Category Archives: Biking Tours

New Brunswick Roadtrip: Exploring French Acadia’s Culture, Heritage by Bike!

Biking the beautiful boardwalk in Shippagan, New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, with Dave E. Leiberman & Laini Miranda

Travel Features Syndicate, www.goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our New Brunswick roadtrip that has so enthralled us with the natural wonders of the Bay of Fundy, now takes us to the Acadien Peninsula, where its French heritage is most pronounced and you really feel you are in another country. We are also excited to explore a portion of a marvelous new cycling trail, the Veloroute Peninsule Acadeienne, which opened in 2019, consisting of 14 cycling circuits, totaling 379 miles, that go through 14 coastal French fishing villages and communities. 

Because the Veloroute is so new, it seems, it is not well set up for a supported, self-guided multi-day trip, so we stitch together our own, with the help of Neil Hodge at New Brunswick Tourism. Neil arranges a multi-day bike rental for us from the Villegiature Deux Rivieres Resort (more geared for day rental), and an itinerary that follows the C15 circuit. Fortunately, Laini prefers to spend the day painting, so volunteers to drive the car to the next stop and then take my bike for a shorter ride with Dave at the end of the day. And we have to ferry the bike back to the rental shop (not really difficult, it is less than one hour’s drive back to Tracadie, and we’ve prepared by taking our bike rack). It is exciting to feel like we are pioneering a new biking destination.

This is an opportunity to take advantage of what is best about cycling (and clearly, this is an extremely popular activity throughout New Brunswick and Quebec): you ride at a perfect pace through local communities, small villages, see where and how people live. And there is such freedom during the day, to stop and explore, and really be immersed in a place.

Biking the New Brunswick’s new cycling trail, the Veloroute Peninsule Acadeienne,  from Tracadie to Shippagan © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This first day, we bike on the trail 22 miles from Tracadie at one end of the circuit, to Shippagan, riding mainly through woods and then along marshes, arriving at Shippagan at about 2:30. We have a delightful late-lunch in a Mediterranean-style restaurant, Chez Aicha (197 Bd J. D. Gauthier, +1 506-336-8989), then Dave and I continue exploring Shippagan, picturesquely set between Saint-Simon Bay and the Chaleur Bay inlet that goes into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, stopping at its most popular beach, Le Goulet.

Shippagan, New Brunswick’s beautiful boardwalk © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We discover the boardwalk along Shippagan’s waterfront, and that we can bike all the way to Point Brule, the road that leads us to the cottage Laini has booked for two nights on Airbnb. We calculate we cycled 40 miles for the day.

Our charming Airbnb cottage on Point Brule, Shippagan © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Dave and I are giddy with delight when we see the sweet, cozy aquamarine-colored cottage and how it is poised on the tip of Point Brule, perched on a ridge with our own ladder to the beach into the bay.

Who can resist? We quickly change and play in the water (surprisingly not too cold), then set out to watch the sunset on Miscou Island, which sits between the Bay of Chaleur and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at its magnificent historic lighthouse.

The picturesque Miscou Lighthouse © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We reach the Miscou Island Lighthouse on the northeastern tip of the island, just before sunset. The lighthouse was built in 1856 and designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974.

The picturesque Miscou Lighthouse © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It is surprising how long (how far) Miscou Island actually is (24 km long by 16 km wide – small for an island but a good distance by bike), because this is the route we are supposed to bike tomorrow. Even on our itinerary, the route is 26 miles each way, hilly, on a two-lane, windy road. But Miscou is fabulous to explore – for birds and wildlife (we see a family of foxes), peat bogs, and not to be missed.

Steve of the popular Terasse a Steve restaurant on Miscou Island © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our plan is to have dinner at Terasse à Steve a fun, rustic place so beautifully set overlooking the Miscou wharf that is legendary in the community, but when we pull up, we discover Steve has closed early (for mosquitoes!).

That means we have to race back to Shippagan before the restaurants close (at 8:30 pm). We’ve called ahead to Pinokkio’s who tell us to just get there by 9 pm. We race back, arriving at 9 pm on the dot, and sure enough, they seat us. The wood-fired pizzas (fungi pizza, margarita), with the freshest, most flavorful ingredients, are fantastic. ((Pinokkio Pizzeria Resto-Bar, 121 16e rue, Shippagan, 506-336-0051, www.pinokkio.ca).

Sunset from our cottage on Point Brule, Shippagan © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Instead of biking back to Miscou Island (Veloroute map shows the Miscou route as 41 km just on the island), Dave and I decide to explore Lameque Island, which is in between Shippagan and Miscou (so glad we toured by car).

We set out again from the cottage on the road that leads to the entrance to the beautiful wooden boardwalk and connects to our biking routes, winding passed the colorful marina, then over the bridge to Lameque.

Biking around Lameque, on the Acadian Peninsula, New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We first find a lovely bike trail in the woods that parallels the busy Route 113, cross another small bridge, and then find a beautiful, if short, trail along the water. But when that ends, we ride on the shoulder of Route 113, which serves as a bike path. We come upon an eco-park on Lameque, and explore that before continuing our cycling,

Enjoying a meal at Steve’s Terrasse on Miscou © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We are determined to dine at Steve’s Terrasse on Miscou, which is just on the other side of the (high) bridge from Lameque. Laini pulls away from her painting and meets us there for a late lunch – a sensational meal of lobster with spaghetti, pesto and parmesan; steamed clams; and a whole lobster (9650 route 113, Miscou, +1 506-344-7000)

Biking around Lameque, on the Acadian Peninsula, New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Biking back to Lameque (back again over the steep bridge!), we follow a route that takes us along the eastern side of the island along the road (with ups and downs, unlike the bikeway) – it is marked in purple on the map – that give us some lovely views of the water as we ride through neighborhoods. (Amazingly, we don’t find actual stores or restaurants, absolutely nothing for the people to do except for some churches).

Each day, our ride begins and ends on the Shippagan boardwalk, my favorite part of the ride.

Enjoying a second dinner in a row at Pinokkio, Shippagan © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By the time Dave and I get back to our cottage in Shippagan, we calculate we’ve biked 45 miles. But now we have to race back into town to find a restaurant. The recommended places we call are all booked solid (it’s graduation day), so we (happily) call again to Pinokkio, and sure enough, they are booked too, but make room for us. The mushroom risotto is sensational. (Pinokkio Pizzeria Resto-Bar, serving up wood-fired pizzeria, appetizers, salads, pasta, seafood, steak, international cuisine, wine list, selection of domestic and imported beers, and decadent desserts, 121 16e rue, Shippagan, 506-336-0051, www.pinokkio.ca).

Biking Shippagan, New Brunswick’s beautiful boardwalk © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We really have to pull ourselves away from Shippagan (regrettably we don’t have time to visit the Aquarium which we keep passing on the boardwalk, 100 Aquarium St., Shippagan, 506-336-3013, [email protected], aquariumnb.ca).

(Shippagan, https://tourismepeninsuleacadienne.ca/en/region-shippagan/, 506.336.3900).

Caraquet

Biking the new cycling trail, the Veloroute Peninsule Acadeienne, along New Brunswick, Canada’’s Acadian Peninsula, from Shippagan © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Today’s ride takes us back onto the delightful Veloroute to Caraquet, 20 miles on the trail. Basically we back track from Shippagan 10 miles to a fork in the trail and then back up 10 miles to Caraquet, most of it in the trees (so refreshing).

We find our way to a charming waterfront village of cute shops, a small artist’s collective, eateries and a picturesque wharf and marina, where we have lunch.

An artisan village within Caraquet © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We consider biking back the 20 miles from Caraquet to Tracadie to return the bikes, but realize we would be doubling back 20 miles on the trail we had already taken, and prefer instead to spend the afternoon exploring the rest of the trail, 7 miles further along Caraquet Bay to where it ends at Bertrand.

Biking along the shore from Caraquet © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It is the best choice! This part of the trail is particularly scenic, hugging the coast along Caraquet Bay (an inlet of Chaleur Bay), passing some gorgeous houses and views of the water, adding about 14 miles to our total for the day. We then drive the bikes back Tracadie, racing to get to the rental shop by closing time.

(Veloroute de la Peninsule acadienne, 506-336-4116, [email protected], www.veloroutepa.ca)

Caraquet is an extremely nice place to live, and clearly, very popular for tourists, judging by the string of hotels along the main street.

My hotel is the Super 8 By Wyndham (9 Avenue du Carrefour, 506-727-0888), is ideally located right in the waterfront village, alongside the coastal trail.

Returning the bikes the afternoon before works out superbly for me, because it gives me time to visit Caraquet’s major, not-to-be missed attraction, the Historic Acadian Village, which proves such a highlight of our New Brunswick roadtrip.

“Leave the 21st Century behind at Historic Acadien Village”

“Leave the 21st Century behind at Historic Acadien Village” a highlight of our visit to New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Historic Acadien Village is an open air living history museum with costumed (fully bilingual) interpreters who recreate the roles of real people. What makes this place so extraordinary, though, is that you walk a 2.2 km circuit through 200 years of history – the 40 buildings represent a different time, the oldest from 1773 up to 1895, then, you walk through a covered bridge built in 1900 into the 20th century village where the buildings date from 1905 to 1949.

As you walk about, you literally feel yourself stepping across the threshold back in time.

Walking through this idyllic village, looking at the goats, the sheep, the cows which supply the milk, meat, fiber for clothes, the fields and streams for fish, you would imagine they had everything they needed, life was tranquil, sustainable. But I soon learn from my conversation with the interpreter in the 1852 Cyr house that it was a daily struggle for survival.

An idyllic Acadien village masks how hard life would have been like for the Acadiens Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This arises when I watch her sewing and she says she baked 25 loaves yesterday, enough that would have lasted her family of 8 including grandparent and a farmhand, a week (but actually supplies the village restaurants which serve menus appropriate to the time). I suggest that must be a lot of work. She tells me that her children help. Don’t they go to school? “The children don’t go to school, they are needed at home. It’s a question of surviving. We would have been too isolated to go to school in winter, and they are needed in summer.” Homeschool? “We cannot read; we depend on the priest to read any letter that might come.”

On the stove, she is preparing a pie with pork, onion, turnip, potato. “The pot is on legs so it doesn’t burn; we put wood chips on top so the food cooks from the top and bottom.”

This house came from Saint-Basile, New Brunswick, near the St. John River near Maine/Quebec. I observe that it seems quite large. “We’re not rich, but there was enough wood to build.”

What she tells me next seems to explain why the French Acadiens are so fiercely French (and why, as we travel, we see many flags of French Acadia but few of New Brunswick or Canada):

It was during the French and Indian War, when Britain battled France for control of the New World colonies. “In 1755, the British took the French men in one boat and women and children in another – they didn’t want families together. They felt there were too many Acadiens in same place and would be able to fight British. They made the Acadiens sign a contract to be British, not French, and those who refused were sent away. The boat took them far away – they didn’t know where they were going- some were sent to Charleston, South Carolina, to Louisiana.”

Seeing how life would have been like over 200 years at the living history museum, Village Historique Acadien, Bertrand, New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The war ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, with France giving Great Britain its colonial possessions in North America, except the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland (which remain French colonies even today). In 1764, the British allowed Acadians to return in small isolated groups, but by then as many as 18,000 had been forcibly removed and thousands more killed. (See: https://www.cbc.ca/acadian/timeline.html)

Seeing how life would have been like over 200 years at the living history museum, Village Historique Acadien, Bertrand, New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

She says that when the French colonists were kicked out of Nova Scotia, they would send word to each other to come “a Cadia” (“to Cadia”), a name derived from an Indian word meaning “the place.”

Indeed, all these buildings were collected from other places in New Brunswick during the mid-1970s, creating a what appears to me to be an idyllic “Pleasantville” community.

I continue my walk through these fascinating homesteads. You also get to visit the chapel (1831), post office, general store (1889), tavern (1880), blacksmith’s shop and forge (1874), all with interpreters demonstrating their crafts.

The 1867 printing office at the living history museum, Village Historique Acadien, Bertrand, New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

My personal favorite: the newspaper/printing office (1867), which had been owned by Israel Londry who had five employees putting out 2000 copies of a four-page weekly paper (delivered to the post office), that would cost $1 for a six-month subscription. There are copies you can read.

There is also a one-room schoolhouse (1869), where the teacher tells me that on any day, she might have 20 students or 2, depending upon whether they were needed at home. “Before 1941, there were no mandates to attend school – children stayed home as free labor. It was a matter of survival.”

The one-room schoolhouse where the teacher could have 2 or 20 children a day depending if they were needed on the farm © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I love seeing the machinery of the 1895 grist mill. Originally it would have milled flour, sawed wood, made cedar shingles, serving a 50-mile radius. The miller would keep 10% of the flour, which he would trade for something else. “There was not much currency,” the miller tells me.. But in 1918, the miller closed the flour mill over a dispute of $125 from a bill for repair parts that went back to 1890, when new repairs were needed in 1914, and the $125 was again added to the bill, he shut it down, but kept the saw mill, carting machine and cedar shingles.

Cross the Kissing Bridge into the 20th century to visit the Irving Gas Station at the living history museum, Village Historique Acadien, Bertrand, New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Then you walk across the covered bridge (1900), called “the Kissing Bridge,” and you are in a 20th century town. There is an Irving Gas Station with antique cars; a saw mill (1949), general store (1924), tinsmith’s shop (1905) where you can buy a stove, cobbler’s shop (1945), a railroad station (1930). The Thomas Cooperage that dated from 1937 actually made barrels until 1980, employing 60 people who made 200 a day, until plastic barrels made the wood ones obsolete.

The Irving Gas Station at the living history museum, Village Historique Acadien, Bertrand, New Brunswick © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

You not only visit but can actually book a room to stay at the Hotel Chateau Albert (1910). Albert opened hotel in 1870 but had financial problems from the beginning and was put out of business by Canadian Pacific railroad.. The building was destroyed in a fire in 1955, and restored using the original plans. It now offers 14 rooms (with bathrooms) that you actually can book to stay overnight. (hotelchateaualbert.com, 506-726-2600).

