2019 Quo Vadis – Our Travel Blogs

24/05/201912/05/2020

Bike and Barge – Flanders Fields to Bruges

This entry is part 6 of 14 in the series 2019 Europe

We awoke to steady rain on Sunday morning and while we finished breakfast our bikes were loaded onto a trailer. We then boarded the bus for an hour drive to Ypres for our tour of the First World War battlefields and museums. With rain still falling, we were given the option to stay on the bus for the 35km circuit or ride. Along with 5 others we elected to take the bus as we don’t enjoy riding in the rain.

After arriving in Ypres, bikers took to their bikes and we all headed to the Flanders Fields Museum.We spent a couple of hours in the museum, hearing stories of the battles in this region.

We then boarded the bus and headed to Zonnebeke to visit the Passchendaele Museum with its recreated tunnels and trenches.

It was then a short trip to Tyne Cot cemetery, the largest Commonwealth War Graves site with nearly 12,000 graves.

Next stop was the German Langemarke Cemetery – the resting place of 44,000 Germans including 25,000 in a mass grave and 3000 school students who were given 6 weeks training and then sent to the front to die within weeks.

Our final stop of a very full day was Essex Farm cemetery where there is a memorial to John MacCrae who wrote the poem In Flanders Fields.

We then returned to Ypres for dinner (Flemish stew) before attending the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate which has occurred every night since 1928 at 8pm to honour the over 54000 soldiers whose names are inscribed on the arch and who have no known grave. The ceremony was held in England during the Second World War but has otherwise run uninterrupted for 91 years.

We all returned to the barge at Kortrijk by bus and fell into bed after a long day. Burt and the crew had an early start to get the barge to Machelen so we could do our final ride to Bruges. The headwinds were not as bad as expected and we enjoyed a nice final day through forests and quiet country roads.

Morning tea stop appreciated in the cold weather

We arrived in Bruges at the same time as the Quo Vadis, so we left our bikes and gear and headed into the old town. We wandered around the old streets and visited the Saint Salvator Cathedral which had been closed for renovations last trip.

Our final nights dinner was a great 4 course meal put together by Agnes and Franko. Shayne entertained us all with a song he had composed describing our adventure and all too soon it was off to bed to get ready for leaving the Quo Vadis the next morning. It was a memorable trip – great companions, informative guides and masterful crew. A wonderful start to our time in Europe.

19/05/201912/05/2020

Bike and Barge – Middleburg to Ghent to Kortrijk (almost)

This entry is part 5 of 14 in the series 2019 Europe

Friday, 17 May to Saturday, 18 May 2019

At 0615 Burt fired up the engines and we waited for the bridge to lift so we could travel up the canal to the port of Vlissingen.

Here we left the barge to board a ferry across the inlet to Breskens. We had a headwind for the first 5 km and we started to appreciate how good we have had it the last week.

Bikes still rule – deck for bike storage on the ferry

Conditions improved when we left the coast and cycled along more country roads.

Morning tea was at IJzendijke and lunch at Phillipine. We had a long conversation with a local lady in Dutch and French. Unfortunately we understood very little of what was said but she seemed happy to talk to us regardless.

We then cycled across the border to Sas van Ghent in Belgium where we boarded the barge and motored to Ghent.

After dinner, Captain Burt suggested we go into town to visit a bar that had 500 beers. If you order a yard glass then one of your shoes is taken to make sure you don’t souvenir the glass.

We had a good night and took in the lights of town as the sky darkened. Spectacular.

On Saturday morning, we headed back to Ghent where we had the morning to look around. We visited St Baaf’s Cathedral and viewed the 15th century triptych Mystic Lamb by the van Eyck brothers.

After morning tea we headed off and cycled 48kms to Machelen. This was along the canals and passed many very impressive private residences.

Unfortunately our group was late back to the barge for the sail to Kortrijk and the lock was closed! We then had to backtrack to find a mooring for the night (not very picturesque I’m afraid)

17/05/201922/10/2020

Bike and Barge – Willemstad to Zierikzee to Middleburg

This entry is part 4 of 14 in the series 2019 Europe

Wednesday, 15 May to Thursday, 16 May 2019

We left Willemstad and headed roughly west – again with a NE tailwind. We went over 3 huge locks where Warren unfortunately had a tumble after another rider went down. Luckily both were ok and we continued along a dyke to the nearby island. We were now riding past fields of crops over quiet country roads.

