Biking the Netherlands 2012
More trails through the woods.
A coffee break at a busy pub.
On the fifth day we biked to the small community of Otterlo and stayed in a country inn near the national park we planned to visit the next day.
Julie MartensNetherlands 2012Otterlo to ArnhemBikingNetherlands
Purchasing tickets to enter the De Hogue Veluwe National Park.
De Hogue Veluwe National ParkJulie MartensNetherlands 2012Otterlo to ArnhemBikingNetherlands
The park provides free use of bikes to travel the many, many miles of bike paths. This is just one of several bike stations within the park.
De Hogue Veluwe National ParkNetherlands 2012Otterlo to ArnhemBikingNetherlands
The park is a popular place for school outings.
De Hogue Veluwe National ParkNetherlands 2012Otterlo to ArnhemBikingNetherlands
You can see that the "bike" runs deep in the culture of the Dutch.
De Hogue Veluwe National ParkNetherlands 2012Otterlo to ArnhemBikingNetherlands
This was our last day of biking and Julie was really feeling strong.
We met three soldiers as we were approaching Arnhem, our final destination. We had a most enjoyable conversation with these three career soldiers. (Note: the entire army of the Netherlands consists of 3000 men.)
And we arrived at our beautiful hotel in downtown Arnhem. Tulip Cycling met us here to pick up the bikes.
Julie MartensNetherlands 2012Otterlo to ArnhemRainerBikingNetherlands
The next morning we rolled our luggage to the Arnhem train station which was just 2 blocks away.
It's typical to bike to the train station and leave your bike in a rack like this when taking the train. Alternatively there are places to store your bike inside with security. Also most trains have cars where you can take your bike with you.
The Arnhem station was beautiful.
We took the train back to Amsterdam, about a 90 minute trip.
And once again we sped past the beautiful tulip fields.
The train brought us directly to Schiphol, the Amsterdam airport, for our return flight.
We found this charming sculpture outside of a bike shop where we had to have Julie's pedal replaced. We're happy to report that we had no dogs nipping at our heels and that we thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
Amersfoort to OtterloBicycle sculptureNetherlands 2012BikingNetherlands