You can stay over in the Village Historique Acadien, at the Hotel Chateau Albert © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

There is a really nice café in the (modern) visitor center before you go back in time, plus a restaurant in the historic village serving a menu appropriate to the period.

Plan on staying at least three hours. Open June through mid-September.

Historique Acadien Village, 5 rue du Pont, Bertrand, NB, 1-0877-721-2200, [email protected], villagehistoriqueacadien.com  

Travel planning assistance from Tourism New Brunswick, 800-561-0123www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca.

See also:

NEW BRUNSWICK ROADTRIP BEGINS IN ST. ANDREWS

NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA ROADTRIP: SAINT JOHN, CITY OF FIRSTS, OLDESTS, AMAZEMENTS

NEW BRUNSWICK ROADTRIP: DISCOVERING FUNDY TRAIL PARKWAY, FUNDY NATIONAL PARK, CAPE ENRAGE

NEW BRUNSWICK ROADTRIP: MESMERIZING HOPEWELL ROCKS

NEW BRUNSWICK ROADTRIP: METEPENAGIAG HERITAGE CENTER HIGHLIGHTS MIRAMICHI VISIT

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships: Scenic Routes & Chocolate

The view from a tower above the “Route Verte” on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Day 3: “Scenic Routes & Chocolate”

Our second day of biking (Day 3 of Discovery Bicycle Tours Quebec Eastern Townships trip) is labeled “Scenic Routes & Chocolate”. It’s 38.3 miles (which we can shorten to 25 or extend to 43) on terrain described as easier to intermediate. The main ride has three long climbs (1,746 ft. elevation) and two descents.

The picturesque scenery of Quebec’s Eastern Townships is a highlight of the Discovery Bicycle Tours trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Pulling ourselves away from the delightful Auberge & Spa West Brome, we backtrack a bit, passing again the gorgeous farms and the round barn, and skirt the town of Cowansville, stopping to visit some covered bridges on our way north. We pose in front of the 1870 Freeport red covered bridge.

Posing at one of the covered bridges on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We ride a scenic route along Chemin Gaspé with lovely views and the equestrian center that was used in the 1976 Olympics. At mile 23, we ride into the pretty village of Bromont, where we are on our own for lunch and have as much time as we like to explore its charming shops and eateries. A highlight is the Musée de Chocolat, which in addition to having a lovely café and chocolate shop, is an actual museum – it traces the development of chocolate from Cortez’ meeting with Montezuma (1519) (it didn’t go well for Montezuma).

I’m so impressed by how this small village cherishes its history. As you walk down the main street, many of the buildings have historic markers that not only have historic photos and describe the architecture and history but tell the back-story of the owner or builder.

This place is almost ground zero for cycling – not only is it a hub for an extraordinary network of bike trails and paths, but it has a newly (re-)built Velodrome (actually the facility was moved from the Atlanta Olympics, opening in 2022). It is now a hugely popular training center and hopes to displace Calgary as Canada’s national cycling training center (it even offers a sports hotel).

A young fellow practices on the pump course while another cylist speeds around the Velodrome in Brome © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our guide, Jacques Hebert, who knows all the back-stories, takes me in for a tour. We watch a young fellow practicing on an indoor pump track (the only one in Quebec), while above, ringing the facility, a cyclist rides a track like rings of Saturn, marveling at how uses centrifugal force to defy gravity. Outside, we see “campers” practicing on 20 acres of outdoor tracks and facilities. The multi-sport facility also offers volleyball, badminton, basketball, pickleball and soccer.  (400 Shefford Street, Bromont, Quebec, J2L 3E7, 450 534-3333, [email protected], https://centrenationalbromont.com/)

The new Velodrome in Brome hopes to rival Calgary to become Canada’s national cycling training center © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We have several options from here:  bike five miles or the two-mile  “shortcut” to the hotel, or continue to ride 16 miles that ends at a winery (total of 38 miles), where we can either bike to the hotel (two more miles, but apparently, it is up a killer hill) or take the van back.

I head out with Jacques to complete the 38 miles to the winery, but spying the steep road ahead, suggest we take the bike path through the woods instead. (He assures me he knows the way.) I love the ride but I suspect it didn’t actually save me from the high climb, because when we get out of the woods, there it is: a long climb up to the winery, set on a picturesque hilltop. But it feels so good when you stop, and what a view!

Enjoying the view – and taking a rest after cycling 38.2 miles – from Domaine Les Brome © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Jacques and I get to the winery, Domaine Les Brome/Leon Courville, before anybody else, and have time just to sit back in the Adirondack chairs and gaze out over the vineyards to the lake and mountains beyond. He tells me he headed the Administration for Federation of Quebec Municipalities and had a lot to do with helping localities get funding for sustainable, green and transformative projects. (I’m wondering if these extraordinary bike paths were part of it). I also learn that he is descended from the first French family to settle in Quebec.

Sharing a bottle of wine at Domaine Les Brome at the end of biking 38.2 miles through the Quebec Eastern Townships © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The others arrive and we sit around enjoying a bottle of wine. Hearing about the killer-half-mile uphill to get to the Chateau Bromont and seeing a change in weather, we all ride the van rather than bike to the Chateau Bromont.

I have time to enjoy the Chateau’s gorgeous pool (it also has four slope-side hot tubs with a commanding view of the ski mountain) before we gather for dinner at the hotel – a sensational meal (we order off the regular menu- several of us order the lamb).

(We’re at the Chateau Bromont for two nights, so we have more time in the morning.)

Day 4:– Route Verte & Provincial Park

Biking Quebec’s “Route Verte” on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I confess the third day of biking, dubbed “Route Verte & Provincial Park” is my favorite. It is a comparatively easy ride (36.7 miles, with a climb at the beginning but mostly downhill or flat until the very end, a total of 1,136 ft elevation). 35 of the miles is a section of Quebec’s Route Verte, a sprawling cycling network deservedly ranked as one of the “10 best cycling routes in the world”.

Biking Quebec’s “Route Verte” on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The ride features 25 miles of pristine, paved bike path and 10 miles of hard-packed gravel rail trail, mostly through woods with gorgeous water features – stream, lake – and through the beautiful Yamaska Provincial Park, where lots of families have gathered.

Biking through the Yamaska Provincial Park on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Just before coming into the town of Granby, the path goes on a berm flanked on both sides by water and then over a bridge. There’s a lookout tower and M.J. calls to Lindsay and me to stop and enjoy the view. It proves the most stunning scene of the trip.

Lunch is on our own, but we all gather at a café in Granby (while a flat is fixed at the bikeshop nearby).

The last mile, though, is that monster hill that takes us back to the Chateau Bromont (which is at the base of a ski mountain) for our second-night at the hotel. I make it up the hill to enthusiastic cheers of my compatriots.

The view from a tower above the “Route Verte” on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

\We all feel celebratory and Lindsay, who has purchased our cravings at the grocery store that morning, breaks them out: I go for the black olives, peppercorn chocolate (from the Chocolate Museum), nonalcoholic Pale Ale.

Dinner is on our own; our leaders offer to shuttle us back into Bromont where there are a score of restaurants, or take us to the grocery store. Most of us stay back and relax at the hotel. I enjoy paddling around in the indoor pool.

Day 5: Two Wineries & Lake Brome

Biking the lakeshore bike path coming into Knowlton on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The fourth day’s ride (day 5 of the tour) starts out cycling toward Lac Brome, passes the equestrian facilities that were home to the 1976 Olympics, follows the lakeshore road, then goes on a quiet bike path through woods which separates fabulous mansions from the lake (like the way you get to walk the Cliff Walk beside Newport’s fabulous Vanderbilt and Whitney “cottages”), a path that is decorated by some fabulous sculpture, before entering the charming Victorian town of Knowlton.

Surprised to come upon a stunning sculpture on the lakeshore bike path coming into Knowlton on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Mystery book buffs would recognize Knowlton as the home of famous detective novelist Louise Penny who has used various locations in Knowlton (and places along our route) to create the fictional “Three Pines” in her books. By coincidence, I had just finished Penny’s latest, “A World of Curiosities,” so I am really a star-struck fan trying to recreate settings from the book.

Sapin Bistro Du Lac, one of Knowlton’s charming restaurants © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The downtown section of this quaint, historic town has a number of lovely eateries, boutiques, antique shops housed in some fabulous 19th century buildings. It’s a rainy day, so instead of us having lunch at the marina, we go into the main area and have lunch in a delightful restaurant housed in a stone-cottage. I go off to visit the town.

One of the 56 artful manikins around Knowlton © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Jacques has told us to look for the 56 artful manikins that decorate the streets (Spiderman!). They are on just about every corner, line a small bridge, and many of the buildings, and are absolutely marvelous, fun and get you paying attention, so you stop into a shop, a café, a patisserie. The manikins and the historic markers show off the town’s pride.

One of the 56 artful manikins around Knowlton © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I take note that the main ride’s elevation of 1,050 ft. is over 24 miles (two big climbs and two descents), but the optional 12.5 miles has elevation of 1,204 ft – in essence one climb after another (as I double-check the navigation map). And it is on a gravel road.  And it is a rainy day.  Jacque convinces me I can and should do it, with the lure of “spectacular views” (Note: it is a cloudy, rainy, foggy day.)

Jim winds up being my personal guide (because I am last) and cheerleader.

A soggy biking day, does not dampen the exuberant mood © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It is a challenging ride. It rains the entire time – fortunately a gentle, warm rain, but I am more concerned about slippery mud – and seems to be more of a constant climb with a few, short downhill breaks. Jacque has said to expect four hills and I mentally try to calculate, “Was that three or four?”

A soggy biking day, does not dampen the exuberant mood © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

After one particularly steep climb, finally, the road slopes down. I keep expecting one more giant hill and am about to tell Jim I don’t think I can do another big climb, when the GPS lady says “End of ride”. We have arrived at Le Pleasant Inn in Sutton. I come in mud splattered, soaked through but feeling really, really satisfied to have accomplished the ride. The ladies actually come out to cheer for me.

Leaders Jacques Hebert and Jim Ortuno help me celebrate my triumph (photo by Amy Dyment)

I luxuriate in the hot shower, fold myself into the plush terry robe, brew a cup of coffee, enjoy a chocolate, and really appreciate the stunning ambiance of Le Pleasant Hôtel & Café, a sumptuous 20th century Victorian. A historic marker outside the inn says it was originally the Macdonald House, “a jewel of Sutton’s heritage over 100 years old,” built by Dr. Macdonald in the 1890s. The stately home was luxurious and richly furnished even for its time, with six hot-and-cold running water taps, a toilet and a bathtub, and  five horses, a pony, and two cows in the barn. It was destroyed in the great fire of 1898 but rebuilt to the original plans. Today it offers 10 guest rooms with European-design bathrooms, a lovely lounge, and an absolutely stunning (artistic) café, where we will enjoy breakfast (not your typical selections).

I have time to stroll the charming town, where I find Serge Andre Jones playing music from the 1910s and 1920s on a “public piano”. He’s playing from his grandmother’s music book – she used to provide the musical background at the cinema for the silent movies.

Serge Andre Jones sits at the public piano in Sutton to play his grandmother’s music from 1910s and 1920s © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The town of Sutton is an absolute delight, with a vibrant main street of sidewalk cafes, galleries, craft stores, and specialty shops, again with marvelous historic markers that show the town’s pride in its heritage. And Sutton clearly loves its cyclists – there is a lovely sculpture that overhangs the main street.

A celebratory toast at Microbrasserie Auberge Sutton at the farewell dinner of Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I rejoin the group at the inn, where we all sit around the salon before strolling over to Microbrasserie Auberge Sutton, for a celebratory farewell dinner and a toast (beer!).

Day 6: Back in the U.S.A.

Our last ride takes us south through the tiny mountain community of Abercorn, where, 5.4 miles into the ride we are hyped to indulge at “the great little bakery,” Boulangerie Abercorn (alas, they are already sold out of the almond croissants by the time we get there!), before re-entering the United States at Richford.

Heading out from Le Pleasant Inn, Sutton, for our last ride on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Especially after yesterday’s challenging ride, the 21 miles to Montgomery Center, Vermont, is a piece-of-cake, though there is an option to take a challenging roller coaster “short cut”.  (Not even Amy, who loves tackling hills and has been speeding ahead each day, opts for the short cut.)

Crossing the border from Quebec, Canada, into Vermont, USA © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Once we get through the border (a repeat of entering Canada on the first morning, when we were asked to stay as a group), I enjoy taking my time and taking in the scenery.

Just passed the border, we stop at a granite marker for the 45th parallel which is half way between the Equator and the North Pole.

A few miles further and we go onto the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail, for four miles. Back on the road, coming back into Montgomery, we are greeted with a sign, “Covered Bridges, Open Hearts” and sure enough, there is one covered bridge after another.

Biking the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Discovery Bicycle Tours has arranged for us to use the Phineas Swann Inn facilities to freshen up and change before leaving. I head out at 1 pm, routing my trip so that I can stop off to visit Ausable Chasm in the Adirondacks.

“Ride Your Own Ride”

This is my third cycling trip with Discovery Bicycle Tours, which Bob McElwain began in 1977 as Bike Vermont. I actually had my first trip, a Woodstock, Vermont, cycling weekend, with the previous owners, Larry and Dawn Niles, who ran the company for 27 years and changed the name in 2010 to reflect its expanded catalog. Scott and Thistle Cone took over the company in 2018, and have further expanded the company’s vistas. Scott is fanatical about planning out the trip – as I discovered on the Quebec Eastern Townships trip with its welcome, meticulous detail in the route notes.

Montgomery Vt., welcomes visitors, “Covered Bridges, Open Hearts.” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Scott describes himself as an avid cyclist who has over 25 years of experience in marketing for high-tech, travel and retail clients. Thistle, with a background in natural resources and education, editing and copywriting says she enjoys cycling to savor the views, get exercise and justify tasty meals (like me). Both seem to be on a mission to spread the joy of bicycle touring by making the experience accessible.

