I travelled the countryside, which starts a few streets from home. City planning is rigorous in the Netherlands, on the millimeter if they have to. The first photo is on the border of city and country.
and just around the corner you see this… #2
just over the Die you’ll see Zunderdorp but… watch out! #3
Before you know it you’ve past the village, it took me less then a minute on my scooter.
Parts of Waterland are nature reserves, like here De Zwarte Gouw [the black shire] #4
This reserve is especially for kids, they can see the water life from close-up, they even can swim or paddle through this part of the reserve. #5
After that again long stretches of cycle paths, ditches on both side of the road, green pastures, some cattle, the wind in your hair and the sun on your skin. #6
Sometimes the road is under ditch level #7
And then at the end of a long road a lonely farmhouse, hidden by trees and shrubs #8
They have to drive back towards Amsterdam if they want to visit friends in the next village, because the draw bridge is just wide enough for two cyclists to pass each other. #9
I had an ice-cream near Zuiderwoude on the banks of the Kerk Ae, and drove eating it towards Broek in Waterland. Using the cycle/pedestrian tunnel under N247 to get to the Broekermeerdijk which connects the Broekermeer [lake] to the North-Holland waterway. And for those who enjoy transport over water they have watersigns #10
because any canal can look the same at a certain moment.
The last photo is to show you the difference in height, I’ve told [on these pages] before that I live on the bottom of a former lake, it was made a polder somewhere in the 1600′s. The difference at this point is 4 meters! #11
This is the road I took, the numbers mark the photos, and the arrows in which direction I took them.
It was a fun afternoon, a little sun burn, next time I’ll apply factor 50! Later that evening i met with Pink Noord friends at Cafe de Pont, along the IJ waterway.
Peter, I love this photos and he has me thinking, you need to post more photos of your life and your world. Just do it for me, okay?
m.
Great outing. I love the timber footbridge through the water.
What is the mechanical equipment in photo 9?
I am always amazed to see ‘openness; in Europe, for I get the impression it is wall to wall people and urban.
@ Andrew, I know you’re pulling my leg, but here you have it!
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges.
[So when you were in Amsterdam, some years ago, you didn't see these kind of bridges?!]
@ Mark I always have my camera with me, but most of the time I forget to take shots. I have to handle a scooter throug traffic but also don’t have a steady hand to take shots at te same time. When at home I can multitask, when on the road… and I want to arrive safely, I don’t.
P.
@ Urspo, I read somewhere that the 17 million inhabitants of the Netherlands live on 5 percent of the country. 2 percent is for harbours and industry, 10 percent is water, another 10 percent is forest and wooded lands, and what’s left is agricultural. That can be the glass houses in Westland [it's also called the glass city], cattle [we use the milk from cows, goats & sheep to make other products like cheese and butter], and of course crops.
What a beautiful place to live!
Seriously, I didn’t know what it was. Thanks. I can’t remember seeing them. Too busy looking for windmills.