A bicycle bell tinkled, and I looked up and saw a Dutchman in a knit cap coming toward me. As he pedaled by, a fuzzy white head popped up from his bike basket. It was a terrier, chin up, ears perked forward, head tilted curiously to one side.
Easy-riding Rover. The dog was probably enjoying the moment as much as I was.
Its master and I were bicycling through the countryside about 25 miles southwest of Amsterdam, watching Holland’s famous flower fields roll past. The terrain was flat, the air crisp, the scenery a splash of dazzling yellow and green. Acres of daffodils stretched in every direction. Bicycle nirvana.
With 13 million bicycles, the Netherlands – or Holland, its regional name – has twice as many bikes as cars and nearly as many bicycles as people. An 11,000-mile system of bike paths, many of which are separate from highways, crisscrosses a nation so small and flat that it’s easy to use bicycles to transport people, groceries, even terriers.
It’s no wonder the Dutch, along with the Danes, are the undisputed champs of bicycle use. It seems as though everyone rides, including Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
The country’s level terrain and pastoral scenery make it an appealing destination for cycling tourists too, even lightweight riders like me. (My favorite bike trip is two to five hours, with a nice lunch stop somewhere in the middle.) I’m never going to compete in the Tour de France – or even take an organized bike tour – but I get a psychic high from mastering space without the assistance of a gas-powered motor. The rhythms are mesmerizing: the spinning of the wheels, the circular motion of my legs, the measured cadence of my breath.
Home base: Amsterdam
My plan was to make Amsterdam my base, spending a couple of days exploring the city on foot and a couple of days exploring the countryside by bike. The cycling trips would be short ones. Because I bike about an hour daily at home, I didn’t have to worry about training.
The trip was in mid-April, timed to coincide with tulip season, but the weather didn’t cooperate. Chilly temperatures delayed the seasonal debut of Holland’s famous flowers. I didn’t mind. I could see idyllic scenery at my own speed, feeling the wind against my cheeks, smelling the piquant, freshly turned soil.
There was another piquant smell too. I sped up a bit to ride next to my guide, Yvonne Zumpolle, as we biked through cow-
studded farmland near the village of Lisse.
“What is that wonderful odor?” I called out.
Yvonne laughed.
“We spray the air with it every day because tourists like it,” she said.
“No, really, what is it?” I pressed.
“Cows,” she said. “I think we have as many cows as people here.” I laughed.
There were a lot of cows. Handsome black-and-white ones.
Just like a tourist poster.
As we rode, I saw other scenes from tourist posters: a windmill standing tall in a flower-filled field, the morning mist rising over a silent canal, picture-perfect farmhouses surrounded by acres of bright green pastureland. All seemed better from bike level.
My day had started in central Amsterdam, at the Ibis Amsterdam Centre, a tourist-class hotel with surprisingly nice rooms and surprisingly bad breakfasts. For $160 per night (including the bad breakfast) I wasn’t going to complain, because most hotels in this category are $50 to $100 more per night.
The hotel was a short block from the train station and the city’s tram lines, an easy way to get around this radiant, mazelike city.
I hopped on a tram at 6:15 a.m., bound for the nearby town of Aalsmeer, where tens of millions of flowers and plants change hands each morning at auctions.
With other tourists, I strolled along elevated walkways at Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer, a huge international growers’ co-op, looking down on tons of field and hothouse flowers – roses, hyacinths, lilies, anthuriums and tulips that were being packed up and hustled off to flower shops around the world. It’s a fusion of pinks, purples, oranges, yellows and greens.
Zumpolle, a longtime Holland guide, was waiting with a car when I emerged. I had hired her for two days to help me get the hang of cycling, Netherlander style. We took off for Keukenhof garden, which advertises itself as the “world’s most beautiful springtime park.” Striking flower-filled landscapes are found around each twist in the walkways. Open eight weeks a year (March 22 to May 20 in 2007), the park is a showcase for Holland’s range of bulbs, 7 million of which are planted here each year.
Outside the garden, we found bicycle entrepreneur Kees van Dam, who had stopped his Rent-a-Bike van in the Keukenhof parking lot, seeking customers. He handed me some printed bicycle route maps to choose from: The circular trips were 6 to 16 miles long; rental prices starting at $8 for the 6-mile trip.
His stock included tandems, kids’ bikes and sport bikes, but most were simple one-speeds.
Rental bikes galore
When I planned this trip, I had wondered how easy it would be to get rental bikes. Zumpolle assured me that wouldn’t be a problem: Rentals are available at train stations, hotels, bike shops and from entrepreneurs such as Van Dam.
Rates are usually less than $12 a day.
We now cycled to and through the fields of yellow daffodils and purple hyacinths we had seen on our way in.
After our ride, we returned the bikes and headed west in Zumpolle’s car (OK, so I cheated a little) to the beach town of Noordwijk Aan Zee, where a wide coastal bike path runs through dunes along the North Sea.