The quality, personal touch and top-notch service are notable – superb biking, dining and lodging, exceptionally well-crafted, fully-supported trips that yield a marvelous vacation experience with excellent value. (Notably, Discovery does not charge extra for bike rental – hybrid, gravel, or road bike –  and on most trips, up to 8 e-bikes are available at no charge on a first-come, first served basis (except in New Zealand and Chile where there is a charge) . Also, there are a whole list of discounts, including for returning guests, referring guests, groups.

Our Discovery Bicycle Tours’ group of ladies on the Quebec Eastern Townships ride show their mettle. Scott and Thistle Cone design the trips so that they are accessible to anyone who wants to appreciate the joy of a bike tour © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Discovery Bicycle Tours, headquartered in Woodstock, Vermont, offers more than 100 trips a year (still some departures this year) in New England and Quebec; Mid-Atlantic states and Florida; Mississippi, Texas and Idaho; Italy, France, Spain and Portugal; Scotland, Ireland and Denmark; Germany, Luxembourg & France; Chile, South America; England, UK; New Zealand; and Vietnam.

The 12-day Vietnam Adventure features an overnight cruise on Bai Tu Long Bay. More than a bike tour, the trip emphasizes culture: This trip starts in bustling Hanoi (a pedicab tour of the Old Quarter); tours caves in Tam Coc by small rowboat; cycles by rice paddies, dramatic limestone hills and pillars of rock; visits historic towns of Hue and Hoi An; ending in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The trip includes 5-star hotels, included domestic flights, and meals. There’s also an optional Angkor Wat Add-On to spend 4 days exploring the famed ancient temples in Cambodia. (Jan. 2-13 and Dec. 8-19, 2024).

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226[email protected], https://discoverybicycletours.com/

See also:

CYCLING QUEBEC’S EASTERN TOWNSHIPS: SO NEAR AND YET FEELING FAR (IN THE BEST WAY)

DISCOVERY BICYCLE’S 6-DAY COAST OF MAINE TOUR DELIGHTS THE SENSES

____________________________

© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

Cycling Quebec’s Eastern Townships: So Near and Yet Feeling Far (in the Best Way)

Our Discovery Bicycle Tours’ group of ladies on the Quebec Eastern Townships ride show their mettle © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

It doesn’t take long before we bike across the border into Quebec, Canada, just about 16 miles from Montgomery Center in northern Vermont. The countryside landscape, even the architecture, isn’t all that different, but we immediately see signs in French that remind motorists that 90 km is 60 mph. It is literally crossing a threshold. This Discovery Bicycle Tours cycling trip through Quebec’s Eastern Townships is marvelous in how you feel instantaneously transported far away – in fact, to a foreign country and forget how near we actually are, mere biking distance from our home country.

Discovery Bicycle Tours makes it all so easy. In fact, as our guides tell us when we meet for our orientation, “This is your vacation…”

I have arrived at Phineas Swann Inn, Montgomery Center, Vt around 4:30 pm the day before we set out for Quebec with plenty of time to get settled in my spacious room (more of a suite, with fire place, refrigerator, snacks and sodas, and coffee maker) before our 5:30 pm orientation with our leaders and the other riders.

 The quaint, luxurious, historic Phineas Swann Inn, Montgomery Center, Vermont, is the starting and ending point for Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

What a hoot! I recognize Jim Ortuno as the leader of my first Discovery Bicycles trip, in Woodstock Vt. several years ago. (I have since also taken Discovery’s Coastal Maine bike trip.) Our second leader is Lindsay Smith. Both prove to be exceptionally caring, earnest, and efficient (Jim is a volunteer firefighter and Lindsay is an EMT). After we cross the border, we are joined by our Quebecois leader, Jacques Hebert, who provides such personal insights of the route, the places, the culture and history of where we travel that would not be obvious as we cycle by.

We go around the inn’s salon to introduce ourselves. I find it enormously interesting that all nine of us are women and not exactly spring chickens (but each with zeal  and zest). Our complement includes a group of five ladies from New Hampshire who have been biking together since COVID and make me think of a cycling version of “Jane Austin Book Club”; two sisters from Massachusetts; and two of us who are traveling solo, from New Jersey and Long Island (bike trips are marvelous for solo travelers, and Discovery does a great job of accommodating singles).

What I love best about Discovery Bicycle Tours is the underlying philosophy: “Ride your own ride,” in order to make the experience, regardless of biking ability, as pleasurable as possible. That is not the case with some bike tour operators that have the group ride together at some communal pace (you have to ask permission to stop for a photo) and is really the difference for me, maximizing the enjoyment and the experience.

The irresistibly gorgeous northern Vermont countryside, enroute to the Canadian border to Quebec © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The secret ingredient is Discovery’s use of Ride With GPS app. We all have our own route on our phone (customized by Discovery’s owner, Scott Cone) – they also give you a printed cue sheet if you ask, which I do. That means you can ride at your own pace, you’re not pressured to keep up or even keep riding (I like to stop for photos and to see things). You know how far you’ve come and how far you have to go.

Scott has organized the GPS so it alerts us to an attraction or when to show special caution such as a railroad crossing or an upcoming turn, and most importantly, when you’ve gone off-route. The GPS (and the cue sheet) alert you to what’s coming up “there will be 1.3 miles of gravel road ahead – note round barn up on the left.” “There is a nice view of Riviere Yamaska off to the right.” “1976 Olympic Equestrian Venue on Left”. “A very nice bakery on the left. Cash or debit cards only.” “Stop at the granite marker for the 45th parallel. You are half way between the Equator and the North Pole.”

(If you are concerned about the phone battery dying, you can either bring a battery pack, charge it at lunch, or keep it in airplane mode to conserve battery, which does not interfere with the GPS).

Riding through one of Vermont’s famous covered bridges, the Comstock bridge © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Another quality of Discovery’s trip planning is that each day there is the primary ride and an option to do extra miles, which is a great way of accommodating riders of a range of abilities and interests. (One of the guides also drives the van each day that is available in case of a problem, but also sets up our rest stop/snacks/water each morning and afternoon.)

This Quebec Eastern Townships ride is classed as “2” or “intermediate” – so the rides are around 25-35 miles a day with options to do more (the toughest climbs are usually optional), and have for some long climbs along the road, as well as rolling hills, so that you can use the momentum from coming down to get you much of the way back up. Most of the ride are along the paved and gravel roads (but the Canadians are very polite and accommodating). Half of the group ride e-bikes (either their own or Discovery’s which they make available at no extra charge); a couple have carbon road bikes; and one lady switched from her road bike to Discovery’s e-bike. I am about the only one riding a regular hybrid bike, and at the end of a ride where there was one of the hardest climbs, everyone cheers as I come in.

“Our job is to make sure you have a good time. It’s important to us that you have a great week,” Lindsay tells us.  And that isn’t just words. She asks what snacks we like and want (she is going to the grocery first thing in the morning to shop) – and the final list might suggest the cravings of pregnancy – olives, peppercorn chocolate which she purchases at the Chocolate Museum, chips, beer, plus fresh cherries, strawberries, bananas and other good stuff.

The gorgeous pastoral scenery on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Jim and Lindsay, who are really good humored, really caring and really kind, fuss over us like mother hens (Lindsay more than once, seeing that my seat was too low, stopped to adjust it). Jim makes it his mission to offer great pro-tips on tackling the hills: keep chin up, relax the shoulders, light hands on the handlebar, push/pull pedals, breathe in once, out twice to empty the lungs; sing (which distracts). My method also includes not looking up at the hill, but looking 10 feet ahead, to keep mental focus, because once a doubt crosses your mind, that’s when you stop.  I absorb and practice his methods as much as I can, but in the end, decide I am going to get up the hill any way I can even if it doesn’t look pretty. It’s mostly the “can-do” attitude that gets me to the top. Other tips: shift before you need to, drink before you’re thirsty – take 2-3 oz sips every 10 minutes so you stay hydrated but don’t need to pee.

It’s like going on safari or hiking to Machu Picchu with people who are there to make the adventure as comfortable as possible. (Discovery also offers some actual adventure cycling trips for the more hard-core.)

Discovery Bicycle Tours does an outstanding job of preparing you for the ride – giving you all the information you need for contact (phone, email, addresses); fitting the bikes and helmets, safety talk; map talk preparing you for the trip and for the day’s ride. Everything is conveniently accessible on the Ride with GPS app, including the elevations for the route. (They also arrange for shuttle for anyone flying into Burlington airport.)

A wine tasting and repast is a delightful surprise on our first day of Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The meals (all breakfast, all but one dinner) are fantastic – excellent selection (we mostly order off the menu), marvelously prepared, with excellent choices, as well as accommodating diet preferences.

And the lodgings they choose are not merely places to overnight, but are special.

Our stay at the Phineas Swann Inn, in Montgomery Center, really sets the stage for the quality we experience all along the way. The inn is a restored 1880s farmhouse which TripAdvisor and Boston Magazine have named one of the most romantic inns in America. It is really plush, luxurious, quaint and has a spa for those who would like to indulge.

After our orientation meeting, we have a wonderful dinner at the inn and then a delicious breakfast, last bike fitting for anyone who needs it, and map talk before we start riding and a last reminder: HAVE YOUR PASSPORT ON YOU!

Cycling “Route des Vins”

The primary ride this first morning is 35.3 miles, with an option for11.7 more, for 47 miles. I take note of the map showing elevations – six climbs, one descent, 1,664 ft. for the main; and 483 ft for the next 11 with a rather long climb.

Though we generally are able to ride at our own pace, on this first morning, because of crossing the US-Canada border, Lindsay, who will be biking with us while Jim drives the van, tells us we need to pretty much stick together (which means not stopping for photos which is painful because the scenery, with farm houses and covered bridges, one-room schoolhouse, is really beautiful). They have to get the van through first because Jim has to present paperwork and go through inspection. But after that, we are back to riding our own ride.

“Welcome to Quebec!” Greets us just after crossing the border on our first morning of Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships ride © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It is rather exciting to go through the border, even though it is pretty pro-forma.

Our first rest stop and snack is at a visitor center located in what used to be the Grammar School.  There is a bust of Adelard Godbout, who was an important Prime Minister of Quebec (1936, 1939-1944), who Jacques tells us was a real progressive, winning the right to vote for women (1940), creating a conservatory of music and drama arts (1942); free, universal public education (1943) and hydro power as well as instituting progressive (sustainable) agricultural programs (he was an agronomist by profession).

Lindsay poses with Quebec’s progressive prime minister, Adelard Godbout © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“He transformed the public function and adopted laws that amounted to a peaceful revolution transforming modern Quebec” (is my loose translation – so fun to remember my public school French). I find it interesting that the bust was placed there as recently as 2019.

We ride passed a cottage which is a “Poterie” (a potter’s studio), but alas, the potter is not in.

Much of our ride is along the wonderfully scenic Quebec’s “Route des Vins” (a winery/vineyards trail), and this day, we cycle to a winery, Domaine du Ridge,  at mile 27.6 for a beautiful lunch (it’s really a surprise), where we have a delightful tasting of four wines accompanied by a plate of cheese, meats, pate, served at small tables outside on the lawn.

Enjoying a delightful wine tasting and lunch at Domaine du Ridge on our first day on Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships ride © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Vineyards, Jacques tells us, began to take hold in 1979; then, in the 1990s, micro-breweries came in, and today, the new trend (prompted by Internet wealth) are gin and whiskey distilleries.

We pass the Musee Missiquoi, which inhabits a water mill, which we would normally visit but it is closed on Monday.

There are several opportunities to stop and sample the wines and ciders at some of Quebec’s most famous vineyards, including Opailleur and Domaine des Côtes D’Ardoise and Union Libre Cidre & Vin.

The Musee Missiquoi, the local history museum, inhabits a watermill © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We end the regular ride at another winery which also has a sculpture park (they have arranged admission), and we are given the choice of riding the van back from here or ride 12 miles on gravel road to the hotel.

I continue on for the option, which is mostly on gravel country road with some hills (worth it for the views, they keep reminding us). Jacques has promised gorgeous scenery and it is true – the countryside scenes are painterly.

Scenery is important to me – the opportunity to see landscapes, villages, people going about their day at the pace of a bicycle, with the ability to stop and take it in, take a photo – is why I love bike trips so much. The physical feeling you get – the satisfaction of attacking a hill (and being successful) – is great, too, but not my priority, though tackling distance and hills is the priority for some of the road riders.

I’m loving this trip because we are immersed in a foreign culture – the fact it is French speaking – is such a wonderful overlay – and yet so accessible.

What covered bridges are to Vermonters, round barns are to the Quebecois © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We pass a Quebec highlight, a round barn (Jacques what covered bridges are to Vermonters, round bars are to Quebecois). Off to the distance we can see our destination for the night, the charming Auberge & Spa West Brome, where we have access to their sauna, gym and gorgeous indoor heated pool. Just as we arrive, it begins to rain, and it is so very enjoyable to paddle around in the indoor pool and totally decompress. We chat with some of the other guests who have come from Montreal, summoning my French while they practice their English.

We have a sensational dinner at the Auberge’s Bistro – Chef Ugo’s inspiration menu. I get to taste Jacque’s Boudin noir maison (homemade black pudding, bacon-whisky marmalade, apples with Calvados – it’s actually quite tasty), but enjoy my appetizer, citrus salmon; for the main I have the duck leg confit with creamy roasted garlic puree. The dessert, chocolat mousse is fabulous.

Heading towards the Auberge & Spa West Brome, nestled amid 200 acres of farmland, and the end of Discovery Bicycle Tours’ first day’s Quebec Eastern Townships ride © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This inn (actually modern, but very charming, with a series of small buildings) really caters to cyclists. It is set amid 200 acres of picturesque farmlands, just north of the town of West Brome, surrounded by the lovely rolling hills that characterize the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

It takes no time at all for us to bond as a group, even though we are a blend of four entities, including two of us who are “solo travelers”. That is the reason that bike tours are such an excellent choice for single travelers (I’ve had this experience so many times). This is especially true of the group of five ladies from New Hampshire, who instead of being cliquey (each day, they wear the same cycling colors) are so welcoming, mixing up seatings.

