Netherlands and Belgium – Done and Dusted
Netherlands & Belgium: Stage 13 – Rotterdam to Hook 29 Km (Wed 20 July 2022)
Weather: 13⁰C min – 25⁰C max, fine but overcast
“You have no such accurate remembrance of a country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” ~ Ernest Hemingway
The two hour train trip from Brussels to Rotterdam passed quickly enough, as there were other bike tourers in the designated bicycle carriage to chat with. First there was a nice couple from Noorderkempen who had been doing a mini tour of Belgium. Then there was Luciano, an architect from Rio De Janiero, who had built his own bicycle out of bamboo – a beautiful bit of architecture too! He has been doing a similar tour to me around Netherlands and Belgium.
Arriving in Rotterdam at about 2 pm I had plenty of time to kill before my ferry to Harwich UK leaves at 10 pm, so I checked out Rotterdam Centrum where I had a toastie and cappuccino. With the sky looking ominous and the forecast grim, I decided not to linger too long in Rotterdam and headed west to Hoek van Holland.
The bicycle paths in the Netherlands never cease to amaze me. I followed one of those smooth, dedicated, brown-painted, bicycle paths for the whole 31 km to the ferry port at the Hook. As luck would have it the predicted rain did not materialise and I arrived there with about 5 hours before the ferry departure.
Hopefully tonight I will get a good sleep in my ferry cabin and will arrive fresh at Harwich UK in the morning for my 60 km ride to Maldon. So that is the end of my fabulous tour of Netherlands and Belgium. Just three days of riding in England now until I get back to Chesham in Buckinghamshire.
