Maartensbrug

Dordrecht – Alblasserdam | Alblasserdam – Kinderdijk – Schoonhoven – Vianen (32 - 57 km)

We took a quick ride to see part of Dortrecht, the oldest city in Holland before hopping on the fast ferry to Alblasserdam. From here we cycled to Kinderdijk, a village famous for its impressive row of 19 UNESCO cultural heritage-listed windmills. This was a highlight. There are 1100 windmills left and originally there were 9,000. The windmills were constructed in the 18th century to pump water out of the low Alblasserwaard polder (a polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments). They were also used to grind grain. We visited an original windmill from 1844 still using the original stones as well as an electric grinding motor. They follow traditional, organic milling to produce their grains. Today was my favorite cycle day. We had a sunny, but windy day. We wound our way through beautiful villages lining the canals. We saw immaculate homes and yards with a variety of styles. The thatched roofs are a favorite. We saw so many varieties of birds including huge white swans laying on their nests and so many hobby farms with horses, chickens & other animals. I would love to come back and stay in this beautiful area. We saw the site of an Avro Lancaster that crashed. This is the type of plane Andrew's dad flew in. We cycled via Schoonhoven, since the 17th century, nicknamed Silver City – is renowned for its talented silversmiths, though we oddly did not see a silver shop while walking around!! Our destination was Vianen, a small fortified town on the river Lek where we spent the evening, enjoying the sun, Belgian beers , debriefing the day, then another fantastic meal and live entertainment by a local accordian player and singer.Read more