Day one of my bike trip around the Netherlands. Amsterdam – Haarlem – Zandvoort

0:00 This is the Netherlands
0:21 Netherlands Bike Trip
0:54 Day 1 Amsterdam
3:01 Fietspad Bike path
3:49 Bicycle Highway
4:13 Give Way Markings
4:38 Montage
5:02 Haarlem, NL
6:09 Zandvoort

22 Comments

  1. You mispronounced stroopwafel, like almost all English speakers do. The Dutch double oo is pronounced as the English oa, like in road. And wafel is not pronounced as waffle in English. The a in wafel is pronounced as ae in English, like in maelstrom. The el at the end is pronounced the same as the English le of waffle. So you pronounce it something like stroapwaefle, but with a rolling r and not like the flat r, which is almost not noticeable, in English. We do have the word waffel and it sounds just the same as the English waffle, but it means something different. It is used for the mouth, but mostly in a negative way. Like in Hou (eens) je waffel, meaning keep your mouth shut (for once) or shut up (for once).

  2. Very nicely documented. But a few comments and caveats.

    Taking the train from Schiphol to Amsterdam-CS is the very best a tourist can do. Very fast and cheap, compared to taxi.
    This man knows how to ride a bicycle.
    The weather shown is delicious, but by no means common. Common is cloudy, barely 20C and a stiff breeze.
    The bike lanes outside the city were usually backroads, connecting villages. Thus easy to convert.
    The traffic signs for fietspad differ (3:12). The round one (2:48) indicates a mandatory bike lane. The square one (3:08) indicates a discretionary bike lane, but usage is advised.
    The red asphalt or bricks by no means always indicates a bike lane. Quite often it is no more than an attention colour. And traffic violations by drivers are pretty common.
    The city centers being 'a place for people' obviously dates back to the time before bikes and cars. Like Haarlem dating back to the early 10th century. New town are often designed more towards car use.
    Zandvoort is not "surprisingly hilly", it is on top of the funes. The tallest natural structure in The Netherlands (6:40) is the St. Pietersberg in the southern province of Limburg (171 meters above sealevel).
    Zandvoort has only two narrow access roads. So on a sunny summer day, let alone an F1 weekend, it is almost impossible to get there by car.

    Looking forward to the next installment.
    Traveling the entirety of The Netherlands by bike is the very best way to really get to know it. Bible belt and northern and eastern parts will knock your cycling socks off.

  3. Everytime I'm in another country and people ask me for tips about traveling around the Netherlands. I always tell them to explore by bike. You just did that. Well done, glad you enjoyed it!

  4. you have not cycled through the whole of the Netherlands, but a very small part. You didn't see the more rural parts, which are also very beautiful, which is a shame.

  5. The tallest natural structure in the Netherlands at 10 meters above sea level? Where did you get your information from? My house is 87 meters above sea level, also in the Netherlands. Nine times higher…

  6. 4:32 tiny thing, in the Netherlands, pedestrians on zebra crossings always have priority unless there are lights.
    They put the sharks teeth before the zebra crossing to keep both closer together.

  7. Good for you. You know, Our public transport is excellent too. And to be honest… as much as people here like to say how good it is, and how biker friendly, our highways are pretty good too.
    Wait, Stroepwaffels? oh…. stroopwafels.
    Now, really…. cities are more or less closed for cars as it makes sence. If you live in them, you have a bike or use public transport. If you want to go to them… use public transport. You don't want to be in a traffic jam. You traveled trough the Randstad…. most of it is a suburb of the 4 largest cities in our country. The rest of it isn't like that. I wouldn't call it rural, but….
    It's very nice to cycle trough too. Maybe better.

    Personally, whatever you do for recreation….

    I am disabled, so I can't drive a car.
    The bike is the poor mans car, so I cycled a lot. It was my only means of transportation when I was young. I don't have to anymore. I do own a car. My wife has a licence and she drives it.. In the Randstad, you can get anywhere you need to, even on foot.

    As long as my wife can drive, I've vouwed to never step on a bike again in my life.
    Always headwind. Cause, that's Holland too. That's why electic bikes are so popular.
    I work from home and she does the groceries…

    I for one am just happy that you can do whatever you want. By car, public transport or on foot or on bike…

    So…. Amsterdam Zandvoort…. 40 to 60 km, depending the route. You know there is a train going directly that will take you in 20 minutes…

  8. We just moved to Haarlem a month ago from the U.S. and love it. I’m a former urban planner so it’s a dream come true to ditch the car and bike and walk everywhere. It is indeed so quiet with fewer cars. Cool to see you ride right down the street we use to bike into the center, Zijlstraat. Our teen has autism and we just bought her an adult trike and she feels really liberated on her bike and safe. Enjoy your time in the Netherlands.

  9. Great video, well done! Btw most people hate those noisy stinky mopeds too. Some city centers have banned the use of the older, most polluting ones. Can't wait for all of them to be replaced by something electric to be honest.

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