September 10, 2023 to September 11, 2023
Travel Days (Again): Zürich to Amsterdam to Tynemouth to Durham
I slept exceptionally well on the rattly train north (probably the fizzy wine helped even more than the slippers), and woke just as we crossed the border into the Netherlands. A minor crisis was unfolding further down the carriage -- the coffee machine was broken, so there'd be no hot drinks for breakfast. Disaster! (Not really though: water and a cheese roll were fine for me.)
These trains have a pretty ropey punctuality record, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that, even without coffee, we were rolling into Amsterdam bang on time. Though that also presented me with a bit of a dilemma: I'd been working on the (fairly safe, I thought) assumption that we'd be at least two hours late, so that all I'd have time to do would be to cycle to the ferry. Now I had quite a bit of time to kill, but also no plan for how to kill it, and found myself a bit paralysed. Trying to do anything touristic in Amsterdam seemed like a recipe for stress, or even disaster (I did have a go at sitting at a rather touristy cafe just outside the station, but after being resolutely ignored by the waiter for 10 minutes, gave up and moved on). If I'd had the brain-power left for creative thinking, I'd have detoured to a small town somewhere on the outskirts, or even to the beach, but instead I just set off on my planned route, thinking that I might see a nice cafe or something else along the way.
In the event, though, no nice cafe presented itself (or at least, not one which met my, exacting but non-specific, cafe criteria...). I got to Spaarndam, where I'd had excellent canal-side apple cake in the past -- but found that the cafe there didn't open until noon on a Sunday (and it was still only about 11.15. Curse those punctual trains!) I sat down and enjoyed the sunny views for a bit, but then thought I might as well keep going all the way to IJmuiden and have lunch there: there's a row of fish cafes on the road to the docks which have always looked quite intriguing, and now seemed the perfect chance to test them out.
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After my (excellent) fish, I rolled a couple of doors down to a cafe for a (not quite as good, but very cheerfully served) coffee milkshake thing (I'd asked for an iced coffee, and this didn't quite hit the spot. But it was ok!). And then there was no delaying it any longer: it was time to head for home.
I checked in and was stamped out of Europe (with some nice chat with the Dutch border guard about where I'd been and whether I'd enjoyed it). But I was still pretty early for the ferry, so there was a bit of hanging around in the (baking hot) boarding area.
Before too long, though, the cyclists were waved on board. I found my cabin, and then a nice shady spot on the deck, and settled down to enjoy the journey.
The next morning, we chugged into Tynemouth exactly on time. This year, the bikes were almost the first off the boat, so we were also almost first in the queue at passport control, which was (relatively) speedy. The customs man just waved me through, and back into the UK -- and as he did so, the heavens opened with the first rain I'd encountered since leaving Dover two weeks ago. Now I knew I was really home!
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Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 769 km (478 miles)
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7 months ago
I'll be cycling in the Yorkshire Dales this summer - from Newcastle to York with the Andersons. I'd like to head back to Durham/Newcastle through the moors and wonder if you had some route/overnight recommendations. Also am thinking of taking the train from Durham to Newcastle (possible? difficult?) and perhaps a meet-up if you're around/interested. You can reply by email - my gmail address is susanlongcarpenter Thanks, Susan
2 months ago
2 months ago