Tot ziens, Nederland

Since 2012 we have spent 2 months every year based in our favorite place in the world doing our favorite things. Living as car-free and traveling by bicycle as much as possible. The only years we missed were because of Covid in 2020 and in 2024 a serious bike crash that happened 2 days before our flight to Amsterdam.

We aren’t ready to think about what comes next so we’ll just say “Tot Ziens Vaarwel mijn hart” (it sounds more romantic in Italian.)

From our Lake House we pedaled north to Santpoort-Zuid where we had a charming tiny house in someone’s backyard. We had planned to ride to the beach but the weather wasn’t conducive so we just explored the local area.

Then we moved on back to Haarlem where we got a small abode over a Toast (an all-day breakfast place) on a busy walking zone right near the Grooteplatz. We had a lovely sunny ride to Uitgeest wher we handed our beloved red Specialized bikes to Ernst to sell for us. Spent a few days walking around our favorite spots in Haarlem, visiting some favorite restaurants on last time.

On our last night in the Netherlands we had planned a special dinner at our alltime varorite Thai restaraunt Erawan on Schagelstraat. We set out to walk there and were suddenly drenched in a downpour. After huddling in a doorway, we beat a quick retreat back to our room above the Toast.

An hour later we realized the storm had passed and washed the world in a beautiful light. We took a walk down to the big canal and met an interesting couple – a professor and his wife who live in Philidelphia but have a second home on the Spaarne in Haarlem. We thought of choices and consequences. No memorable meal or drinks but plenty of photographes and enough memories to carry us through.

.