Outer Amsterdam!

One of the most important things I can recommend about going to Amsterdam, is to get out of Amsterdam.  And its very very easy.  Hire your bike (we just went on gear-less townies), buy a bike map and catch the FREE ferry to North Amsterdam.  Check out the pics below.  It is a very quick trip and you just walk on and off with your bike.  We went on a Sunday and saw loads of families heading for a ride or to visit friends, everyone on their ride.  We got the sense that it was going to be a good day...

S-boy

We found North Amsterdam a little bleak in parts but other parts had a lovely village feel.  However once you got a little further out, you hit small villages that are pretty divine!

There was nothing like the rush of finding (without a proper map - we couldn't get one) a fietssnelweg (cycle highway).

View Larger Map

If you zoom out on the above map you can see the distance we travelled, although this isn't the route we travelled.  We went via Durgerdam (very pretty fishing village) and along the Uitdammerdijk.  Only the most gorgeous route to take.  We travelled along a cyclepath that at times was the only area of built up land around with water both sides of the bike path - AMAZING!  It is all so flat that you can see as far as you can see.  You can see the weather changing from so far away and everything is so green and pretty.  Initially we planned to travel to Uitdam but we got to Uitdam and thought we could go further.  So we decided we would head to Marken for lunch.  

S-boy taking a pic in Durgerdam.  All the pics below are Durgerdam too.

Windmill pic!

Water both sides along the Uitdammerdijk.

Never before have I experienced a sky so big and never-ending.

Couple, enjoying their Sunday!

Heaven

S-boy smiling in the sun!

'Serious' lycra-clad types using the road rather than the cycle-way.

Snapped while riding- just gorgeous and look at the colour of the water!

Seperated cycle-way alongside the highway, still with water both sides!

A major intersection for bikes and cars

Look at how flat it is.

Kids in the cargo - family outing!

Here even the 'serious' cyclists crack a smile!

A clog tree!

Marken is such a pretty village.  We stopped and had lunch at the pub and watched youngsters mucking about on their bikes...

We could have gone on and on easily but we had the deadline of returning our bikes before the shop closed as we were flying to Berlin early the next morning. So we made our way back but along a more inland route.  Still very beautiful...

Even out of town, you see the broken bikes left behind.

And the occasional horse along the cycleway.

I would love a little canal house.

Pulley system to get across the water.

How European does S-boy look?

We spent the day with constant smiles.

There was a point on the ride home where I was smiling like a cheshire cat, just at the sun and the wind and the ride.  The grass was long beside the cycleway and I could run my hands through it while riding.  The whole day was an extra high point on the holiday!  And we made it back to the bike shop with 5 minutes to spare.  Perfect!  Now we need/want to move here... 

Pish Tosh xx