Discovery Bicycle Tours, 2520 W. Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, VT 05091, 800-257-2226[email protected], https://discoverybicycletours.com/

Next: Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Quebec Eastern Townships: Scenic Routes & Chocolate

See also: DISCOVERY BICYCLE’S 6-DAY COAST OF MAINE TOUR DELIGHTS THE SENSES

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

The World is Your Oyster: Summer Vacations with Pizzazz

The dramatic reward after a four-day 26-mile trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com 

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Bucket List Summer Adventures

For those who want to ditch the tame in favor of a series of thrilling experiences you can complete on your summer break, here are trips with pizzazz for you:

1. Central Utah Backcountry Cycling: Central Utah has one of the largest stretches of true backcountry left in the nation. Escape Adventures’ six-day cycling tour goes eastward through contrasting desert scenery and high alpine forests along Utah Highway 12 (one of America’s most scenic highways) to Capitol Reef National Park. (https://escapeadventures.com/tour/utah-escalante-and-capitol-reef-national-park-road-bike-tour/)

2. Yellowstone Ranch Getaway: Get away and give back during a stay at the historic O.T.O. Dude Ranch on the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Montana’s first dude ranch offers classic adventures like hiking, horseback riding, fly-fishing, archery, sport shooting and more, as well as locally inspired cuisine and cozy cabins. Proceeds from every stay go to preservation efforts at the National Register of Historic Places-listed ranch. (https://trueranchcollection.com/yellowstone-pop-up/)

3. Galapagos, Andes + Amazon: Discover the enchanting Galapagos Islands at Scalesia Galapagos Lodge, explore the Amazon Rainforest at Sacha Lodge and experience the Ecuadorian Andes at Hacienda Piman, all in a 15-day tour. Learn about endemic flora and fauna, hike near active volcanoes, paddle tannin-rich blackwater creeks and explore the highlands of the Andes. (https://www.sachalodge.com/programs/#galapagos-programs)

4. Wine + Bike Piedmont: The Langa and Monferrato regions of Piedmont are in one of the most important wine production areas in Italy and received UNESCO World Heritage status in 2014. Tourissimo’s Piedmont Barolo cycling tour takes you into the heart of these regions, over rolling hills covered with vineyards and past ancient castles and hidden hilltop hamlets. (https://www.tourissimo.travel/piedmont-wine-region-cycling-tour)

The amazement of seeing the Grand Prismatic at Yellowstone National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

5. Jackson Hole Glamping: Fireside Resort offers luxuriously outfitted tiny house rental units designed by Wheelhaus a short distance from Grand Teton National Park, making it the perfect basecamp for summer adventures. Experience whitewater rafting, hiking through the Tetons and revel in the wonder of Yellowstone National Park’s geothermal features. (https://www.firesidejacksonhole.com/)

6. North Cascades Traverse: A new five-day trip from Wildland Trekking combines iconic North Cascades National Park backpacking and a stay at a remote lodge with no road access on Washington’s Lake Chelan. Backpack over alpine passes and through pristine wilderness to the lodge, then hike to views of the Stehekin Valley before returning to civilization by boat. (https://wildlandtrekking.com/trips/stehekin-lodge-backpacking-trip/)

7. Patagonia Fjords Cruise: Book a nine-day voyage through Chilean Patagonia with Adventure Life and set sail among stunning fjords, islands, glaciers, peaks and wildlife. Visit Puerto Cisnes, San Rafael Bay and Glacier, the Gulf of Penas, the isolated village of Puerto Eden, the Strait of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego and the Beagle Channel, ending in Ushuaia, Argentina. (https://www.adventure-life.com/patagonia/cruises/17283/patagonia-chilean-fjords)

Go whitewater rafting in Big Sky, Montana © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

8. Big Sky Summer Fun: A stay at The Wilson Hotel in Big Sky, Montana, offers proximity to Yellowstone National Park’s natural wonders and wildlife, plus opportunities to hike through shaded forests and wildflower-filled meadows, float or fly fish clear, cool waters, experience the adrenaline rush of lift-served mountain biking. (https://thewilsonhotel.com/)

9. National Parks RV Trip: Blacksford rents fully stocked Mercedes-Benz Sprinter overland adventure vehicles from Winnebago with an all-inclusive pricing model that includes unlimited miles, bedding, kitchen and bath supplies, a free annual pass to the national parks, 24-hour roadside assistance and no generator fees. (https://www.blacksford.com/)

10. Yellowstone Family Rafting and Riding: This three-day whitewater rafting and horseback-riding package from Flying Pig Adventures offers families the opportunity to experience the Yellowstone National Park area like never before. The thrill of witnessing one of nature’s most iconic environments, tackling rough terrain on horseback and running class III rapids cannot be found anywhere else. (https://www.flyingpigrafting.com/3-day-yellowstone-adventure)

Looking for more adventure? Check out the itineraries in the U.S. from REI Adventure Travel (rei.com, 800-622-2236) and G Adventures (gadventures.com, 888-800-4100).

Biking Holidays

Biking trips are my favorite for the combination of experiences they offer: seeing destinations close-hand, most often off-the-beaten track out of busy urban areas; at a pace where you see a lot and do a lot but slow enough to really see and do; where there is a physical and emotional satisfaction having pedaled the distance.

Operators today offer guided tours (ideal for solo travelers) as well as self-guided (where they give you the route, the inns or hotels, and ferry your luggage point to point but you are on your own) all over the world. And don’t be deterred by concern for the distance or the hills – many operators offer e-bikes as an option.

Bike the scenic Bruges-Amsterdam route and stay on a boat, with Boat Bike Tours © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Boat Bike Tours, based in Amsterdam, (we took their Bruges-Amsterdam tour last summer) offers a selection of itineraries in Holland, but also the region, and in addition to boat-bike trips, have sail-bike trips, and cities and nature tours (US tel.203-814-1249
 [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com).

Discovery Bicycle Tours (we took their Maine Coastal trip, and this year their Quebec Eastern Townships) has a long list of cycling vacations in the United States (Idaho Trails tour is one of its most popular), Canada, Europe, Vietnam, Cambodia, New Zealand & Chile including one that is particularly interesting to me, England: Cotswolds & Stonehenge Bike Tour. As we write this, there were still spaces left on Lake Champlain Islands, Empire State Trail, Stowe Bike & Brew Weekend, Minnesota Rail Trails, Washington Cascades Trails, Idaho Trails departures,  ([email protected], 800-257-2226, discoverybicycletours.com).

Wilderness Voyageurs (traveled with them on their Mickelson Trail & The Badlands Bike Tour in South Dakota; they’ve introduced tours on New York’s own Empire State Trail bike tour as well as Olympic Peninsula bike tour in Washington State), plus New Mexico, , [email protected], 724.329.1000, 800.272.4141, wilderness-voyageurs.com)

Biking through Badlands National Park, South Dakota, with Wilderness Voyageurs © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

BikeTours.com specializes in European itineraries, including guided, self-guided, and boat-and-bike tours, with excellent value. Among the more unusual is the UNESCO Sites of Albania (which I took some years ago with an e-bike); active tours like Southern Fyn: A Tour Around Denmark’s Fairytale Island and Pearls of Dalmatia by Bike and Boat, Romantica and leisure tours like Poland’s Masurian Lake District (Upscale Lodging). BikeTours.com is showcasing six 6 and 7-night self-guided bike tours showcasing Europe’s most beautiful vineyards and wine-growing regions: Rioja: Hidden Spain – Land of Wine, Burgundy Wine Trails: Beaune to Macon on the “Voie Verte”;  German Rivers, Wines & Cycle Paths by Bike and Boat; Wine & Bike in Hungary’s Balaton Uplands; Croatian Vineyards and Villages of Undiscovered Istria;  Tuscan Wine Classic: Pienza to Castellina via Siena. They have also introduced a new series of day trips. (biketours.com, 833-216-0635)

Biking among UNESCO sites in Albania with BikeTours.com (e-bike option recommended) © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co. is appealing to scholars, curious explorers and lifelong learners on these three bike trips, with every mile imbued with history. Not only do the landscapes of ScotlandNormandy, and the Cotswolds feel frozen-in-time, but each place played a part in shaping the world as we know it—through theaters of war, royal revolutions, ruins of the Roman Empire, and powerful clans and castles. Duvine has an expansive catalog of up-scale bike tours (888 396 5383, duvine.com)

Butterfield & Robinson has always been known for high-end, elegant biking trips. Itineraries include Burgundy Wine Country Biking; Piemonte Wine Country Biking; Chile Wine Country Biking; Vienna to Budapest Wine Country biking; Spanish Wine Country; Tuscany wine Country (seeing a pattern?) (866.551.9090, www.butterfield.com)

Backroads was founded in 1979 by Tom Hale and has been a leading innovator in active and adventure travel every since. Active adventures highlight the special character of each destination. The company offers Biking, Walking & Hiking and Multi-Adventure Tours; Active Ocean & River Cruises, Active Safari, Active Culinary and Snow Adventures; and Dolce Tempo trips for travel at a more relaxed pace. Also Private Trips and Family Trips designed for three distinct age groups: Families with Teens & Kids (best for ages 9+), Families with Older Teens & 20s and Families with Young Adults (backroads.com, 800-462-2848)

Trek Travel is more for hard-core, offering mountain, off-road, gravel trips (Girona, Swiss Alps, Tuscany, Vermont), Ride Camps, and even experience the Women’s Tour de France with VIP race viewings and access to one of the best women’s professional teams, Trek-Segafredo, and get to ride on the route New 3 & 4-day bike tours in places such as San Diego, Santa Barbara and Vermont. Also, self-guided and trips with a boost, e-bike (Croatia, Mallorca Island,Glacier) (trektravel.com, 866-464-8735) 

On the Water

Cruising is fun but we prefer cruising with a twist: small ship, river cruises, barges, canal boats, houseboat experiences.

European Waterways, a luxury hotel barge cruising company, offers an immersive and all-inclusive “gentle voyage of discovery” focusing upon the culture, history, fine wine, and gourmet cuisine of the cruise regions in nine countries. With a 6-to-20-person capacity and 1:2 crew ratio, European Waterways cruises inland waterways that are inaccessible to larger vessels. This fascinating network of smaller canals allows for flexibility, spontaneity, and ample opportunity to hop off and explore the beautiful surroundings via bicycle or on foot, plus daily, chauffeured excursions “off the beaten track” to a wide variety of attractions and activities, from wine tastings to private tours of stately homes. 877-879-8808 in the U.S., 1-877-574-3404 in Canada, or visit www.europeanwaterways.com

UnCruise Adventures operates boutique yachts and small boats carrying 22-86 guests on voyages in Alaska, Hawaiian Islands, Mexico’s Sea of Cortés, Columbia & Snake Rivers, Coastal Washington, Galápagos, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, and Colombia. (uncruise.com, 888-642-6745).

You also can’t beat Lindblad Expeditions for expeditionary-style cruising and soft-adventure trips, famous for pioneering Galapagos and Antarctica, Georgia and the Falklands, on its specially designed ships, National Geographic Orion, and National Geographic islander II. (expeditions.com, 888-667-2830).

GoGalapagos’ cruise aboard the 100-passenger Legend affords a sensational family adventure experience © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

For the most perfect family cruise/travel/adventure experience we have had, set your compass to the Galapagos. Go Galapagos is a cruise and tour operator offering excellent price/quality value for 3, 4, 7 and -night inclusive cruises (two guaranteed weekly departures), You can also combine the cruise with land packages in the Galapagos, in Ecuador, and in Peru. In addition to the 100-passsenger Galapagos Legend, Go Galapagos also has two yacht-style ships, Coral I and Coral II. (www.GoGalapagos.com, 888 50 KLEIN).

Swimming with sea lions in the Galapagos on the GoGalapagos Legend cruise © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Want to skipper your own yacht, or charter a boat with a captain and crew? Dream Yacht Worldwide, a pioneer in making sailing and sea travel accessible employs more than 600 people in 31 countries and operates in 50 destinations worldwide, with a fleet of more than 900 monohulls and catamarans. Dream Yacht Charter offers one of the most diverse fleets of sailing, yacht and boats, If offers skippered and crewed charters (dreamyachtcharter.com)

The marvelously scenic and special time-travel experience of sailing one of the historic Maine Windjammers, like the Stephen Tabor, on Penobscot Bay © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Another really special cruise experience is sailing on one of the historic vessels of the Maine Windjammer fleet that sail the Penobscot Bay. Each is distinctive (and on a few occasions during the season (Windjammer Gam – June 12, Great Schooner Race- July 7, Camden Windjammer Festival – Sept 1-2, and WoodenBoat Sail-In – Sept 12, they gather together in scenes that evoke the Great Age of Sail. Each vessel and each cruise is different (many are themed): Windjammer Angelique, Schooner American Eagle, Schooner Grace Bailey, Schooner Heritage, Schooner J. & E. Riggin, Schooner Ladona, Schooner Lewis R. French, Schooner Mary Day, Schooner Stephen Taber ([email protected], www.sailmainecoast.com, 800-807-9463.)

Enjoy cruising at your own pace, exploring the iconic (and calm) Erie Canal, captaining your way through locks, docks, and under lift bridges. Erie Canal Adventures, out of Macedon, NY,provides completely equipped 34 foot Lockmasters, ideal for 1 couple (some prime summer/fall dates available to charter) and 41 and 42 foot Lockmasters that sleep 4-6 people (limited dates available in September). These are set up like a floating houseboat with bedroom, bath/shower, fully equipped galley kitchen, remarkably easy to operate. (www.ErieCanalAdventures.com, 315-986-3011)

Cruising New York State’s Erie Canal on one of Erie Canal Adventures’ Lockmasters © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Solo Travel

Traveling solo is one of the big trends in travel. Bike tours are an excellent choice (I can attest). So are rafting trips, river, expeditionary, and small-ship cruises and canalboats.

Western River Expeditions suggests rafting itineraries – Grand Canyon, Colorado River, Salmon River – that have proved popular for solo travelers (https://www.westernriver.com, 866-904-1160).