The temperature was in the 30s, with brisk winds and wispy white clouds in a blue sky. On this ride, sand, sea grasses and gulls took the place of farmland, flowers and robins. Occasionally, I would catch sight of the gray, choppy North Sea.
Most of the cyclists I saw were dressed casually, but occasionally a phalanx of sport riders, wearing matching spandex, would power by me, heads down, legs moving in rhythm.
“Many people have several bikes,” Zumpolle said. “They have nice sport bikes for weekends and old, stripped-down bikes they ride to work,” she said, explaining that bicycle theft is common in cities.
“But really, we are not a country for 18-speeds. Everything is flat.” I asked how many bikes she owned.
“Four; two are racing bikes with multiple speeds,” she said, laughing.
“You know what they say: ‘A Dutchman without a bike is like a fish without the sea.”‘
Back in Amsterdam, I drew up an itinerary for seeing the city on foot. With its trams, taxis and cars, the city seemed to have too many hazards for a biker, especially a cowardly one.
Seeing the sights
Topping my sightseeing list: the poignant Anne Frank House, where the teenager hid during World War II and wrote her famous diary; the city’s lovely canals; and massive Dam Square, site of the Royal Palace.
Amsterdam’s museums ranked high too, including the comprehensive Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and the Rembrandt House Museum, all of which are taking part in the year-long Rembrandt 400 celebration.
At the Rembrandt House, I prowled through the artist’s studio, salon and other rooms and found it particularly interesting that he bought the expensive home in 1639, about the same time he received a large commission to paint “Night Watch,” probably his greatest work.
The massive painting, depicting a group of militiamen preparing to march, takes up a full wall at the Rijksmuseum.
Amsterdam was once the European capital of culture and commerce.
During its Golden Age, in the 17th century, it was among the richest cities in Europe; wealthy merchants built magnificent mansions along the maze of canals that intersect it, slicing it into 90 small islands.
Tourists visit it today for its cultural treasures, its excellent cafes and its charming canals – and sometimes to taste the forbidden fruits of its red-light district or the coffee shops authorized to sell cannabis.
Bikes are everywhere in the city; thousands are stowed near the Central Train Station, and every post and pole in the city seems to have at least one bike chained to it.
“Amsterdam was made for horses and boats, originally,” said Els Wamsteeker of the city’s tourism bureau. “And now it is for bicycles.
“We don’t like cars.”
INSIDER’S GUIDE
GET THERE
From Denver International Airport, KLM, United, Delta, Continental, Northwest, US Airways, Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France offer connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $1,022.
TELEPHONES
To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 31 (country code for the Netherlands) and the local number.
STAY
Ibis Amsterdam Centre, 48 Stationsplein, 1012 AB, Amsterdam; 20-638-99-99, ibishotel.com. This centrally located high-rise has small but efficient rooms, most with harbor or city views. Good value, but the hot breakfast entrees are cold. Doubles from $160 per night, including breakfast.
L’Auberge Damhotel Edam, 1 Keizersgracht, 1135 AZ Edam; 299-37-40-31, damhotel.nl. Charming historic building in Edam was renovated and opened as a hotel in March. Restaurant and cafe. Doubles from $140, including breakfast.
Hotels van Oranje, 20 Koningin Wilhelmina Blvd., 312202 GV Noordwijk aan Zee; 71-367-68-69, hotelsvanoranje.nl. Luxury convention-style hotel in popular North Sea beach town. Close to dunes bike path. Doubles from $230, including breakfast.
DINE
Humphreys Restaurant, 23 Nieuwezijdskolk, 1012 SB Amsterdam; 20-422-12-34, Humphreys.nl. Popular Netherlands chain. Three-course nightly specials, including salad or appetizer, entree and dessert, $24.
Moti Mahal Indian Restaurant, 34 N.Z. Voorburgwal, 1012 SB Amsterdam; 20-625-03-30. Colorful, centrally located restaurant has a large menu featuring Indian favorites. Entrees from $17.
Sea Palace, 8 Oosterdokskade, 1011 AE Amsterdam, 20-626-47-77, seapalace.nl. Pagoda-style, floating Chinese restaurant. Great city view from the water. Entrees from $21; set menu from $35.
OTHER DETAILS
Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer, 313 Legmeerdijk, 1430 BA Aalsmeer; 297-39-39-39, www.aalsmeer.com. The world’s largest flower auction center. 7-11 a.m. Mondays-Fridays. Adults $5.75, children 6-11, $3.20.
Rembrandt 400. For a listing of special events in Amsterdam and Leiden, Rembrandt’s birthplace, this year, see www.rembrandt400.com.
Yvonne Zumpolle, tour guide-manager, 17 Herman Colleniusstraat, 9718 KR Groningen, Netherlands, 50-31-13-177, e-mail zumpolle@home.nl.
TO LEARN MORE
Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions, 888-464-6552, holland.com.
