They made it! resilient travelers already over their jet lag (mostly). We are off today for Harderwijk... main Hanseatic seaport trading city dating from 1200s... when the ZuiderZee was part of the north sea.

From Lage Vuursche we pedaled on through deep forests, mostly winding paths of compacted crushed stone - the middle of nowhere and then suddenly emerging to the high-tech bridge over the freeway and on to the beautiful heather hills south of Hilversum.  We have a large airbnb here near the heather hills - our daughters are meeting us - arriving from Orlando this morning (hopefully no run in with Tropical Storm Ernesto in the Atlantic).    

With a little planning and a lot of dumb luck we stumbled into some of the most picturesque villages as we made our way toward Hilversum where we will be meeting our daughters for a week of cycling.  Maarssen is a village north of Utrecht on the River Vecht - a lovely river with an unlovely-sounding name at least to English-speakers sounding like someone with lung congestion trying to catch a breath...

After a leisurely and enjoyable week in Haarlem, we headed our bikes south for a meandering route in the general direction of Hilversum.  With plenty of time and  not many miles to cover we were free to explore the area.  One truth was driven home...  touring cyclists can pedal for hours and cover many kilometers without ill effects.

After Geithoorn we were back in Haarlem, enjoying being car-free and care-free, discovering and rediscovering favorite places and visiting with old friends.  Willy was in town from Provence, and old Brit friends Ann and David Lynch from our years in Munich came to visit.  They rented bikes and we all enjoyed exploring this little bit of cycling paradise.    

After the authenticity and laid-back local atmosphere of Terschelling, Giethoorn was a big change.  Like all of Holland, trails are everywhere, and picturesque canals full of boats are everywhere and classic Dutch houses with thatched or tile roofs are everywhere...

Our four days on Terschelling flew by... on to the next adventure in Giethoorn.  The ferry was not nearly as crowded as on the way over - apparently the youth camps run for a week starting on Sunday so better to plan to avoid weekend arrivals and departures.  

Lest we forget... Terschelling was not always an island paradise.  It was one of the first places overrun and occupied by the Nazis in WWII.  They established a huge Stellung (bunker complex) that covered almost the entire island.  It's main purpose was to detect allied fighter planes, bombers and ships before they could reach Europe’s mainland, and destroy them with anti-aircraft guns and mortars.  

We always say Montana is the Big Sky Country - but it's got nothing on Terschelling... the sky stretches on forever!  Big Sky, Big Sand, Big Dunes...   It's hard to describe Tershelling - the scenery is so wild and varied and each town has its own  character.  West Terschelling considers itself "the Old West" with country music and line dancing.   We especially like Midsland and the beaches at the east end of the island.   

A 2 hour ferry ride took us to the spectacular and historic island of Terschelling. A 15 miles long island with hundreds of bike trails - paved or crushed stone to some of the widest, whitest beaches in the world, quaint fishing towns, lovely quiet forests,  and a long and fascinating  history including some of the best preserved relics of the German occupation.     Tershelling is such an amazing place it's going to take a few posts to cover the scenery and the history.