The Stoker's Impressions

On a tandem bicycle, the person in the front is called the Captain. He or she steers, shifts the gears and uses the brakes. The person in the rear is called the Stoker, who pedals hard, looks for bike path signs, encourages and sometimes takes photos. In our case, Ken is in the front although it is not always the case that a man is the Captain.

As Stoker, I like to do my share of the work to be fair and for the exercise. I don't enjoy the comments that I occasionally get suggesting that I am getting a free ride. That does not interest me and most Stokers feel the same. Our pedals are completely synchronized so I cannot take my feet off them without injury if Ken is pedaling. I only had one comment during this trip, unlike many in the USA, and I was actually pleasant to the man! People don't understand and think they are being very clever and hilarious!

You have most likely read in the blog that we encountered a lot of wet weather and poor bike path conditions but now, with over a week since our last look at the end of the Rhine in the North Sea, I am finally writing some of my thoughts and observations.

As we rode during this long journey, we chatted and laughed about our experiences but sometimes we rode in companionable silence, thinking and working as the miles went by. Once in a while, we would lose our way or have to decide which was the better of the many options we had, and out would come the "device" with the GPS and mapping. Mostly it would be helpful, but sometimes I would hear "Oh, you turkey"..! Then we would repair to a cafe for tea and a treat and hope there was decent wifi there. A nice respite at times.

Most Europeans have map books or paper maps they keep in a water-proof folder or clip-board on their handlebars, but many times we saw groups of them looking at signposts and consulting maps just like we did!

I think we all tend to remember the good times the best. Even on the discouraging days, I absolutely loved breathing fresh air in the countryside (with the exception of the highly industrial areas in Germany, when we had to pass them).

With rain dripping down my neck, I still enjoyed the ever-present wild flowers bordering the paths and peeking into pretty gardens and window boxes as we sped by. Some were a bit bedraggled, but then so were we!

Several times I tied some flowers to my handlebars. Ken gave me a bouquet of roses in Strasbourg and, when they finally wilted, I threw them into the Rhine and imagined them floating fast with the current and arriving before us...

Another thing I always enjoyed was the cheerful bird song. It was often hard to see them but I always heard them whether in sunshine or "singing in the rain".  I knew their plumage was keeping them warm and dry. Every village has an ancient fountain in the square, usually bedecked with flowers, and we really enjoyed Sunday mornings with church bells pealing, still hearing those in the last village as we approached the next.

Seeing wildlife was a delight, when we did, and the most numerous along the way were the Storks. They are getting ready to go to their winter homes now, but we saw them in the fields and rooftops very often. There was one large sanctuary in Germany near the river, where they were not enclosed and were free to come and go. I liked that!

Their nests are massive making them easy to spot in the towns, and their black and while feathers made them stand out in the harvested wheat fields.

We also saw several deer, peeking at us through the nearby trees or grazing in the distance. I saw one lonely hen pheasant, several partridges and we heard an owl's hoot one day. Many rabbits stopped to look at the yellow bicycle passing by and the most charming was a hedgehog with its little feet whirring like a wind-up toy as it passed in front of us and disappeared into the grass.

We even came across some interesting canines...








There were two intrepid souls swimming down the Rhine while we were there! We didn't see them but our Swiss friends kept us posted on their progress.  I cannot imagine swimming in that dangerous water with the extra-fast downstream currents and whirlpools caused by so much rain!

We stayed in B&B's and hotels because we didn't have room on the tandem for camping gear, we didn't want to tow a trailer, and we enjoy our comfort anyway! We used a variety of booking services, Bett und Bike, Airbnb, Hotels.com and Google maps, calling ahead once we knew how far we felt like riding. This was a ride, not a race and we prefer to go on our own, not with a group. We only saw 2 or 3 other tandems, they are much more popular in the US it seems. Our way is probably as expensive as a group tour, but we have the freedom that we like to stop when, where and for how long.

People have asked some specific questions like "how long did it take?". We started our ride at Oberalppass on July 4th in the Swiss Alps where the Rhine river begins as a trickle, cautiously paying attention to all those switchbacks. Our final ride to the sea was on August 11th and our total distance was 901 miles. By my reckoning and notes that I took, we rode on 30 days out of that time. Sometimes we only rode a partial day due to weather or if we reached a city early in the day where we intended to spend a couple of nights and enjoy some sights. Basel and Strasbourg had-awe inspiring history and culture and one could spend weeks there to explore, but we were on a mission. During those days, we relaxed and also did some more thorough laundry, since we did light washing each night in our hotel-room bathrooms.

We spent 2 nights in Andermatt getting the bike and ourselves ready for the ride, and were privileged to stay 2 nights south of Zurich with family members of a dear Swiss friend. We also had 2 nights on a houseboat in Utrecht while visiting another friend, and finally four days with friends in the Netherlands at the end of our ride. We were treated royally in all their homes.

