Delft to Rotterdam and Bruges - France and the Low Countries - CycleBlaze

September 22, 2022

Delft to Rotterdam and Bruges

Fun on bikes and trains

We have a little time this morning to check out the Saturday market in Delft, then point our bikes south to Rotterdam.

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The route starts out as pleasant as ever, on quiet bike trails past horse farms and forested areas along the Schie River.

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There's room for improvement of my route mapping skills on RidewithGPS. Early on a car passes us quite closely and we realize that we are on a narrow road, not the bike trail. Apparently the driver was sending us a message that we shouldn't be there. Got it. No stress, we meander off to find another bike trail that eventually goes the right direction towards Rotterdam.

We pull into Rotterdam with a couple hours to spare before our train to Bruges. That's plenty of time for a little tour of the harbor. The little loop at the south end of today's map shows our route over the Rhine River on the Williams Bridge and back on the Erasmus Bridge.

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Rotterdam is a shiny new city compared to the rest of the Netherlands, completely rebuilt after Hitler's Wehrmacht flattened it in the 1940 blitz. The bike paths on the bridges offer sweeping views of the modern skyline.

The tower of the Erasmus Bridge, opened in 1996, soars 139 meters (456 feet) over the mighty Rhine River.
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At the Rotterdam train station, we're getting better at bagging the bikes, converting the panniers to backpacks and navigating the station. Good thing because today there are two trains, first to Brussels, then to Bruges.

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Nice and easy bike ramp out of the Bruges train station
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From the station it's a short easy ride to our AirBnb. We're excited to explore Bruges tomorrow a velo.

Gate to the center of Bruges
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Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 148 km (92 miles)

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