Biking through the Netherlands
I have had a fantasy about biking around the Netherlands on a heavy old bicycle ever since I visited the Netherlands for an international mediation program. Now I was going to have a chance to live out this fantasy. We had decided to head north to the Netherlands at the last minute, and I wasn't able to do my usual excessive research about a new location. We were told by friends that the tourist offices would help us locate places to stay, and the train stations would rent us bicycles. How hard could this be?
We landed late Saturday afternoon in Amsterdam's Schipol airport, and found a tourist information booth. Unfortunately, this was a privately run affair that only connected travelers to the bigger hotels. Even more unfortunately, there was nothing available in Amsterdam because of some big convention. We asked him to try further afield, and after learning that Rotterdam was only about 20 minutes away by train, settled on Rotterdam. We were off to the Westin for 152 shocking euros. The Netherlands was turning out to be a bit more expensive than Greece. I was starting to worry about my bright idea of coming here.
On Sunday morning, we planned on visiting the tourist information center in Rotterdam for help with maps and places to stay, renting bikes, and heading out in to the countryside. Sunday morning, we walked over to the tourist center, and there was no sign of life. But it was early. So we ran some errands for a couple of hours (I went online for a while, Ben searched for a bookstore), but the center was still closed. Ben was tired from running all over the city, I was feeling bad because this was my idea, and we didn't have a place to stay for the night.
Finally we found directions to a big bookstore and purchased a guide to the Netherlands. The tourist center was still closed. At least now we had a book with suggestions for places to stay! And the book said there was another tourist center run by the city over by the train station. We were off in pursuit of a new source of information!
After many twists and turns through construction, we found the Rotterdam city tourist center (Use-It). Apparently the tourist centers were winding down for the season, and this was the last Sunday that Use-It would be open for the year. The woman running the office was our age, very funny, and very laid back. Our travel plans were exactly what they helped folks organize. It was late enough in the day that we were stuck in Rotterdam for another night, but they helped us find another cheaper place to stay. Unfortunately, we got eaten by mosquitos while sleeping, but at least we spent less money...
The next morning we rented heavy bikes, stored part of our luggage, and pedaled off to Delft. I had some issues with coaster brakes instead of hand brakes, but didn't 
actually run into anything. Our attempt to do fancy navigation on the bike paths failed, as we headed west for a while instead of the very necessary north. But we found Delft, and found a place stay at the fun and funky Soul Inn. Both Ben and I decided we liked the idea of being footloose and fancy free, but in the future we'd like to know where we were staying for the night a bit further in advance.
Delft was a very cool little town, with canals and nice restaurants and good desserts. In the main town square, a fair with rides like the highland games was in full swing. The contrast between the rides and old city was great, although we met some other travelers who were appalled.
We liked Delft and the Soul Inn so much we tried to stay for a second night, and ended up at a very sweet bed and breakfast in a family's home. It was an interesting glimpse into everyday life, and after the relatively child-free time everywhere else in Europe, it was rather nice to see children again.
From Delft, it was an easy day ride up to the Hague to see another small museum, Mauritshuis. It was a wonderful collection of Dutch and other painters, and all the better for having one floor 
closed. Smaller is better! I also managed to fall off my bike in the Hague, and land on the one patch of grass we saw all day.
Our trip was starting to get organized as we made reservations in Amsterdam for the last few days, and then found a places to stay in Gouda, Leiden, and Utrecht.
Gouda was also a sweet town, and we had a nice meal on the square surrounding this very impressive town hall. I had a very hard time not pronouncing the town name like the cheese, but, well, that's not how the word is said in the Netherlands. Both Ben and I were starting to get the swing of riding bicycles everywhere -- and perhaps more importantly we were figuring out how to navigate and use the bicycle traffic signals.
I was less fond of Leiden, but that may be because I was starting to feel ill and never got oriented. However, I was very keen on seeing the windmill museum, De Valk (this website only works in IE for me), so we did wander over for a visit. I thought it was great fun, and enjoyed climbing up and up and up.
We actually put our bikes onto the train from Leiden to Utrecht because I was feeling so poorly. In Utrecht, we stayed at Bed and Breakfast Hello with a very nice man at his Bed and Breakfast, and I mostly laid in bed and moaned. Ben and I watched lots of Dutch television, and found some great shows from the US we had never seen. Mythbusters was my favorite by far. Once again, however, there was a museum I could not bear to miss: the Waterworks Museum (the website is in Dutch/Nederlands). I was hoping for more gross sewage, but it's actually a very interesting museum about how fresh water was brought to Utrecht.
I was finally starting to feel better when we took our bikes back to Rotterdam by train, and then took the train back to Amsterdam. We stayed in a nice hotel that was better suited for folks looking for the classic pleasures of Amsterdam. Close to the beautiful train station, it was easy to get around. Nonetheless, next time we will stay in a nicer residential neighborhood.
Amsterdam is a great city. We enjoyed the Van Gogh museum, although it's a bit large for my taste, enjoyed the mid-September weather in the parks, walked through some great neighborhoods, and had a good steam and massage at the Sauna Deco.
I also located my favorite Dutch store: Sissy Boy. The name is hilarious, and the clothing is actually not bad. The prices made me gulp, but I forked over for a new Sissy Boy shirt. And I love it!
After some dispute on how to navigate, we found a very fun street market, Albert Cuyp. For the first time, I found lots of clothing that was very fun and affordable. We hadn't really been looking before, but I was delighted to be able to wander outside and shop. Frankly, both Ben and I are bad shoppers and we needed the fun ambiance of an outdoor street market. Our favorite purchase was these red beaded shoes that turned up quite dramatically in the toe. A perfect gift for our friend Erica.
Continue onto our last few days in Brighton.