Tour operators are also embracing solo travelers, offering departures that do not add the single supplement, for example, or matching up travel companions. EF Go Ahead Tours (GAT), a premier provider of culturally immersive travel experiences, announced it is introducing four new tours, for a total of 14, to its increasingly popular Solo-Only portfolio. EF Go Ahead Tours, is running its Semi-Annual Sale through June 29:  Book a 2023, 2024, or 2025 tour by June 29 to lock in the lowest price and take up to $400 off of the cost of their trip.  June 20 and 21, the Summer Solstice Flash Sale will offer Up to $800 off remaining 2023 tours.  To make travel even more accessible, EF Go Ahead’s flexible booking policies including AutoPay lets you hold a spot with $99 down and wait 60 days before your first interest-free payment. (www.goaheadtours.com, 800-590-1161).

Skyscanner Savings Generator

Global travel site Skyscanner has launched the new and expanded summer edition of its Savings Generator tool to help travelers save big this summer. 

The global travel sitecurrently searches 80 billion prices every day, so Skyscanner’s experts have crunched the numbers to share some simple dos and don’ts for grabbing the best bargain this summer. 

Put your desired route into the Savings Generator to see if it’s available. If not, bookmark the page and check back because Skyscanner adds new destinations to the list.

To provide a comparison, the Savings Generator starts by displaying the average monthly flight price for your destination. From there, it shows you the best time to book your flight and the cheapest day to travel on. If you’d like to consider a less-expensive alternative, the Generator displays different destinations, their average monthly flight price for travel, and the best day to go in order to save money. (See more: https://www.skyscanner.com/tips-and-inspiration/best-time-to-book-savings-generator)

Getting there: Skyscanner has beefed up its Savings Generator to find the best fares for summer travel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Travel the last week of the school summer holidays (instead of the first) and save 31% 

To save big this summer, travel on a Sunday (most of the time)! 

Travelers who are flexible and can fly on less popular days of the week can save up to 5% on the cost of their flights this July and August according to Skyscanner’s Summer Savings Generator. An added bonus is that airports are likely to be less crowded too. As 73% of Americans share, they would be willing to change the day and/ or week of their summer vacations to save this year, it really pays to do your research by Use Skyscanner’s Whole Month view.   

There are still inexpensive deals – just search EVERYWHERE for the very best prices  

To let Skyscanner’s algorithm find the cheapest deal, just type in ‘Everywhere’ with your travel dates.  

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of centuries old windmills © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Day 6 of our BoatBikeTours bike trip from Bruges to Amsterdam proves to be the absolute highlight (out of many) and not just for the iconic attractions (spoiler alert: windmills!), but the serendipitous experiences that are the essence of travel.

Biking along the river as our ship, the Princesse Royal sails by © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We set out for this day’s ride, 35 miles from Dordrecht to Vianen, riding along a berm that looks down on the river where we can see our ship, the Princesse Royal, sailing along on the left while on the right, just behind a row of houses, we see windmills.

We soon come to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of these centuries old windmills (the name literally means children’s dike).

Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of centuries old windmills © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I always thought of windmills as industrial engines to grind grain or saw wood, and windmills had that function in Holland as well, but in the mid-1700s, Holland used windmills as pumps to drain water to create farm land that otherwise would have been below sealevel. They began by reclaiming two huge patches of land with a system of canals, dykes and windmills to pump water out. Methods changed over time, with the addition of steam engines, electric pumps, that are in a race to take the water out of reclaimed land. But it is expected that this place will eventually succumb to the sea and be below sea level. (Like Venice, see the windmills now!).

Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of centuries old windmills © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Dutch have been building hydraulic works for the drainage of land for agriculture and settlement since the Middle Ages and have continued to the present day. And these windmills’ most critical task was the ongoing water drainage because 26 percent of The Netherlands is below sea level. Each year, 5 trillion gallons of water must be pumped out to avoid flooding the low-lying parts of the Netherlands. (https://netherlandsinsiders.com/why-is-the-netherlands-known-for-windmills/)

Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of centuries old windmills © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

At its peak, there were more than 10.000 windmills operating in The Netherlands. Today, there still are more than 1,000 (and we encounter many of them along our ride – along with the modern day version, wind turbines).

Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of centuries old windmills © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Two of the mills at Kinderdijk, Nederwaard Museum Mill (built in 1738), and Blokweer Museum Mill (which shows what life was like in the 1950s) are opened daily to the public, in addition to boat tours, which can be visited with an entrance ticket .

Kinderdijk is an enchanting place – like a Dutch painting come to life – and after giving us a good amount of time to explore on our own, we get back on the bikes and follow the trail through this entire expanse to continue on our way to Schoonhoven.

Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of centuries old windmills © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We bike to where we are having lunch – a delightful market and a marvelous shop, which usually has tables outside. But they are doing construction so we sit at tables in the barn, with cows, goats, rabbit, lambs. (Unexpected!).

Sharing lunch with cows © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Rain is expected and sure enough, it comes in like clockwork (1 pm) as a furious downpour with thunder and wind. We are cozy inside with the cows and goats. (I’m just so grateful the rain waited until after we visited Kinderdijk.)

Sharing lunch with cows © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Right on time, the thunderstorm passes, but more is expected, so our leaders decide not to offer the option of the longer ride (we were looking forward to riding through peoples’ backyards, as our leader, Arnold Thurko, described), and so set out.

Enchanting scene after a rain © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The atmosphere is utterly magical – a milky/creamy quality washing over the green/grey landscape with touches of yellow and orange, dotted with windmills.

Enchanting experience riding through the countryside after a rain © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The ship meets us at Schoonhoven and takes us on to Vianen.

Dinner this evening is a delicious broccoli soup with cucumber; cod with white herb sauce; vegetables, potatoes; and for dessert, a white chocolate mousse with pistachio.

The Princesse Royal © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Vianen: Free City

After dinner, we walk off the ship and our leader, Corrie Stein, guides us on a tour of of Vianen, delighting us with her storytelling. Vianen, she says, calls itself a “free town,” by which I take to mean they are libertarians, resistant to national authority, like paying taxes, and not too welcoming to outsiders. “The city is proud of being a free town.” “Libre” is proclaimed on a sign as we walk in.

She points out other aspects of culture: “Dutch symmetry”. “People will have two of the same planters for symmetry/balance” and the tradition of keeping curtains open (so others can see how nice it is inside).

The local hero here is Hendrik von Brederode, a nobleman who lived from 1531-1568. He became   important during the Dutch revolt against the Spanish king for religious freedom, the Eighty Years War.

Vianen’s local hero here is Hendrik von Brederode petitioned the Spanish for freedom of religion, and earned the nickname “Grote Geus” or the “big beggar” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“In the Netherlands, when we want something badly, we can petition parliament. Nobles sent Hendrik to the representative of the Spanish king in Brussels to petition for freedom of religion. But in translation, the word ‘beggar” or ‘begging’ was attached to him. “From then on, they called themselves ‘beggars’.” Hendrik was nicknamed the “Grote Geus” or the “big beggar”.

“Eventually we got freedom of religion, after the 80-year revolt.”

Most villages have a main square. Vianen – being so independent, I guess – has a boulevard instead.

Vianen shows its free-spirit by a boulevard instead of a town square © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Napoleon made a road from Paris to Amsterdam and armies and Napoleon came here (& Dordrecht) and drank red wine.

At the Town Hall, Corrie explains that the ground does not support tall towers, and there is not a lot of stone to build with, so it is very prestigious to build with natural stone instead of brick.

On the chimney on top of the Town Hall we see a stork nest – Corrie says the story that associates storks with delivering babies comes from Dutch tradition.

Vianen’s Town Hall with a stork’s nest © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

On the outside of the apothecary, there is a bust of a taste tester “to show the medicine was safe.”

Where the historic castle used to stand today there is a water tower – the first in Netherlands to be made of concrete – which turns out to be an icon of Vianen.

She also points to a tree – the Queen Wilhelmia tree. “The House of Orange was depending upon one small girl to keep the house going – would she stay alive? Communities planted trees of hope. The House of Orange had one child – Queen Juliana – who had four daughters.”

Breukelein Bridge

In the morning of Day 7, our last day of cycling, our ship, the Princesse Royal, sails from Vianen to Breukelein, which I learn (most delightedly) that this is where the first settlers of Brooklyn came from. (Corrie jokes that it has its own Breukelen bridge; we stop at for photos). We will bike from here to Amsterdam (New York, you will remember, was originally New Amsterdam) – our last stop on our boat/bike tour.

Okay, not quite Brooklyn Bridge, but the people from Breukelein settled Brooklyn © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The path from Breukelein along the River Feckt that goes up to Amsterdam is gorgeous, dotted with literal mansions built by textile magnates. “400 years ago this was an important place- the wealthy from Utrecht and Amsterdam would flee the city in summer –heat, diseases – and built impressive summer houses,” Corrie tells us.  

They were built over a 400 year period and French destroyed many and many were replaced, so they have different styles. Many have impressive gardens and tea houses. It is reminiscent of Newport’s “cottages.”

Over a period of 400 years, wealthy merchants from Utrecht and Amsterdam built mansions along the river where they could  escape the summer’s heat © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“It was scary for people to be outside city, so they even “controlled” their gardens and would buy the view across the river (that remains true today).

We cycle on to a dairy farm and cheese factory, Willigen, in Vreeland and are given a truly fascinating tour by owner Corey, (her brother, Henry Villa, is famous for his cheese shops but his sister, who uses the same recipes, prefers to stay small scale). I’m fascinated by the sophisticated, computerized operation. (They also have a bnb, www.dewilligenlogies.nl/nl/)

They have 80 milking cows on 180 acres of land. The cows come in for milking at 5:30 am and 5:30 pm – 10 cows on each side. One person can milk the 80 cows in an hour. The cows all have computer IDs – when their head is inserted, the computer knows the cow, how many kilos and type of food pellets every cow needs. Each cow is milked 300 days of the year and produces 30 liters of milk a day.

Learning about computerized milking, feeding and cheese-making practices at the Willigen cheese farm © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The milk, just five minutes old, goes to the cheese-making factory. “The difference between farmer cheese and factory is the farmer is not allowed to pasteurize milk. Milk that is three days old is used as starter milk for the cows.It takes 10 liters of milk to make 1 kilo of cheese.

Dairy farm © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
 

We bike along the River Vecht where there are number of houseboats – we are getting closer to Amsterdam.

At Muiden, we take a bit of a detour to see Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot, one of the oldest and best preserved castles in the Netherlands. The castle was built around 1285 and has a long and turbulent history. It forms part of the Defense Line of Amsterdam and the New Dutch Waterline, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It has been a museum since 1878.The castle is surrounded by gardens (muiderslot.nl).

At Muiden, we take a bit of a detour to see Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot, one of the oldest and best preserved castles in the Netherlands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We set out again for Amsterdam, our end point, but the option to take the longer route is taken away because of concern for a severe rainstorm.

We ride fast to get to the ship before the rain, meet the ship and sail into Amsterdam, where it is already raining.

Bicycles of Amsterdam: just a small section of the bicycle parking lot beside Amsterdam’s Central Station © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We are docked on the opposite shore from Amsterdam’s city center, but Amsterdam is so bike/pedestrian friendly, the city offers free ferries that run constantly.

We literally step out of where the Princesse Royal is docked and walk a few steps to the ferry to Amsterdam’s Central Station and the historic city center. So I hop on one to go into the historic center for a walk-about in the rain before our gala, farewell dinner.

Enjoying a gala dinner onboard the Princesse Royal at the end of our eight-day BoatBikeTours Bruges to Amsterdam trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Corrie and Arnold also help those who need to get a COVID test before traveling back to the US make the appointment (an extremely efficient system from Spoedtest.nl in Amsterdam, and helping us organize for our departure.

Princesse Royal’s captain and owner Roy van der Veen, first mate, chef, housekeeper, host and our tour leaders Corrie Stein and Arnold Thurkow © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This is an ideal trip especially if you are traveling on your own, if you are new to biketouring, or with a family or just want a relaxing, incredibly scenic and interesting ride. The scheduling, route, itinerary, tours and excursions are excellent – and I especially love how our ship in most cases docks right at the town so we can walk off and visit.

Boat Bike Tours, Aambeeldstraat 20, 1021 KB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, tel.: +31 20 72 35 400,  [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

See also:

Idyllic Trip: Biking and Boating from Bruges to Amsterdam

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

The Place Where It Happened. Dordrecht is like our Philadelphia. In 1572, a meeting was held to decide to revolt against Philip of Spain and choose William of Orange as the leader. “The Netherlands was born in Dordrecht.” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Day 5 on our BoatBikeTours eight-day Bruges-to-Amsterdam bike trip, we sail in the early morning from Antwerp in Belgium to Kreekrak and cycle 23 miles to Tholen (new harbor) in the Netherlands, where the ship meets us to sail on to Dordrecht – not places that I would bet most of us have ever heard of before.

We stop to visit to the Canadian war cemetery where there are 80 graves of Canadian soldiers who fought trying to free Netherlands from the Nazis. “They try to give the graves a face,” so each one is personalized.

The Canadian war cemetery has 80 graves of Canadian soldiers who fought trying to free Netherlands from the Nazis © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our lunch stop is at Fort De Roovere, built in 1628, the largest of four forts that formed the West-Brabantse Waterline, a water-based defensive fortification. Located along the edge of a sandy embankment between Bergen op Zoom and Steenbergen, it was built during the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) – the Dutch war of independence against Spanish rule.

Fort De Roovere is now a very pleasant park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

After the fall of the French Empire of Napoleon in 1816, Fort de Roovere no longer had a military purpose and was reclaimed by nature. It was designated a national monument in 1975. The earthen-fortress was restored in 2010 as much as possible to its original state, along the same design configuration as in 1784, and today is a lovely park where I watch dragon flies on a lily pond, and climb an interesting modern tower to get a sense of how, in a siege, the approaching enemy forces could be bombarded from protruding bastions by batteries of cannon..

Fort De Roovere is now a very pleasant park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Climb the tower at Fort De Roovere © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We bike into a charming village of Tholen which has a surprising windmill (converted to a restaurant), and have some time to explore.

