June 10

When I came down for breakfast I was greeted with a tableful of food. I asked if they were going to join me, but they had already eaten. Sipke was tending his garden and Marja was preparing an egg omelet to add to the choices. She prepared what she called a typical Dutch breakfast food. It was a small crusty bread with strawberries that she sliced and placed on top, and sprinkled sugar on the berries. It was very delicious. I packed a lunch which included yogurt, sandwich with meat and cheese, raisin roll, and raisin cake. Sounds like a lot and it would be needed since this would be a longer day.

Today I will ride from Anna Paulowna North East to the town of Den Oer, and then south down the eastern coast to Enkhuizen. Before departing I took photos of my hosts. They were wonderful , welcoming, and interested in my trip. They offered suggestions on my route.

I departed at about 9:00 AM and had gone maybe 10 or 11 kilometers only missing one turn which required some backtracking. I stopped at an intersection to check a route sign and verify my direction of travel. At the same time I heard voices and looked back in direction I had come and saw two bicyclists coming on fast road bikes. To my surprise it was Sipke and Marja. They road with me a short ways and said they were making a quick trip to Den Oever and back before she had to go to work. Off they went, no way that I could keep up with the loaded hybrid bike I was riding.

I rode on through a small attractive town Den Hauke and some how missed my turn. No problem I took some photos and found my way back on the route. As I neared Den Oever I came to an underpass of a highway that I was supposed to take and almost missed. I made a sudden left turn to get to the underpass and stopped to verify my route. A Dutch gentleman who had been riding some distance behind me saw my indecision and stopped to talk. Hr started talking to me in Dutch, so I asked if he spoke English, which he did a little. He confirmed my route and learning that I was from the US wanted to hear about my trip. The Dutch people are so friendly and helpful!

Den Oever is a town at the North East tip of Northern Holland. From this town they constructed a dike that is about 15 kilometers long and connects with Friesland. The dike was built in the 1930’s to protect Holland from being overrun by floods when the Northeast winds blew.

My ride South from Den Oever was long and not so interesting as it covered many kilometers of farm land, with modern windmills arranged along the coast. When I arrived at the first town of Medemblik, I stopped and had lunch on a bench in the town center.

After lunch I continued on down the coastline of the IJssselmeer another 20 miles to Enkhuizen where I began my search for the tourist information center. The signs giving directions to the TI were misleading so I asked a man I saw and he directed me. I found the TI at about 3:00 PM and got directions to my accommodations for the night, checked in, got a shower, and a short rest before going back into town to find my dinner. I found a hamburger at a small bar along the water front. I also met two interesting men and heard their story about preparing a sailboat to sail to France. It seems I was an interesting novelty to some the Dutch people I met. Often when they learned that I was from the US, they wanted to know what brought me to their country. This always resulted in a good conversation.