Holland Bike Tour

When my parents asked if me and my sister could replace them on their trip to Holland I was a bit skeptical. A week of biking 50km a day with a group of older people? It didn’t really sound all that exciting to me, and taking almost 2 weeks off work in my busy season wasn’t really something I planned on. Then I thought, a trip to Europe for free? I couldn’t say no to that, especially since I’d never had a chance to travel there before. Camera in tow, we took the late fight from Pearson to Shiphol airport and didn’t look back.

Our adventure began with 2 free days in Amsterdam. The city is famous for it’s red light district and lax drug laws, but there is so much more it has to offer. We experienced several of the typical tourist attractions including the Anne Frank House, Nemo Science Center, House of Bohls, Dauper Market, Heinkien Experience, and a few others. From a photography viewpoint, the city is full of unique architecture and an abundance of canals, bridges, and people. I was very glad I decided to bring my camera to capture all the amazing sites.

After exploring Amsterdam for a few days we boarded our boat/bike tour vessel “Angela Esmee”. We had no idea what type of accommodations to expect, but lucky for us my parents had reserved a relatively spacious room on the top deck. The boat was old, but it had a cozy feeling that made you feel at home. The food on board was amazing all week thanks to their new head chef. It was a great feeling after biking 50k to come back to a hearty home cooked meal.

Before the trip started my sister and I were very concerned with the biking portion since neither of us were very big cyclers. Our bike route ended up to be over 300km around the North of Holland and it was hands down the most amazing trip I have ever taken. We rode through several small towns along the coast including Alkmaar, Texel, Hoorn, Enkhuizen, and Volendam. Each location we visited was so unique, from cheese markets to tall ships, islands to coast cities, it was spectacular in every way. My legs still hurt as I’m writing this three days later, but every km was worth it!

We arrived on the trip not knowing any of the other travellers, but we ended up connecting with our parents usual group of friends. Who knew that “old” people could be so much fun! We had a blast with everyone all week and always felt very welcome. It was nice to have a great group of people to spend time and share experiences and laughs with.

Looking back now I am very grateful for the opportunity to explore and experience the great country of Holland. 10 days without my phone and very limited access to email took a bit of getting used to, but it was the first time I have gone on this long of a vacation since I started my business. This trip has really inspired me to continue traveling while I am young and to experience what this great world has to offer. I’m looking forward to more great trips in the near future and you can definitely expect more photos from those excursions as well. A huge thank you goes out to my parents, without their generosity I’d be hearing all about the great time THEY would have had on this trip.

Enjoy the pictures!