The country areas of the Netherlands was full of orange cyclists transporting groceries home in large paniers and children to school in even larger child carriers. Leiden however, was full of university students cycling nonchalantly down narrow streets choked with pedestrians, weaving between prams and dog walkers whilst texting their fellow students about the evenings activities. We enjoyed the vibrance of a university town without the tourists of capital cities.
A windmill museum in a windmill gave great views over the city and an insight into the history of these iconic Dutch buildings. Bernie enjoyed a search for food through the crowded market along the canal side. Back on board he sniffed some strange smelling smoke (presumably from a nearby boat) and spent the next hour counting passing bicycles.
The next day bridges opened for us as we left Leiden and headed across the lakes to the twice-a-day opening railway bridge. We were soon in a platoon of boats heading along the canal which made bridge openings easier as the lead boat made the radio calls and bridges were happy to open for a group of boats. At Haarlem we pulled up beside the canal in the city center and found a sunny cafe for a late afternoon beer.
In the morning we watched the bridge master opening a bridge for a passing boat and then overtaking the boat on his bike to open the next bridge as the boat arrived. Our home on the water had become the local water birds’ home too and there was an egg on the sugar scoop in the morning. Bernie was snoozing on the boat when a cat walked across the deck. He loves cats and immediately set off after it barking his head off. We could have stayed longer here, but Amsterdam was only a once-a-day railway bridge opening away.
The canal widened as we approached Amsterdam. The barge traffic and hotel boats were dwarfed by the cargo ships and cruise ships. Add some ferries, tour boats and pleasure craft and it began to feel like Sydney harbour on a summers weekend. Our marina was on the river opposite the town centre. Very convenient with free ferries running continuously, although it was a little tight for a boat of our size. The sound of our bow thruster brought everyone on deck to protect their boats and watch 14 meters of aluminium reverse park into a city sized parking space.
Its always more dangerous to cross the bike path in the Netherlands than the road. In Amsterdam there are so many bikes that it can be almost impossible to cross bike paths at peak hour. At traffic lights cyclists seem to take priority over everyone and everything, even red lights. Cars on the other hand are rare and progress slower than walking pace as they get blocked by the flow of cyclists.
We must be full yachties. We chose the maritime museum over the sex museum, although to be fair the reviews of the sex museum were somewhat limp. At the maritime museum we learned about all the clever boat designs that had allowed the Dutch to discover and pillage far flung parts of the globe.
Amsterdam was two cities in one. On the weekdays the canals carry tourists from the cruise liners past cute cafes and designer shops. On Friday night the police were on duty outside the central station. Well healed cruise boaters were replaced by slightly uncomfortable looking football teams, bucks nighters and weekend getaways. We found the last sunny table in Amsterdam, drank wine, and watched the city go past.