The quaint village of Tholen © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Coming upon an artisan in the quaint village of Tholen © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Biking onto our ship, the Princesse Royal, at Tholen, after riding 23 miles from Kreekkrak, which will sail on to Dordrecht on the BoatBikeTours eight-day trip from Bruges to Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our ship, the Princesse Royal, meets us here and we spend a pleasant afternoon sailing to Dordrecht, going through locks which I learn are not to level the water (like on the Erie Canal) but to keep salt water separate from fresh so the reclaimed land can be farmed. Apparently, it’s also an interesting water defense system – areas could be flooded to stop an invader.

Lovely scenery sailing on the Princesse Royal © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This day proves a nice, relaxing combination of cycling and sailing, but the highlight is yet to come.

Lovely scenery sailing on the Princesse Royal © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We are supposed to dock at the historic city of Dordrecht, but there is an important steam-engine ship festival about to get underway and the harbormaster has refused to let us dock. So Captain Roy van der Veen finds a spot at a boat-building marina across the river.

Sailing passed Dordrecht © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our leader, Corrie Stein, not to be deterred because we can’t just walk off the ship into the historic center, organizes a ride back into Dordrecht for her guided walking tour because this is a city that is not to be missed. Dordrecht, as I learn, is like our Philadelphia in 1776, and this place and this adventure proves to be a highlight of our trip.

Bike track to come down from the bridge into Dordrecht… © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
…an escalator to bring the bike up to the bridge from Dordrecht © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Here we also get to see the extraordinary infrastructure for bikes – to get up/down the very high bridge, there is actually a track and even an escalator for the bike, as well as dedicated path on the highway bridge.

Dordrecht is 800 years old, the oldest city of Holland (not Netherlands), with a population of 120,000 and some 900 monuments. It has always been a garrison town.

At the main church we learn that they wanted to build a tower 120 meters high (to compete with another city’s tower), but the ground wouldn’t support it. So with the money left over, they built four clocks and a bell. But when the bell tolled, windows broke, so they stopped.

“Schooske” – special historic sailing ships that are iconic to Dordrecht © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We see these “schooske” – special historic sailing ships that are iconic to Dordrecht (and why there is the special festival). They are allowed to stay in this marina for free.

“Schooske” – special historic sailing ships that are iconic to Dordrecht © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The original, ornately decorated entrance gate to the town is where Napoleon entered Dordrecht, Corrie says.

Napoleon would have entered Dordrecht through this historic gate © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Walking down a cobblestone street, I see stolpersteine (“stumbling stones”) – bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalk as a memorial to the Jewish families who were taken from their home during the Holocaust. There are stolpersteines to commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime in more than 1,100 locations in 17 European countries

On a street in Dordrecht, stolpersteine (“stumbling stones”) – shiny bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalk as a memorial to the Jewish families who were taken from their home during the Holocaust © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

On this street, Corrie points out a special Dordrecht style façade of buildings dating from the 17th century, which she says would have been designed by a mason in order to qualify to join a guild. “There were hundreds of these buildings but they fell out of fashion.

Novice masons would have to prove their stuff in order to join a guild in Dordrecht © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We come to what seems a simple courtyard of a 1275 Augustine monastery, but here, in 1572, a meeting was held to decide to revolt against Philip of Spain and to choose William of Orange as the leader. “The Netherlands was born in Dordrecht,” Corrie tells us.

“Netherlands formed after a revolt against Spain. It started with representatives choosing William of Orange as leader and agreeing to fight for freedom – a political moment – a thought out idea – freedom of religion,” which took place right here. (It sounds so much like the Continental Congress of 1776; Dordrecht in 1572 was Philadelphia in 1776.)

The Place Where It Happened. Dordrecht is like our Philadelphia.In 1572, a meeting was held to decide to revolt against Philip of Spain and choose William of Orange as the leader. “The Netherlands was born in Dordrecht.” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“William wanted their own church” not like Catholic churches, but rounded with 8 sides. And they wanted their own Bible translated in Dutch.”

In 2019, the King of Netherlands, a descendent of William of Orange, came here to Dordrecht with an original family bible, and computerized art projected the writings from the old text on the building.

By now, darkness has all but descended. We put on our bike lights, and ride back to the ship, everyone giggling over how we look like a line of fireflies.

Biking back to the Princesse Royal from Dordrecht at night © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Biking back to the Princesse Royal from Dordrecht at night © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Biking back to the Princesse Royal from Dordrecht at night © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Boat Bike Tours, Aambeeldstraat 20, 1021 KB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, tel.: +31 20 72 35 400,  [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

See also:

Idyllic Trip: Biking and Boating from Bruges to Amsterdam

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Antwerp’s historic center, ringed with Guild Houses © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our BoatBikeTours route on Day 4 of our Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour into Antwerp would normally involve going through an interesting 500-meter long tunnel. But our leader, Arnold Thurko, tells us that the 1930s-vintage elevators broke and they haven’t been able to find the spare parts to fix it, so we ride over a bridge and take a ferry into the city instead, which proves a delightful ride with gorgeous views of the city and a fun (quick) ferry ride.

Arriving into Antwerp by ferry© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We park our bikes (Arnold stays with them) and go off with our leader, Corrie Stein, for a guided walking tour of Antwerp’s historic city center.

Antwerp’s Golden Age was the 1500s (earlier than Amsterdam), largely because of the advantage its Suikerrui (canal) provided traders by connecting the city to the sea. (Today it is closed off but you can visit the De Ruien, the underground waterway. You get to walk along old vaulted ceilings, narrow canals, bridges, sewers and sluices, and see the city’s underbelly. You can visit The Ruien by booking a guided group walk, walk on your own with an interactive tablet at fixed times or navigate a small section of The Ruien by boat. Go to www.deruien.be).  I have this on top of my list for a return visit to Antwerp. 

Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Antwerp was apparently spared bombing in World War II. As a result, we can still marvel at the City Hall, which dates from 1560, and a magnificent square ringed with Guild Houses, one for each guild and each with its own decoration.

Antwerp’s historic center, ringed with Guild Houses © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The square has as its center the Silvius Brabo statue, a mythical Roman soldier. According to legend, Corrie relates, a giant, Druon Antigoon, who lived on river, would demand a toll from people who wanted to pass the bridge over the river Scheldt. If they refused, the giant would cut off their hand and throw it into the river. Brabo killed the giant, cut off his hand and threw it into the river. This is supposed to have been the origin of the city’s name, Antwerp, translated as “hand throw.”

Statue of Silvius Brabo, a mythical Roman soldier, who gave Antwerp its name by killing a giant © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We walk over to the Cathedral of Our Lady, built 1550-1800 in Gothic style. The belfry, 1339 meters high is included in the Belfries of Belgium and France list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The cathedral possesses some major works of art: including three major works by Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens (two of which were confiscated by Napoleon and moved to France but returned to the Cathedral in the 19th century).

Antwerp’s historic center, ringed with Guild Houses © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We get back on our bikes and ride to where our ship, the Princesse Royal, is tied up at the dock, and walk a few blocks away to the Red Star Museum, which BoatBikeTours has arranged for us to visit.

This is a fascinating museum that is a kind of bookend to our Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York City. Indeed, Ellis Island is where 2 million Europeans who boarded the Red Star Lines at Antwerp to come to America would have wound up. But this museum does more – it tells the age-old story of migration through individual people, going back to the Neanderthal, and why migration is such a fundamental quality of being human.

Antwerp’s Red Star Line immigration museum © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The commentary doesn’t shy away from condemning phrases (that are factually true) – for example, describing the brutal, impoverished conditions these desperate people were escaping, or taken by force as slaves, or fleeing persecution, and up to modern day anti-immigrant policies and speech that has lead to the plight of so many undocumented immigrants.

Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island, with a whopping 1,004,756 entering the United States in 1907 alone. Of these, only 2% were turned away (and if were sent back, it was at Red Star’s expense, which is why, we learn, the line was so very scrupulous with their own medical evaluations)

Anti-immigrant fervor took hold in the United States after World War I; the Great Depression, effectively brought an end to migration to America. By then, almost 20 million Europeans had emigrated to America – settling the West, populating the factories of new Industrial cities. The Red Star Line ceased sailing in 1934.

Antwerp’s Red Star Line immigration museum © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The exhibits are candid about the difference in how the wealthy traveled in such luxury and style compared to those in steerage. You get to see how passengers in different classes were treated – ‘livid’ – don’t disguise how tough steerage was (but compared to what leaving?). The inescapable conclusion that steerage class was actually key to the company’s revenue and profit.

The exhibits are remarkably personal. It is amazing to see these old photos and recognize the buildings, to see postcards, passports, ID papers, and personal effects.

What I loved most is the display on the first floor which so vividly conveys the central theme: there has always been migration, from beginning of man – and they personalize with one representative person for each era – even Neanderthal.

They show what compels migration in a honest way.

Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Interestingly, for many, Antwerp became their final stop and today there are some 170 nationalities in Antwerp (another similarity to New York City). You can see it in the faces of school children on their outings, in restaurants that represent all nationalities.-Vietnam, Indonesia, Argentina, Italy, France.

For many immigrants, Antwerp became their destination and their home – you can see it in school children’s faces © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This is the evening we are on our own for dinner. (I miss out on visiting the Red Building, which houses an important museum, but even though it is closed, you can take escalators up eight floors to see the photos of people, old and young, then climb two stories higher to the top for a view.

I go off to wander Antwerp myself and on my way back to the ship, find myself in Antwerp’s Red Light District.

Stumbling into Antwerp’s Red Light district © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I have a story to tell when we are all back on board.

The Oklahoma couple says they wound up at a French restaurant, Bistro de Pottenbrug. They saw steak on the menu and wind up feasting on flattened pig heads, escargots, eel soup in creamy base.

“On this trip,” Lindsey says, “I decided instead of saying ‘no,’ to say ‘yes’.”  

Antwerp’s diversity is reflected in its restaurant offerings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

She asks what others’ weirdest meals have been:  Anne’s weird meal – bone marrow from buffalo; Janet’s was fish eye. Lindsey says, “Last night’s pressed pig head – but it could have been marketed better.”

Art abounds in Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Art – and a sense of humor – abounds in Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Art abounds in Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

What is so notable about Antwerp, which is still a major industrial city, is that in one view, you can see dozens of wind turbines, coal being shipped, even a nuclear plant billowing smoke, which we see as we sail out of Antwerp the next morning.

Antwerp is ringed by wind turbines © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
An “all of the above” energy strategy on view in Antwerp: wind turbines, nuclear plant, and fossil fuels © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Antwerp is really worth a longer stay. The Antwerp City Card provides free entrance to the city’s top museums, churches, attractions and public transport; as well as some great discounts (www.visitantwerpen.be/en/antwerp-city-card).

We leave Belgium and continue on into The Netherlands.

Boat Bike Tours, Aambeeldstraat 20, 1021 KB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, tel.: +31 20 72 35 400,  [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

See also:

Idyllic Trip: Biking and Boating from Bruges to Amsterdam

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

__________________

© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Touring Ghent by canalboat on Day 2 of BoatBikeTours’ Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Though technically our Day 2 of BoatBikeTours’ eight-day Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour, our first ride takes us 35 miles from Bruges to Ghent along waterways, through farmland and villages and we get oriented to how they organize the ride, the gorgeous bikeways, local culture, and stunning scenery.

Setting out on our first day biking from Bruges on BoatBikeTours biketrip to Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We stop at a very interesting Canadian War memorial – it’s actually the mangled tank turned into sculpture – and our leader, Arnold Thurkow (who spent a career in the military) tells us the story of these World War II defenders.

We stop next at Castle Lovendegem where our leader, Corrie Stein, tells the story of this place: it is privately owned by a Paris-based prominent wine merchant who grew up here and uses the castle for wine tastings (funny how contemporary history sounds more like gossip). We have a coffee break in the town of Aalter where I get to wander around and look into a bakery and a church.

One of the most unusual sights along the trail that winds beside farms comes when Corrie stops at vending machines where you can purchase a basket of the freshest, sweetest strawberries you have ever savored (Corrie says there are even vending machines to buy fresh chicken!).

Buying farm-fresh strawberries from a vending machine along the country road © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

As we set out, we quickly see just how popular cycling is in Belgium – one biking club after another and families on an outing, come as a steady stream on these magnificent bike paths, trails and dedicated roadways.

Biking into Ghent © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our group on this first day of riding has been a bit slow (not my fault, I swear) so we have divided into two. I join the slower group so I don’t feel self-conscious shooting photos as I ride. As a result, we reach Ghent about 40 minutes after the first group, just in time to rush to meet up with the rest of our group for the pre-arranged sightseeing canal boat tour of the city (but the other group had 40 minutes to explore – we won’t make that mistake again).

Touring Ghent by canalboat on Day 2 of BoatBikeTours’ Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

During the sightseeing canal boat trip, the guide points out a grain depot from the 1200s; a toll booth; a tiny tax house; a 16th century guild house; one of the historic city gates; a fish market that operated from the 15th century to the 1950s when it became a car wash but now is the visitor center. He points out a statue of a boy peeing – it’s a famous image – but he said it actually represents the leather tanners union because they used the urine of boys to smooth the leather (it was tasted to determine if the urine was of good quality), so there are many of these pissing statues.

Touring Ghent by canalboat on Day 2 of BoatBikeTours’ Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Ghent was one of first industrialized cities that made textile barons wealthy. But the men, women and children who worked in factories lived in pollution, overcrowding and squalor – they worked in 16 hour shifts for low wages. This, along with the university, helps explain why Flemish Socialism was born in Ghent (still a liberal/progressive city, with Socialists still in the majority).

Touring Ghent by canalboat on Day 2 of BoatBikeTours’ Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

He points to a cannon dating from the 15th century that was installed here in the 16th century for defense. “It was only used once – two people died operating it. Today it is a peace symbol.”

Ghent, I learn, was the birthplace of Charles V who became the Holy Roman Emperor. At the time, Ghent was the 3rd largest city in Europe. To honor their favorite son for his 500th birthday, the city built the Bridge of Imperial Delight decorated with his bust. (Nearby is a sign, “Boat Tourism. Noise Pollution.)