Quo Vadis entering the lock

Our morning tea stop was at the worst hit town of the great flood of 1953. Over 300 people lost their lives at the small village of Oude Tonge. We visited the cemetery where the victims were buried in a mass grave on the dyke, the only dry land in the village at the time. It was 9 months before the holes in the dykes were repaired and the people could return to their homes.

Sad to see lots of graves for children in the cemetery

From here we cycled across another long dyke and into the province of Zeeland. Lunch was a picnic beside the dyke before we headed to the Watersnood (Flood) Museum.

The museum was built inside the 4 concrete caissons that were used to close the last breach of the dyke after the flood. There had been 67 breaches in total and this last breach was not closed until November 1953, 9 months after the storm. 1836 people lost their lives and the government responded with the Delta Works project to prevent a recurrence.

After our visit we headed to Zierikzee after 57km on the bike.

On Thursday we rode from Zierekzee along the dykes stopping to view the Zeeland bridge and a tower that is all that is left of a village washed away during a storm.

We had a morning tea stop overlooking the islands and the Delta Works barriers that can be lowered to prevent storm waters flooding the delta. They are 15km long and close automatically if the water level gets to 3m above the Amsterdam standard. It is an amazing feat of engineering and we appreciated it much more after yesterday’s visit to the flood museum.

We then cycled to the beach for lunch and then on to the busy tourist village of Veere. A few more kms and we arrived at Middleburg after 55km.

We had another small city walk with Rikko, about an hour around Middleburg. It was bombed heavily before Zeeland surrendered, 3 days after the rest of the Netherlands.

16/05/201922/10/2020

Bike and Barge – Leiden to Delft to Willemstad

This entry is part 3 of 14 in the series 2019 Europe

Monday, 13 May to Tuesday, 14 May 2019

We awoke to a beautiful if cool morning in Leiden.

We are starting to get into the boat routine, breakfast at 8 and on the bikes by 9 for the day’s adventure. We rode to the western gate to see where Rembrandt was born before riding again through the dunes to our morning tea stop on the North Sea.

From here more riding through dunes including a memorial to resistance fighters executed here during the second world war. The tracks are excellent with sections for bikes, pedestrians and horses.

Next stop was The Hague, with some beautiful riding through parks and a stop at the royal palace.

While we were looking at the parliament buildings, Rikko was excited to point out the Netherlands Prime Minister walking by. He said hello and we were surprised that there was no sign of security.

Our riding group with guide Rikko in front

After a late lunch we headed for the Quo Vadis moored in Delft. 45 kms today. Another city tour after dinner saw us fall into bed exhausted yet again.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, father of microbiology was born in Delft

On Tuesday morning we left Delft and headed to Rotterdam, known for its architecture and bridges. Another scenic ride to the second largest city and the largest port in the Netherlands.

We had lunch in the Marketplace, an architectural wonder of apartments over the market area.

May 14 was the 79th anniversary of the bombing of Rotterdam when the city centre was flattened. Bells in all the churches started tolling at 1.20, the time the raid started. It was very moving.

Statue depicting the heart ripped out of the city

After lunch we boarded a fast ferry to Kindersdijk to visit a windmill and hear how they were vital for water management in the country below sea level. 19 of the original 20 windmills remain.

This volunteer’s grandfather was one of the millers here

Back on the Quo Vadis for a dinner cruise to Willemstad and another city walk. 38 kms today.

14/05/201916/04/2020

Bike and Barge – Amsterdam to Haarlem to Leiden

This entry is part 2 of 14 in the series 2019 Europe

Saturday, 11 May to Sunday 12 May 2019

We caught 2 trams from our hotel to reach our home for the next 10 nights – the barge Quo Vadis. We sailed out of Amsterdam at 1430 after meeting our crew of Captain Burt, 1st mate Franco, chef Agnes and Nayler, chefs assistant and housekeeping. Our cycling guides were Rikko and Andre. We had 18 cyclists on board – 5 Australians, 2 Americans and 11 Canadians.

We said goodbye to Amsterdam and made our way along the North Sea canal before entering a smaller canal towards Spaarndam. At 1630 our bikes were unloaded and we began a short 17 km ride to meet the Quo Vadis at Haarlem.

Hans Brinker – the boy who put his finger in the dike

Day 1 Ride route Amsterdam to Haarlem – 17kms

It was 6 degrees when we woke up on Sunday morning and with a strong wind off the North Sea it felt even colder. We started with a tour of Haarlem including a Jewish memorial.

When it started to rain, Rikko assured us it wouldn’t last long but it was long enough to make us all look forward to our morning tea stop after just 10 kms. The sun was out for the 19km to Noordwijk on the North Sea much of the ride on tracks through the coastal dunes.