I even got to see those haunting eyes of the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" again at the Mauritshuis in The Hague in the Netherlands.














To us, the people along the way were as interesting as all the cathedrals, castles, art and music. I loved observing them... from the Stoker's position, poor Ken was often too busy! Most people were smiling and friendly, even when there was a language difficulty. There were two really bad encounters which I won't go into because, overall, people could not have been nicer. The Dutch were definitely the most friendly and laughing people, and the Germans were often dour and unsmiling.. But there are always exceptions.

A delicious meal prepared by Jan!

Since we aspire to a "plant based" way of eating, it was sometimes challenging for us to find the meals we wanted to eat. Europeans love their dairy and meats! We fell into a routine of breakfasts at the B&B, which were usually lavish buffets where we could choose what we liked. We thoroughly enjoyed our picnic lunches, bought before starting off each day, when we'd stop at an appealing bench in the countryside and sometimes on a dike with a river view!

Dinners were often at Asian restaurants since they were likely to use more vegetables than some that put veggies on the plate as a garnish! Most restaurants were very willing and happy to adapt their menus to our needs, however. The markets were always filled with mountains of fabulous fresh fruit and vegetables and we enjoyed amazing vegan restaurants in two cities, Basel and Zurich (both Swiss). Their huge variety of delicious foods would even have pleased an omnivore.

So it was a great experience, thank you Ken for nudging me to try this adventure and encouraging me along the way when the conditions were not ideal! He always said that there were trains and river boats to transport us and the bike if we felt like it, but I wanted us to accomplish our goal and we did!  It was well worth the effort and we will keep our memories fresh.

We are reading the blog of two young people we know of  who are cycling from northern N. America to southern S. America. Alex and Maggie wrote "Touring together is like riding a tandem bicycle; no matter where a relationship is going, it will get you there faster". We didn't ride very fast, and we still love each other!

Thank you, family and friends, for all your support!

We reached the end!

One of the things we have most enjoyed during this long ride has been watching the traffic on the river and canals. Here is a small sailboat with mast "unstepped" coming through a lock on a canal.
Now we are on the Oude Rijn, where we no longer see the huge barges moving on the main branch of the river, straining upstream against the current or racing downstream with the flow.

Sometimes the locks are automated but this one actually had a lock-keeper.   He spoke good English and chatted with us about our trip. The surrounding gardens are usually bright and well kept.

We are fortunate to be staying with our good friends, Wendy and Jan, who live in Woubrugge near the Rhine. They are spoiling us rotten after the rigors of our previous few weeks! 

We set out on the final leg of our ride room their house, heading into very strong winds but determined to reach our goal. 

Very soon we came to a windmill next to the path. We so often see them in the distance, it was a delight to see this one so close to us.  

Here is the river from a bicycle bridge on our way to Katwijk where this part of the river ends at the North Sea. We are almost there.

We saw the river get smaller and become more like a canal.

Here is more river activity, four boats were passing! It looked like an accident waiting to happen but was completely uneventful.

We were enjoying our almost daily coffee break with appelgebak, so we had time to watch the boats waiting for the bascule bridge to lift. This causes cars and cyclists in both directions to stop and wait, but no one gets impatient here.

Away they go...

The Oude Rijn ends in a dam as it's below sea level at this point, and water is pumped out into the sea. In Roman times, this was the main branch of the Rhine. We had elected to ride along the Oude Rijn because it allowed us to visit our friends and to bypass the industrial areas of Rotterdam, the current main branch of the Rhine River. 

With great excitement, we took our first look at the sea from the top of the dam.

We made it! We've ridden 901 miles, from Andermatt in Switzerland to Katwijk aan Zee in the Netherlands.

We had brought our picnic lunch along to relax and consider our achievement.

 We sat there for a long time, enjoying the view and the sunny windy day.

Sal walked down to the beach and almost got blown away while she collected a few treasured shells and pebbles from the sand.

 And here it is!  We have enjoyed the journey so much.
                               
                             The End
                                                       Fin
                                                                  Good bye

Easy riding!

Our first stop in the Netherlands was in Arnhem where we rested while the raindrops fell again...  (is anyone wondering if we were bringing the weather along with us?)   This curious creature was lying in a playground outside our hotel, a wonderful space for children to climb on and to appeal to their imagination.

We felt at home again with the smooth bike paths, red bicycle lanes on busy roads, bicycle traffic lights, patient drivers and smiling friendly people. We were startled, however, to see our path end up in the water...

until we saw the ferry on the other side!

On our way to Amerongen, we had a great ride through an extensive forest along the north side of the Nederrijn.

We had visited the 17th century Castle of Amerongen last year, but were happy to take another look. Once we crossed over the moat, the formal gardens drew our interest. We had not previously known that the 25 acres have been restored to show four centuries of history.