Ghent’s Hall of Justice was used as a torture chamber, we learn on a canalboat tour of the city © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We see a formidable castle, called the Hall of Justice, which (interestingly? ironically?) became a torture chamber. In 1949, students occupied the Castle to protest rising beer prices. “They didn’t change anything, but every November, they celebrate.”

After the canalboat tour (really excellent and appreciated), we still have another few miles to ride to get to St. Michael where our ship, the Princesse Royal is docked.

This day’s ride turns out to be the longest and also the hottest of our trip and when we return to the ship we are greeted with fruit-infused ice water and snacks.

We relax onboard the Princesse Royal and enjoy our dinner: a delectable pumpkin soup with basil; beef stew prepared like chili; a superb mango sorbet for dessert.

An Artist’s Gallery

Day 3’s ride, from Ghent to Merelbeke is 32 miles (or 24 for those wanting a shorter route) to Dendermonde-St. Amands.

We start cycling along the canal and stop at Castle Van Laarne, and visit the small village for our coffee break.(The sign reads: Kasteel Van Laarne-Dit Domein is Prive Eigendom”)

Stopping for a peek at Castle Van Laarne, now privately owned © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We ride on to Lake Donk, Belgium’s second biggest lake and a popular recreational center where we have the relaxing lunch we packed from the ship.

Continuing on we take a free ferry across a small river, and bike along the river.

We ride into the city of Dendermonde. Corrie points out a statue of Queen Astrid, who is like Belgium’s Princess Di. She died in the 1920s in a car accident when her husband was driving. “He was so distraught, he couldn’t bear to look at his kids and they were sent to live with someone else.” Many squares in the country have statutes to her. Across the way is the International Court of Justice, where apparently “smaller” conflicts than are handled at The Hague (mostly about money) are heard. 

Corrie tells us about this town’s most unique and important festival, held every 10 years (the 2020 festival was delayed until May 28, 2022 because of COVID; 85,000 watched). There are banners all over the city featuring the Horse Bayard with four boys on its back.

The historic Town Hall of Dendermonde © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The legend (which I really can’t understand why this would be celebrated), goes like this: Aymon, Lord of Dendermonde who was related to Charles the Great (Charlemagne), had four boys who were on track to become knights. One boy was very strong (and apparently aggressive) and had to have strong horse. Bayard, to match. The boy played chess with Charlemagne’s son and in a fit, killed Charles’ son. Charles took their father captive, told the boy that to get his father back, he would have to give up his horse, Bayard. Reluctantly, the boy gave up the horse, which Charlemagne had drowned.

A banner promotes the festival of Dendermonde, held every 10 years © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

So, every 10 years, the small town commemorates this event with a huge horse, 4 meters high, who carries 4 boys on its back. The boys who are chosen have to have grandparents and parents from here, be four boys born in a row (no sisters) and be between ages of 16-25.

Dendermonde also holds a Traditional Giants Parade, Katuit, each year on the last Thursday of August when three giants – lndiaan, Mars and Goliath – parade through the town, accompanied by 1000 actors in medieval attire, floats, bands, flag-tossers, professional street performers and torchbearers.

Dendermonde’s historic town square © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We bike to St. Amands where the ship is docked (actually next to another BoatBikeTours’ ship, the Magnifique IV) and can walk into this quiet village before dinner.

Sahara Stones, the gallery and home built by artist Joris Maes in St. Amands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

After dinner (beef carpaccio with truffles, pasta with salmon and lobster sauce), Corrie and Arnold lead us on an excursion to visit Sahara Stones, a gallery and home of artist Joris Maes and his wife, who gives us a tour and explains his extraordinary art.

Sahara Stones, the gallery and home built by artist Joris Maes in St. Amands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Joris built his house and everything in it, and spends his winter in the Sahara, driving down in a van, to collect fossils and stones which he sculpts for his art. The fossils are embedded along with stones in the walls of his house. “The house is the history of my life,” he tells us.

Sahara Stones, the gallery and home built by artist Joris Maes in St. Amands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The fossils, some of them absolutely enormous, encapsulate the history of earth, and Joris has turned them into rather marvelous sculptures – birds, animals. You think how the heck has he been able to acquire these pieces that you would think would be the nation’s heritage or in a museum. They are 360 million year old fossils, “before the continents formed,” he tells us. (sahara-art-stones.com)

Enjoying the sunset from our ship, the Princesse Royal, docked for the night at St.Amands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Enjoying the sunset from our ship, the Princesse Royal, docked for the night at St.Amands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Kasteel Wissekerke

On Day 4, we set out from St. Amands for a 30 mile ride to Antwerp (the shorter option is 21 miles).

We stop briefly to see a16th century castle which, Corrie tells us, was once owned by a cousin of William of Orange who led the Dutch revolt against Spanish King Philip II. The revolt – largely over religion (they call it religious freedom) began in 1568 and was finally won 80 years later. The castle is privately owned today.

The cycle path follows the river. At Kruibeke, Corrie introduces us to what she calls their “statue of liberty” – a modern, sensuous statue of a woman, “curvey like the bends of the river.”

“Curvey like the bends of the river.” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The town is significant because Gerardus Mercator, the 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and cartographer, most famous for creating a revolutionary 1569 world map, was born here (by accident – his parents were visiting relatives).

Mercator’s map represented sailing courses as a path of constant bearing, measured relative to true north (Rhumb lines)—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts. In their day, they were as revolutionary as GPS, and improved navigation at a time when global shipping was the key industry contributing to a nation’s wealth.

He wound up being imprisoned here in 1543 by the Catholic Church “for radical thinking. “When he couldn’t work, he became poor.” We ride passed Graventoren (Earl’s Tower) where he was imprisoned. There is also the remnants of a castle in Rupelmonde in the town of Kruibeke, where there is a statue of Mercator and a museum.

A bit further on, we stop to eat our picnic lunch at a restaurant that is also a farm museum, the VZW Museum De Schuur, with interesting antique implements that belonged to the proprietor’s husband (we see black and white photos of him). (www.museumdeschuur.be)

It is just down the road from a stunning (privately owned) castle (Kasteel Wissekerke) and garden which presents a gorgeous scene.

There has been a castle here since the 10th century, but the present one was largely built in the 15th century with lake, park and a suspension bridge. In fact, it is the suspension bridge, rather than the castle, that is of major importance: the bridge is one of the oldest surviving wrought iron suspension bridges in Europe, designed in 1824 by Jean-Baptiste Vifquain, an engineer from Brussels. “Though it only spans 23 meters, the bridge is of great industrial archaeological importance because of its historical and structural uniqueness,” notes read. The bridge, castle, gatehouse and pigeon tower were designated a protected historical monument in 1981.

Kasteel Wissekerke in Kruibeke © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Among the important people who lived at Wissekerke, was the influential family of Vilain XIIII –who were mayors of the town of Bazel for 139 years. In 1989, the castle was purchased by the town of Kruibeke, which has since handled the restoration work. The castle is also venue to many cultural activities, tours and exhibitions.

The gardens of Kasteel Wissekerke in Kruibeke © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It is an idyllic scene.

We bike on to Antwerp.

Wind turbines are the new windmills as we bike toward Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Boat Bike Tours, Aambeeldstraat 20, 1021 KB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, tel.: +31 20 72 35 400,  [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

See also:

Idyllic Trip: Biking and Boating from Bruges to Amsterdam

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

__________________

© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Idyllic Trip: Biking and Boating from Bruges to Amsterdam

Biking onto our ship, the Princesse Royal at Tholen, after riding 23 miles from Kreekkrak, which will sail on to Dordrecht on the BoatBikeTours eight-day trip from Bruges to Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

I have been wanting to do this bike tour from Bruges to Amsterdam (or reverse) for years, and like so many having come out of the trauma of a global pandemic, decided not to it put off any longer, but seize the day! I booked with BoatBikeTours.com.

Besides offering a great biking route, the eight-day/seven-night trip is by boat – so your room (and stuff) floats along with you (in fact, we see our boat frequently from the bike trail). The boat itself provides other marvelous experiences – a couple of afternoons relaxing (there’s even a hot tub!) while watching the gorgeous scenery go by, and the camaraderie on the ship. (Even better, as it turns out, the boat meets us to pick us up on two afternoons when a thunderstorm is expected).

Iconic Holland: riding through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kinderdijk © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I am surprised at how many Americans there are on this biketrip since BoatBikeTours is based in the Netherlands, but I am sure the other Americans, who are in the majority on this trip, are as delighted as I am in finding this bike tour operator.

The Europeans include a couple and a group of four from England and a family of four from Dresden (where I had just visited) which adds to the pleasure of this trip. The Americans come from all over – Oklahoma (who protest that they are not like those rabidly red Oklahomans), Michigan (actually Holland, Michigan), Seattle, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, California, New York. (Two couples who were expected had to cancel for COVID.)

Relaxing onboard the Princesse Royal as it goes through a lock © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Each evening, our guides Corrie Stein and Arnold Thurkow – as pleasant and personable as they are expert leaders – discuss what we will see and do on the next day’s ride, and typically, there is a short option for the longer ride.

Everything we experience is exactly as it is presented in the brochure – which is saying a lot. Each day is an absolute delight in every respect, and my longtime dream is realized even better than I imagined it would be.

We are quickly introduced to the fabulous bike trails, paths, roadways that we will follow from Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp all the way to Amsterdam in this most bicycle-friendly region of the world, where biking is a predominant culture. In fact, it seems we see more bikes than cars in the course of our trip.

Like a Dutch painting come to life, biking from Brandwijk toward Schoonhoven after a rain © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We cycle through gorgeously scenic – and flat –western Flanders region of Belgium, famous for its medieval towns and castles, and Dutch countryside of Zeeland, a big river delta of the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt Rivers. Among the highlights: we see Ghent by canal boat, tour the fascinating Red Star Line immigration museum in Antwerp, explore the iconic UNESCO World Heritage Dutch windmills of Kinderdijk, visit an artist’s gallery in a tiny village, and tour a Dutch cheese farm.

And then there are the serendipitous experiences – like the downpour while we lunch in a barn with cows and goats, and biking back to the boat from Dordrecht at night, our bike lights making us look like a line of fireflies, a highlight for everybody. We find something of interest around every bend, in towns, villages and landscapes you would otherwise never see – Dendermonde, St. Amands, Tholen, Breukelen (immigrants from here settled Brooklyn!).

Riding back to the Princesse Royal from our evening tour of Dordrecht © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

In between cycling excursions, we cruise along these lovely canals and rivers, the scenery absolutely gorgeous. Each place we dock, we are able to get off and with marvelous narration by Corrie and Arnold that adds immeasurably to the experience.

Importantly for me, we generally spend sufficient time in places to get a sense of them – I don’t feel hurried away – like when we visit the Kinderdijk windmills and Antwerp (though this is a city I would definitely come back to, to really explore). Our route takes us passed privately owned castles (just look, don’t visit), a very unexpected farm museum, a Canadian soldiers’ war cemetery.

Our ship, the Princesse Royal, is extremely pleasant – just the right size, marvelous fun and comfortable for our travel.

The Princesse Royal, our floating hotel for the BoatBikeTours’ eight-day Bruges-Amsterdam bike trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Its hull is constructed along the lines of a seagoing sailing vessel, giving it a somewhat unique shape, but the vessel has been converted to a passenger barge for inland waterways. The boat was restyled and refurbished in 2010 and during the winter of 2012-3, extended by 14 meters. There is a very pleasant dining room/lounge area as well as outdoor seating area (even a hot tub!). There is even WiFi (free).

Enjoying the hot tub onboard the Princesse Royal, our floating hotel for the BoatBikeTours’ eight-day Bruges-Amsterdam bike trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Princesse Royal, which sails under the Dutch flag and management, plies the inland waterways of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with an crew of seven, led by Roy van der Veen who is the owner and captain of the ship and not above hauling in lines himself;  a mate, a chef, housekeeper, host and two tour leaders. The crew all speak Dutch, English and German.

Princesse Royal’s captain and owner Roy van der Veen, first mate, chef, housekeeper, host and our tour leaders Corrie Stein and Arnold Thurkow © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Princesse Royal accommodates 33 passengers in 16 comfortably appointed cabins. All cabins have portholes (which are fixed for safety reasons), shower, toilet, a washing bin, individually regulated air conditioning, flat screen TV (satellite), 220/230 Volt electric sockets, a small safe and hair dryer. The cabins are cleaned daily.

The meals are marvelous and wonderfully served – breakfast is a buffet with some special hot item each day and a selection of items laid out for us to pack a lunch to take along. In the evening the chef serves a three-course dinner – surprisingly exotic and diverse, always extremely flavorful, substantial and healthy. Though we don’t get a choice of entrée, accommodations are made for dietary restrictions with advance notice; more strict diets are accommodated at an additional charge. One evening (during our overnight stop in Antwerp), dinner is on our own (our guides offer helpful recommendations).

Coffee and tea are available all day long (there is a very sophisticated coffee maker). In addition, there is a bar serving beer, red and white wine and various kind of liquors which does a brisk business (they keep a tab that is paid in cash at the end of the trip).

Harnessing windpower then and now in Holland © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Harnessing windpower then and now in Holland © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It is important to also emphasize that travelling by small ship and bike is one of the most sustainable, responsible ways to travel, with the least adverse impact on environment or community, while also providing the economic wherewithal to sustain the heritage we have come to see. The tour company notes that wastewater is collected in a separate tank that is regularly emptied; we are provided a water bottle to refill with tap water (all the ship’s water is filtered) and we are given paper bags instead of plastic to wrap our lunch. In addition, the company makes a carbon offset payment to the non-profit organization Justdiggit.

Relaxing onboard the Princess Royal as it sails the rivers and canals between Bruges and Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Each day, we are given written cue card directions, as well as have the opportunity to download RideGPS to our smartphones (it operates just like your car GPS, with a map and voice navigation and a means of using it off-line). But there is no need, because we follow our leader (one of us volunteers to be the sweep), though I enjoy following our progress on the cue sheets.

We are also supplied with helmet, waterproof pannier bag, water bottle, and the tour includes the fees for ferries.

