Photos from Holland (tulips, windmills, Amsterdam)

woodstock

woodstock

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Right this second it is primarily tulips. If you come back to this link after the weekend I imagine I'll have the rest up from Holland.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skywalkerbeth/sets/72157626569216168/show/

Back story:

I've always, always always wanted to see the tulips in Holland. This was the year! I just got home Monday night (also spent 4 nights in Paris).
 
Those are beautiful, and a LOT of tulips!
 
F you and your frequent European travels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







;)
 
Beautiful!

Are you sure you were in Holland the whole time? Amsterdam is in Noord Holland but Noord Holland and Zuid Holland are only two of the twelve provinces of Nederland - aka "the Netherlands." ;) (Sorry, pet peeve of mine. ;))

I lived there for a year when I was a kid (went to first grade there), in Bennekom and Wageningen. In fact, we lived about a block away from this very windmill, Molen de Vlijt:

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(This is the picture on Wikipedia for the city of Wageningen.)

It's a beautiful country with very friendly people... Unfortunately, I haven't been back since 2002.
 
Nice pics Elizabeth. Here's a couple of mine from the other week, weather wasn't quite as nice...

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flyingcheesehead said:
Beautiful!

Are you sure you were in Holland the whole time? Amsterdam is in Noord Holland but Noord Holland and Zuid Holland are only two of the twelve provinces of Nederland - aka "the Netherlands." ;) (Sorry, pet peeve of mine. ;))

I lived there for a year when I was a kid (went to first grade there), in Bennekom and Wageningen. In fact, we lived about a block away from this very windmill, Molen de Vlijt:

It's a beautiful country with very friendly people... Unfortunately, I haven't been back since 2002.
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Amsterdam, Lisse, and Zaanse Schans. And Noordwijk (sp?)

I gave myself 5 nights, but clearly coulda shoulda stayed the whole week.
 
Looks like the weather was a lot nicer than when I was there last September. But my trip was for work, so the weather wasn't a consideration. Nice pictures. Excellent composition.
 
looks like the Skaget valley this time of year
 
Very nice pictures, Beth!

Tom-D said:
looks like the Skaget valley this time of year
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It sure does. The Skaget Valley is also beautiful this time of year. I've had the opportunity to visit friends in Seattle & make the drive north....
 
Nicest vacation I ever had. Bicycling in the Netherlands with no plan. Just decide each morning which direction to go that day. Nationwide network of bicycle roads. Special bicycle compartments on the trains. Bed and breakfasts every night. Just me and 2 other family members. Met a lot of nice people and saw a lot the country. Also caught the Floriada (1982?) on a different trip
 
Graueradler said:
Nicest vacation I ever had. Bicycling in the Netherlands with no plan. Just decide each morning which direction to go that day. Nationwide network of bicycle roads. Special bicycle compartments on the trains. Bed and breakfasts every night. Just me and 2 other family members. Met a lot of nice people and saw a lot the country.
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The Netherlands is GREAT for that. The terrain is mostly flat, making for a pretty easy ride, so you can go all day and not get too fatigued. If you want to go long distances, the European train system is great - no at-grade crossings, so they can go a lot faster than trains here. Plus, they do have a "bike car" or provisions for your bike to be on the same car you are.

Biking is extremely popular in NL. With generally-smaller cities and the forgiving terrain, it's a great option for commuting or shorter-distance travel. They also have bike-friendly roads, paths, etc. While the costs of driving there certainly discourage it, I think that if we had the same rail system and bike-friendly roads they do that I would use my car a LOT less, even if it wasn't any more expensive than it is here.
 
Graueradler said:
Nicest vacation I ever had. Bicycling in the Netherlands with no plan. Just decide each morning which direction to go that day. Nationwide network of bicycle roads. Special bicycle compartments on the trains. Bed and breakfasts every night. Just me and 2 other family members. Met a lot of nice people and saw a lot the country. Also caught the Floriada (1982?) on a different trip
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Actually, you can drive a car anywhere in Holland. There aren't "bicycle roads" unless you're talking about some bike lanes as in Amsterdam where you may have a curb to separate you from the cars. Other than those, it may look like you're not meant to drive down them, but I was often directed to.
 
Henning said:
Actually, you can drive a car anywhere in Holland. There aren't "bicycle roads" unless you're talking about some bike lanes as in Amsterdam where you may have a curb to separate you from the cars. Other than those, it may look like you're not meant to drive down them, but I was often directed to.
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No, I'm talking about paved routes throughout the country dedicated to bicycles - separate from automobile roads. There are also published maps dedicated to these bicycle routes. I'm talking about mid-80s - 30 years ago - so maybe things have changed but I doubt it.
 
Graueradler said:
No, I'm talking about paved routes throughout the country dedicated to bicycles - separate from automobile roads. There are also published maps dedicated to these bicycle routes. I'm talking about mid-80s - 30 years ago - so maybe things have changed but I doubt it.
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You can drive on them now LOL... You just drive slow, it's all good.
 
Henning said:
Actually, you can drive a car anywhere in Holland. There aren't "bicycle roads" unless you're talking about some bike lanes as in Amsterdam where you may have a curb to separate you from the cars. Other than those, it may look like you're not meant to drive down them, but I was often directed to.
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Graueradler said:
No, I'm talking about paved routes throughout the country dedicated to bicycles - separate from automobile roads. There are also published maps dedicated to these bicycle routes. I'm talking about mid-80s - 30 years ago - so maybe things have changed but I doubt it.
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Henning, I think he's talking about paved bike routes that are the width of a sidewalk - Too small to drive a car down. Similar to bike paths that you see in the US, only in the US you can't get much of anywhere on them. The "boulevard plus frontage lanes" thing you're describing is also different - I used to live on a road like that. Ritzmabosweg in Wageningen.

The other thing you see in NL a lot are roads that have a single lane for cars, with bike lanes on both sides. Oncoming car traffic has to wait for both bike lanes to clear, maneuver around each other, and then continue. You can see that happening in this picture:

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I also drove on roads along canals which were barely more than one car width... the bikes far outnumbered the cars.

I saw more bikes on this trip than I have seen anywhere, including the Tour de France!

I saw numerous bike paths... both alongside the roads (their own paths) and completely separate from the road - more than a sidewalk and in fact I'd think twice about walking along those paths. soooo many bikes!

Check this out, the only thing missing is the chalk outline of a pedestrian:

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ps. I would LOVE to go on a vacation that was bike-centred in Holland. I didn't get on a bike once on the trip, which was a shame. I gave myself 5 days and should have given it the entire week.

I will have to visit the Skagit Valley!
 
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