty walking trail around the area.

Borger

Moving on from Assen, we headed to Borger where the megalith tourist information centre is located next to the largest megalith in the area.

 

Next to the information centre is a museum with some old reconstructed buildings - the one on the left looks like a Danish long-house. Very expensive at €9 each, we decided to give it a miss and just look over the fence.

This megalith is 22.5m long which means its difficult to get it all into a photograph! 

Assen

We woke early this morning, despite our massive cycle ride yesterday, and decided to check out the town before moving on.

 

It's market day and the brightly coloured stalls were looking fabulous in the morning sunlight.

Poor Emma, all that lovely looking bread, but sadly all with gluten.