Official Fietsers

Fietspad … yup, it took a bit to figure out that this is NOT a footpath … a “fiets” is a bike … and bikes rule here in Holland. We have acquired two borrowed touring bikes from Ad’s Mom & Dad that are very comfortable and easy to ride. We’ve made very good use of them so far, and are headed back out today on another adventure on wheels.

Now I have to warn you that when a Dutchman asks you if you want to go on a little bike tour, make sure you ask beforehand just how “little” this tour is going to be! Today we did 50 kilometers on the bikes with 2 necessary stops in town squares. This is, of course, where the fietsers can stop and buy bier and wijn or koffee. Yes, Art, we’ve followed in your footsteps and tried the local beers whenever we could. As a matter of a fact, we have a few glasses from some of the breweries. The monks brew a wonderful concoction that is dark and quite delicious! Pete still prefers “Pils”, but I like the Trappist Westmalle. It’s pretty potent at 10%. Did our fiets wobble a bit when we left????

Our trip today took us from Gilze to a little town north of Westmalle in Belgium (not far from the border) and then back up to Breda and then back to Gilze. Not, of course, in a straight line. We meandered through woods and past streams … checked out the farms and fields … stopped to feed sheep and horses and cows … and oooh’d and ahhh’d at the old castles and houses along the way. We even, remarkably, got rained on for a half hour or so.  The fietspads are pretty good for the most part, although when you travel through the forest, the roots sometimes make for rough biking.

We peddaled through Chaam and saw the place where the German soldiers had their barracks during the war. They somehow still look like they could house soldiers … it’s strange. Now, they are used for political asylum refugees who are waiting for citizenship or for working papers. There are always a lot of foreign people living there from all parts of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The roads here are narrow. I mean NARROW! When you park a couple of cars on the side of the road, then have a couple of lanes of bikes travelling inside the two lanes of cars … I’m amazed that there are not more squashed bikers! Oh yes … I forgot to mention the pedestrians … they take up their share as well. This picture is typical. This is not an unusually narrow road, but is the norm. I’ve taken it when there’s no traffic, but you can imagine how it must be. If you’re on a bike, though, the pedestrians and cars patiently wait for you to make it to a safe spot where they can get by. It’s all very lacking in road rage. To quote a favorite local expression, “I love it”.