The skill of the gardeners and the amount of meticulous upkeep required is extraordinary.

The Castle and grounds are now in use for business and social events after ten years of renovation.

A game of "hide-and-seek", anyone?

In an out-of-the-way part of the garden, we found a little thatched cottage. It is a playhouse for children and contains well-used antique toys and a table set for a tiny tea party.  Sal decided it will be considered as a future residence!

We stayed at a B&B with a terrace which was very popular with cyclists and locals as well.  The owner's pet chickens enjoyed crumbs from the bread baskets and there were water bowls for the visiting dogs, a common sight in Europe.

Our room had some very whimsical and unique decor, and a chandelier with angel wings. 

We continued on the next day to Utrecht and, of course, had to stop for our treat of coffee and fabulous apple pie.

We arrived in Utrecht to visit our good friend Jan for a few days. He had arranged for us to stay on his friend's houseboat which was a delight for us.  It was great to eat Jan's really "lekker"  home-cooked food.

It was a treat for us to explore by boat and, after lunch at a restaurant on the canal, we took a walk to see one of Jan's favorite places called Slot Zuylen. It is now a museum but was once owned by a famous early feminist writer, Belle van Zuylen.

The gardens here are lovely also, not as formal as Amerongen, with tempting orchards filled with ripe plums, peaches, figs, apples and pears.  We resisted! It was a perfect and relaxing day, thank you Jan!










As we left to return to the real world, we remarked on the perfectly Dutch scene in front of us. In the distance through the archway, there is a windmill,  a stork's nest and some cows.

Heading to the border

We made good time and distance after leaving Cologne due to some good weather, or at least rain only at night.  Reaching Dusseldorf, we ended up taking city streets through the center of the city, a nightmarish and stressful ride.  Thankfully it was Sunday afternoon. The traffic was murderous, as usual, but less of it. Consequently, we ended up without a single photo of the city!

This idyllic countryside scene is of a small fortress town called Zons. The course of the Rhine altered during the 18th century due to heavy flooding and prosperity declined. The city of Duisberg came next, very industrial and not appealing to us,  but this time Ken navigated us around it on good paths, saving our sanity!

In the meantime, Sal had wanted to visit the little town of Kaiserswerth. The Suibertus Abbey there has led to a connection with medical care. Florence Nightingale did part of her training at the Deaconess Clinic and there is now a nursing school and a new hospital in her name a short distance from the sleepy old village.

There is a mixture of pleasing architecture around a square near the river and the bike path. 

             

Ken sat on a bench near this great anchor to watch the ships ply up and down the river, while Sal gathered information on the town's association with Florence Nightingale from two friendly local women.

We carried on along the riverside path which got more and more narrow until, oh my goodness! It ended but it most considerately offered some steps to go up to the real path...









Hmmmm -  where there's a will there's a way.

A new bridge across the Rhine at Wesel. 

Next on our wish list of places to see "if we have time and energy and don't get lost in the process"  was the former Roman town of Xanten and the treasure-filled cathedral of St.  Viktor (who was martyred here in AD 363)!

We were surprised to  see this very modern and beautiful organ in the ancient cathedral. Many priceless works of rare art were on display inside.

There were six Triptych styled pieces, each having its own subject matter. All are of the same dimensions, six or seven feet in height and ten or more feet across when opened. They are designed to fold up so in times of strife they may be moved and hidden from Middle Ages marauders.  All contained paintings and intricate carvings.
The highest price ever paid for a work of art, over $100 million, was for a triptych.

Also surprising to us was the extent of the intricate stained glass windows that were there, in a cathedral in such a small town.

The archway leading to the cathedral.

Another thing that struck us was how quiet and uncrowded the cathedral was inside and also in the peaceful garden with cloisters surrounding it.

We had it all to ourselves, it seemed..

except for the gargoyles.

These unusual handles on the doors at the back of the cathedral made us curious.   

As we left Xanten, we realized we were obviously getting closer to the border with the Netherlands.

Did we lose Ken and the tandem?

The corn is as high as an elephant's eye, maybe higher!

After other people had previously taken "wonky" pictures of us, we've decided we quite like them...

Some pastoral scenes beside the bike path...

Wildflowers bordered the bike paths and

of all crazy things, there is a theme park built inside a $4 billion-dollar nuclear power plant that was never comissioned due to concerns after the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. We could hear screams of delight and horror from top of the cooling tower where there is a large swing ride.

Our last B&B in Germany was the best, with a room and balcony for guests that had a wonderful view over the dike and the river, looking at the Netherlands on the other side.
Hundreds of Canada geese gave us a fly-over in their V formations in the morning on their way towards the south-east.


The ferry at the German-Dutch border awaits us at Millingen an der Rijn.

And here we are at last, so happy to return to the Netherlands!