May 24, 2013 - Touring southern Netherlands

We left Amsterdam and headed south visiting the cities of Haarlem, Wasserman, Leiden, Den Haag (the Hague) and Delft. Our first site, Haarlem, is known for its cathedral, the Grote Kerk Van St. Bavo, that holds one of the most magnificent organs in the world. The organ stands about 100 feet high and has over 5000 pipes. It was played by Handel and by Mozart when he was only ten years old. In Wasserman we found what is probably the only hill in this very flat country to ride our bicycles up. The hill was actually ancient sand dunes that...

May 23, 2013 - Train through Belguim, Luxembourg to Trier Germany

May 23 2013 Biked about 7 miles for a total of 162 miles. To night we are in Trier, Germany on the Mosel river. We left Maastricht after our spartan breakfast. We to the train station and got tickets for Luxembourg city. Almost immediately after leaving the Netherlands the topography changed and it was much hiller. It as if some decided that Holland should have all the flat land. It was very pretty, rolling hills, limestone bluffs and beautiful rivers along the railroad line. We changed trains in Liege, Belgium, which we spent about 45...

May 22, 2013 - Maastricht IV

May 22 2013 Today we biked 5 miles together for a total of 155 miles. Pam of course biked further and she dies not to keep track here. I went to the conference once again. I learned about pregnant and infant travelers, sex tourism ( Not to what you think), One Health - animal and human health combined, zoonosis diseases and ISTM business. Pam explored the local scene. Àfter biking on the many paths I went to Saint Peter's caves for a great tour with a local person who was quite entertaining. After hanging out in the local pleins(plazas) I...

May 22, 2013 - Thuis

Vandaag thuis gekomen met een aantal leuke verrassingen. Op Schiphol stonden onze ouders en een aantal vrienden ons op te wachten, echt geweldig en het was voor iedereen erg vroeg vandaag. De vlucht van Beijing naar Amsterdam lande ruim voor de schema aankomsttijd op Schiphol, en gelukkig geen polderbaan. Het kon Han ook niet snel genoeg gaan, in Beijing met de Meiling groep nog wezen eten en daarna zo'n 40 minuten rondhangen in de receptie. Om half negen met de taxibus naar de luchthaven, de incheckbalies waren nog dicht en nog eens 50...

May 21, 2013 - Maastricht III (with a little Belgium)

May 21 2013 We biked about 5 miles together for a total of 150 miles Went to the conference. Heard lectures on malaria, kids and travel, Social media in Travel medicines and multiple studies concerning immunizations. Pam on the other hand, had more fun. I left Maastricht in the morning enjoying a partially sunny day. I am heading into Belgium today. I am west of the Maas river and in a hilly area. The bike trails continue to be great. They too have the numbered points and are well marked. I stop often to hike and venture down several nature...

May 20, 2013 - Maastricht II

May 20 2013 Together we biked about 5 miles for a total of 145 miles I went to the ISTM Conference which was included many excellent lectures on Travel Medicine. Pam didn't attend the conference but toured Maastricht today. It was raining lightly right away and did not stop till 2pm. I biked around to get my bearings a little and went for more tourist info. I did a walking tour in the rain. It was glorious to have it stop and enjoyed the sites on bike from there. I went to the old city walls We both went to a travel reception and then had...

May 20, 2013 - Exploring Amsterdam

We spent the last three days exploring Amsterdam. The central downtown area is very busy and definitely a happening place. It's wall-to-wall people with trolley cars, cars, scooters and bicycles galore. The guide book says 85% of the people here ride a bike and the average family has four bicycles. Just about every street has a bike lane which is usually wider than the pedestrian walk. You must be very careful crossing the street as bicycles do not stop for pedestrians. There is even a three story bicycle parking garage right in the center...

May 19, 2013 - The road to Maastricht

May 19 2013 We biked 30 miles today for a total of 140 miles. Woke to sunshine that lasted all day. Our best day yet. No rain. We ate a quick breakfast of an apple and roll each at the Hotel de Valk in Urmond and got on the road again. Continue our travel south to Maastricht passing through more small villages and rural small farms along the Maas river. Very easy to follow the route with the marked Dutch bike highway system. Truely this is a bikers paradise. Pathed bike highways in the middle of nowhere. This is slightly hilly for a...

May 18, 2013 - Biking up the first of 3 rivers - Maas River

May 18 2013 Today we biked 55 miles for a total of 110 miles. After a good breakfast at our hotel we left for another day on the road. It was not raining but still chilly and overcast. I dressed warmer today. We headed south on the Maas river occasionally crisscrossing, but pretty much went straight south. Saw a lot of Horses, a variety of cows, and sheep along it's banks. Barges occasionally prowled the waters, mostly going upstream. Saw several small towns with predominately brick homes with beautiful gardens. This weekend is a national...

May 17, 2013 - Conversion : Germany to the Netherlands day

May 17 2013 Biked about 30 miles today for a total of 55 miles. Woke up to overcast cool weather, but not overtly raining, it did sprinkle some later in the day. Did not get as wet as yesterday. The road north and then northeast to our destination , Venlo in the Netherlands (Holland) was easier to follow. Marked better and bike path almost the whole way. Made it to Viersen, stopped at a nice farmers market. Indulged in some fresh,wonderful strawberries. The white asparagus (spargal) was plentiful and looked very good. From there we went to...

May 17, 2013 - Getting the home on wheels ready to go

This is our third day in Amsterdam and we have not yet had the chance to do any sightseeing. We've been busy getting our home on wheels ready to go. Our "home" is a 2007 Ford Rimor with roughly 68,000 kilometers or 41,000 miles on the odometer. The cab was built in Germany or England and the coach was built in Italy. Unfortunately, the vehicle manuals are in Italian and French. Who reads those darn things anyways!! Upon arrival in Amsterdam we met with the motorhome dealer who gave us a very thorough run down on all the features of the...

May 17, 2013 - Preliminaries

So this is an attempt to blog my trip across spain by bike. It takes in 13 Spanish towns and cities, a bit of train trip and both the Atlantic North and Mediterranean North East (some would say South) coasts. Total distance is around 822km, total time is 16 days. This makes for around 74km/55 miles per day including rest days. I like cycling, I like exploring and I speak a bare minimum of Spanish so this seemed like a good idea. Now while I generally feel preparing for something is unethical I did have the opportunity to head out to the...