I’ve done some hard trails – like the five miles up Cadillac Mountain Road in Arcadia National Park last summer on Discovery Bicycle’s Coastal Maine (you’d think “coastal” meant flat, well you’d be wrong, but this part of the ride was optional); South Dakota’s Badlands and Black Hills with Wilderness Voyageurs which featured a five-mile straight up the road in Custer State Park; Albania with BikeTours (I had an e-bike for the first time, which opened a whole new dimension).

I was in the mood for something more relaxing and the Bruges-Amsterdam bike/boat trip is exactly that.  Not only the comfort (and fun!) of being on the boat, but the itinerary is absolutely perfect – especially for first-time biketour goers, for families, and those looking for the most picturesque route you could imagine, with options for shorter or longer rides. And this route is incredibly flat and easy – the only “hills” involved riding over bridges – so that our 7-speed hybrid bikes are more than sufficient.

Belgium and Netherlands are so well organized for bikes, there is even a kind of escalator to get down and up to the bridge at Dordrecht © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The daily rides are absolutely perfect – constantly scenic, endlessly interesting, very fun.  Biking is the best – bringing you through villages, neighborhoods, even to people’s backyards and discovering places and their interesting stories – like Dendermonde, St. Amands, Tholen, Vianen, Dordrecht – that you otherwise would be unlikely to discover. You travel at a pace so you can really enjoy the view – slow enough to really observe, fast enough so there is an endless change in scene, almost like a movie. And you can stop for a photo or just to take it all in. And then there is the physical pleasure of biking – the endorphins that get revved up, the fresh air.

Cycling along the river on our way to visit Kinderdijk, as our ship, the Princesse Royal sails by © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

And everybody bikes in Belgium and the Netherlands (I’m told Utrecht has the largest bike parking lot in the world, accommodating 12,500 bikes but the one at Amsterdam’s Central Station is the most enormous I’ve ever encountered). You’d see a guy coming toward you looking like he was riding the Tour de France and realize as he sped by he was a wrinkled old yet incredibly fit man; little kids bike; families had their kids in Bakfiets (literally translates as “box bike,” a popular cargo bike that the Dutch use to carry almost anything, including children) from place to place.

Biking is such a part of everyday life parents transport their kids in Bakfiets © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The trails, paths, roads, and segregated bikeways, with their own traffic signs and signals and traffic-calming systems that keep shared roads safe for cyclists, add to the absolute delight and sense of security so you can just enjoy the scene. In fact, cycling accidents are rare – the Dutch don’t even use helmets.

Everything is set up for bikes. And the rules of the road are very specific. On our first afternoon Arnold reviews all the different signs and signals (shark teeth pointing at you means “take care, give priority to traffic”). “Don’t assume,” Arnold tells us finally. “Look in the eyes of the driver, if he stops and waves you through. Don’t take the right of way. Give it.”

Signposts point the way on the multitude of cycling routes between Bruges and Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our first night’s dinner sets the table for the rest: the first course is shrimp fried in garlic and white wine; the main course is pork fillet with red wine sauce, green beans, zucchini, potato au gratin; and dessert is a puff pastry with vanilla cream.

Corrie Stein leads us on a walking tour of Bruges on our first night of BoatBikeTours’ eight-day Bruges to Amsterdam bike trip© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It is followed by Corrie and Arnold leading us on a walking tour of Bruges which we enjoy measurably.

The next morning, we set out. Today’s ride takes us from Bruges to Ghent, 35 miles.

Boat Bike Tours, Aambeeldstraat 20, 1021 KB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, tel.: +31 20 72 35 400,  [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

See also:

Idyllic Trip: Biking and Boating from Bruges to Amsterdam

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Bruges, A Sleeping Beauty Awakened

Bruges exemplifies the biking culture – and infrastructure – that will take us on BoatBikeTours’ eight-day ride from here to Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

I’ve come to Bruges for an eight-day BoatBikeTours trip from here to Amsterdam and smartly (actually following the operator’s advice) have come a day early to have time to explore this UNESCO World Heritage city, known as the “Pearl of Flanders.”

So I wake in the Flanders Hotel, nestled within the historic district, enjoy a marvelous breakfast in their lovely breakfast room overlooking a garden with a koi pond, and have time to wander, immersing myself in the extraordinary beauty and peacefulness of this place, before getting myself to the ship, the Princesse Royal, that will be my floating hotel to Amsterdam.

The boutique Flanders Hotel in Bruges’ historic district © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I come upon a street market just across from one of the city’s prominent art museums, Groeninge Museum, near the Church of Our Lady, with an extensive collection of Flemish primitive, 18th and 19th century and modern art.  In my wanderings, I take note of some of the city’s museums and attractions: Historium Bruges, Gruuthusemuseum, Chocolate Story, Bruges Beer Experience (this is extremely popular and I can’t resist going inside), and Old St. John’s (Memling Museum).

Tranquil morning scene in historic Bruges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The hotel has given me a late checkout, so I time my wanderings to return to collect myself and get myself to the ship.

Walking through the historic gate to Bruges’ Burg  © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I am greeted by our tour leaders, Corrie Stein and Arnold Thurkow, and shown to my cabin – a pleasant single with its own bathroom (!!). We are fitted for our bikes and get to take a bit of a spin that takes us to visit Bruges’ historic windmills, located on top of what would have been the city’s ramparts along the canalside bike path from our ship.

Sint-Janshuismill, the oldest windmill in Bruges, built in 1770, is the only one still standing on its original site © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

These four windmills, between the Dampoort and Kruispoort, are what’s left of 23 that once stood here, principally to grind grain, and were part of the town walls since the end of 13th century.

Sint-Janshuismill, the oldest windmill, built in 1770, is the only one still standing on its original site and is the only one with a museum inside that is open for public. Incredibly, the wooden mill is still grinding flour.

Back on the ship, Arnold leads a bike safety talk and orientation about our week-long bike trip – there is surprisingly a lot to learn about the various traffic signs and rules just for cyclists, a testament to how prevalent biking is in this region – we will even have our own trails, paths, roads and traffic signals. (Arnold, after explaining right-of-way at the yield signs – these triangles painted on the pavement –  counsels, “Don’t take the right of way. Give it.”). 

The Princesse Royal docked in Bruges for our eight-day BoatBikeTours bike tour to Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

After a delightful dinner that sets the tone for the rest of our cruise, Corrie and Arnold take us for a walking tour of Bruges and I get more insights into what I had been seeing on my own walks.

Corrie (as we discover throughout our bike trip, since these narrated excursions of interesting places are the routine everywhere we stop at something of interest) is a fabulous storyteller, able to impart insights and call your attention to things that would otherwise escape notice.

Interesting in the scheme of world history, Bruges, she says, was a leading trading center in the 14th century because of its innovative canals that linked the city to the sea,  the source of its wealth and prosperity; international merchants built Bruges into one of the largest Hanse cities. But Bruges was displaced by Ghent’ rise as a trading center because of technology and events in the 15th, Antwerp in the 16th century and Amsterdam in the 17th century.

Bruges developed into a major trading city because of the canals that connected the city to the sea © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Corrie calls Bruges a “Sleeping Beauty” with exquisitely beautiful buildings but, as it lost its economic base, its inhabitants got poorer and poorer. Ironically, the result was that Bruges’ medieval heritage remained intact as the city was ignored by development. But a 19th century novel, “Bruges la Morte,” by the Belgian author Georges Rodenbach was like the kiss that awakened the Sleeping Beauty. First published in 1892, it was the first work of fiction to be illustrated with photographs, and the photos spurred tourists to see the city as it was in its Golden Century, with its canals, cobbled streets and medieval buildings. UNESCO designated the entire city center as a World Heritage site. Today, some 2 million visit Bruges, providing the economic base to sustain its heritage and exquisite architecture.

Bruges developed into a major trading city because of the canals that connected the city to the sea © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our ship, the Princesse Royal, is docked just across from Minnewater Park. We walk across an intriguing, modern red bridge into the park, one of the most romantic sites in this romantic city (you can see why Bruges attracts so many couples). Legend has it that Minnewater, the Lake of Love, is where water nymphs (“minnen” in Dutch) lived, giving the lake its name. Add to that a tragic love story and trees with intriguing shapes and you get a place overflowing with romance.

We see swans (so picturesque!) and learn that they are not only legendary in Bruges, but an obligation. Corrie relates that at the end of the 15th century, the oppressed people of Bruges revolted against the unpopular Emperor Maximilian of Austria, capturing him and imprisoning him in the Craenenburg House on the Markt Square, together with his equally unpopular chief of police, Pieter Lanckhals (he was executed). After four months, the Emperor was freed by his army. The people tried to placate him, reminding him that their revolt was because the Emperor’s wife had made promises she failed to keep. Maybe that worked, because his “revenge” on the town seems fairly tame: he decreed that ‘until the end of time’ the city would be required at its own expense to keep swans on all its lakes and canals. Why swans? Because swans have long necks, and the Dutch for “long neck” is “lange hals,” or “lanckhals”. (The beautiful benches that are so popular with couples have swans.) You can see wrought iron swans on the park benches where couples sit.

Swans hold up bench. The people of Bruges were obligated to keep swans, “long necks,” as penance for revolving against Emperor Maximilian © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We go to a walled complex that Corrie says was built by Countess Mary of Constantinople to shelter widowed ladies, who engaged in spinning and weaving. “She took care of the ill and the poor. They wanted the sheltered life to be safe.” In 1927, the complex was taken over by Benedictine nuns.

Horse-drawn carriages add to Bruges’ picture-perfect ambiance © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We stop in front of Bruges’ most famous brewery, Brewery of Halve Moon, which has operated here since 1856. Bruges has been brewing beer since the Mid Ages – it was important because water was not safe, so everyone, even kids, drank beer at every meal, Arnold relates. (One of Bruges most popular attractions is the Beer Experience.)

The Beer Experience is one of Bruges’ most popular attractions © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Corrie points out a building that would have been a hospital in the Middle Ages and where there is an entrance from the canal. “They knew some diseases were contagious, so had a separate entrance for those people.”

Notre-Dame de Bruges has a 115.5 meter-high church tower, one of the tallest in the world © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
 

We stop outside the Notre-Dame de Bruges, with a 115.5 meter-high church tower (the second tallest in the world, we are told). It is notable for having the only statue by Michelangelo outside Italy. Corrie relates that the statue was of a naked child and wasn’t deemed acceptable to display in Italy, so a Bruges merchant bought it and brought it here. The church has many art treasures, paintings, 13th and 14th century painted crypts and 15th and 16th century tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold.

The Burg is Bruges’ seat of power © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We come to The Burg, the seat of power in the city: the 14th century Stadhuis, the Gothic Town Hall, two palaces of justice, the original gate to the city bordering a majestic square.

In a corner of the Burg square, too, is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The chapel is behind a richly decorated facade which is actually a 16th century staircase connecting the Romanesque Saint-Basilius chapel on the ground floor with the neo-Gothic Holy Blood Chapel on the upper floor. It seems to me this chapel has singularly put Bruges on the map.

Chapel of the Holy Blood houses a phial said to contain a cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Originally built in the 12th century as the chapel of the residence of the Count of Flanders, the church is famous because it houses a venerated relic – a phial said to contain a cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ, allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders.

The relic is kept in a silver tabernacle with a sculpture of the Lamb of God in the large side chapel of the upper church.

I’m intrigued to learn more from Bruges’ visitor site: “Legend has it that after the Crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea wiped blood from the body of Christ and preserved the cloth. The relic remained in the Holy Land until the Second Crusade, when the King of Jerusalem Baldwin III gave it to his brother-in-law, Count of Flanders Diederik van de Elzas. The count arrived with it in Bruges on April 7, 1150 and placed it in a chapel he had built on Burg Square…

“However, recent research found no evidences of the presence of the relic in Bruges before the 1250s. In all likelihood, the relic originated from the 1204 sack of Constantinople by the army of the Count of Flanders, Baldwin IX during the Fourth Crusade. Ever since, the phial has played no small part in the religious life of the city. Pope Clement V issued a papal bull in 1310 granting indulgences to pilgrims who visited the chapel to view the relic.” (https://visit-bruges.be/see/churches/basilica-holy-blood)

The relic is shown to the public every Friday and also each day from May 3-17. Outside the chapel is the Holy Blood museum, which contains the shrine for the Holy Blood and other treasures belonging to the chapel. (You can visit the first floor chapel for free, but there is a fee to go to the upper floor. https://visit-bruges.be/see/churches/basilica-holy-blood)

I see the banners that herald a Bruges tradition that dates back to 1304 – the relic of the Holy Blood carried around the city in the Holy Blood Procession on Ascension Day. This folk tradition involves everyone in the city and was recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.

In 2014, Belgian carilloneurs were also given significant international recognition. The sound of the carillons can be heard all around Bruges throughout the year, but one of the best places to listen is on the Markt Square or in the Belfry courtyard. (I get to hear it during a concert of re-orchestrated 300-year old Flemish music coordinated with the bells).

The 13th century Belfort, with a 47-bell carillon and 83 meter high tower dominates The Markt Square © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The 13th-century Belfort (belfry) with a 47-bell carillon and 83m high tower dominates The Markt Square, which is called the “beating heart of Bruges.” You can buy a ticket to climb it for panoramic views. There is the magnificent Bruges City Hall building, the Historium Bruges (fictional characters tell a story of medieval Bruges). The architecture all around the square is breathtaking – there is the imposing Provincial Court and colorful buildings with stepped gables. The scene is all the more picturesque for the many horse-drawn carriages.

The Markt Square, Bruges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

There is so much to see and enjoy, Bruges really warrants a longer stay: What seems to be the most popular, must-see is the “Bruges Beer Experience” just around the corner from the Belfort; chocolate museum (Choco-Story). Also: torture museum; Diamond Museum, Lace Centre, archeology museum, Our Lady of the Pottery (historic Gothic church with baroque decor, a famous statue and a hospital now serving as a museum). (Must come back.)

Bruges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I am sad to leave Bruges, but excited to start our bike journey. Tomorrow we will bike to Ghent.

Visit Bruges, Postbus 744, B-8000 Brugge, tel. +32 50 44 46 46, [email protected], https://www.visitbruges.be/.

Boat Bike Tours, [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures