Time to say goodbye

Our last week in Holland, let’s make it a good one. 

A nice place to stay is a good start, and that we found in Maasland, which is about halfway between Delft and Rotterdam. The campground was small and cozy, they have their own herd of cows, sell the milk and make ice cream out of it. There are also around 20 cats running about. Do I need to say more? 

After a quiet night, my human took Carmelo to Delft on the bike. It took them about 30 min to get to the city, with headwind, of course. There is always headwind in this country, no matter which direction you go. Turn around and go the way you came from - headwind! 

First order of the day was to buy a new bicycle computer, thanks to the jerk that stole it in Den Hague. Cheers again, mate! A lively market was going on in town center and as always, my human could not resist buying some fruit, vegetables and, of course, cheese.

As we came to expect over the last few weeks, there were all the staples of Dutch cities: old houses, leaning church towers, windmills, waterways, police officers on bicycles. Nothing overly exciting, but plain nice. 

The last remaining city gate, built around 1400, now a private residence

After doing some “household chores”, like emptying the toilet, filling up water, sweeping and wiping the three square meters of floor space, we had a quiet evening on the campground, watching the cows come in for the night and listening to the insects giving their nightly concert. 

In the morning, we drove on to Schiethorn, which someone in Rotterdam later described as “the end of the world”; it’s about 15 km from the city! The town’s claim to fame is the tallest windmill in the world, “De Noord”. It stands 33.3 meters tall, and the wingspan is 26.6 meters, pretty impressive. And we parked right beside it. There are a number of mills still in this town, and honestly, one looks about as tall as the next. So we just have to take their word for it. 

"De Noord"

Schiethorn is also known as the Jenever capital of the Netherlands, if not the world. In the old days, there were some 400 distilleries in this area, now there is only a small handfull left. Reason enough to have a G&T or two, but later. 

First: Rotterdam! And can someone please tell me how we didn’t know it’s such a cool city? How comes none of our Dutch friends even mentioned it? Guys?  

Rotterdam has the largest port in Europe and the largest outside of Asia. They move some 8.6 million containers every year, which translates to about 300 million tons of goods! One part, the Waalhaven, was dug out by hand in 1907, it measures 3 hectars! In the early days of ocean voyaging, the SS Rotterdam cruised from here to New York, taking 8 days! Which was outrageously fast in those days. All this, Carmelo and my human learned on a harbour cruise on a historic wooden barge. They wouldn’t let me on board, said I was too heavy. Don’t they know I have feelings, too? 

The largest dry dock I´ve ever seen

The SS Amsterdam; this ship used to run between Rotterdam and New York

Afterwards they went for a long walk through the cities older areas, including Maaskade and Wilhelminaplein, where you can find the historic Hotel New York. North and South Rotterdam are connected by various bridges. One of those is the Erasmus Bridge, aptly nicknamed “The Swan” by the locals, an impressive piece of engineering. And then there are the market hall and the cube houses. 

City skyline with "The Swan"

Let’s start where the food is. Even from the outside, it’s an impressive building. And then you enter and are blown away by the mural painted all over the wall and sides. Which is kinda the same thing, as you are standing in a kind of huge tunnel. On the ground floor you find all sorts of food stalls and little shops, and the upper floors are actually apartements. 

The food hall

And right across the street you can find the cube houses. It’s hard to describe, what this is. Elevated, stylish living? You can look inside one of them, and you have to be quite creative to make these spaces work for you. I know some people living under the roof and complaining about the lost space. Try living in one of those things! 

In general I have to say, that Rotterdam has its share of unique and imaginative architecture. Everywhere you look, there are cool, modern buildings between a host of centuries old edifices. It’s very entertaining just strolling through the streets. 

                                                            The small building is the "Hotel New York"

The old habor

The circles are meant to keep you at a safe distance

Back in Schiethorn we had a nice “Brotzeit” right next to the mill and the little canal where we were standing and then headed out to find the best Gin & Tonic in town. The place we were recommended was - closed. Well, thanks. So we tried the bar just across the canal. No telling which one would take the price for the best drink in town, but we had nothing to complain about. 

We felt it was time for some sand between our toes (tires), so we headed for the beach and one of the Netherlands favorite holiday regions, Zeeland. Along the Harvingvlietdam we found a huge, long grassy area with a nice beach at the end of it. Overnight stays are technically not allowed, but apparently tolerated. We would find out. 

When we arrived in the late morning, there were only a few cars and a couple of camper vans. Two hours later, the place was packed. But most people stayed by their cars, so there was still plenty of room on the beach. And even more in the water, since most people seemed to find it a bit cold. Refreshing, is what my human calls it. 

By nightfall they were all gone again. On the far end, there were two or three other vans, but that was it. Nevertheless, we spent a quiet, undisturbed night. After a good Yoga session on the beach in the morning, we realized it was Sunday. And Sunday seems to have become our laundry day. 

And the way you do your laundry here is by finding a petrol station with a couple of washing machines and a dryer. When in Rome… 

For more beach-ing we drove on to what turned out to be Caravan City, between Middleburg and Vlissingen. This is where the Dutch flock in summer to enjoy their beach holiday with another 20.000 like-minded people. And since it’s school holidays, the place was packed. We were lucky to get a spot, if just for one night. But after having a look around, one night would do just fine. Too busy for our liking. And so far the most expensive campground we’ve been to, just under 30 Euros. Sure, the beach is nice, plenty of sand and such. And it has its share of obligatory beach bars, wannabe Baywatch stars and screaming children. But then there is the issue of all these people. I can only imagine what it would look like without Corona. 

Quiet sundowner in Caravan City

So, after a run the next morning, we moved out of there. My human parked me in a very nice spot on top of a dam, where I could watch huge freighters go by, and her and Carmelo took off on the bike once again to check out the towns of Middleburg and Vlissingen. Middleburg is the capital of the proud province of Zeeland and Vlissingen boasts the longest beach promenade in the Netherlands, some 2,6 km. 

If only I had a green thumb, this would be my kind of a house boat

Check out the street sign

Late in the afternoon, we kept driving towards the boarder to Belgium. To get there we had to go through a 6.6 km long tunnel under the sea. Better not to think about it too much! The small town of Sas van Gent literaly ends where Belgium begins. Here we parked on a big grassy area, on which the town allows 25 camper vans to stay for up to 72 hours for free. I was probably van number 24. We had plenty of space, though. 

Today another bike ride was scheduled, after checking out the village in the morning. That took about 20 minutes. 

They clocked some 60 kilometers, all along canals and the ocean. And not one spot where you could jump in for a swim. By the time they were on their way home they were caked in tiny black insect thingies, which would get in your eyes and hair and nose and make you itchy all over. About 200 meters from me, my human saw a signpost for a Zwembad, a pool! Following the signs, she found an outdoor pool - and it was open! The difference water can make to ones wellbeing you only appreciate, when you are not guaranteed your customary daily shower. We had asked Google the night before for a pool. Google said 16 km. Google was wrong. Don’t always trust Google! 

Anyways, freshly showered (one of us, at least; I could do with a wash myself) we enjoyed dinner and a beer as the sun was going down on day 37 of our trip. Tomorrow we will be off to another country. Number three, if you want to count Germany, which I do! See you in Belgium! 

 PS: Sorry, this one has gotten out of hand a little bit!