It’s pouring rain when we get up. The forecast says it should stop around 9:00 or 10:00. By the time we are ready to go, it has miraculously stopped raining. The heavy duty rain gear stays in the pannier. We manage to stay dry and warm all day long.
Leaving the hotel vicinity is easy. We are using Komoot as a navigation app. The female voice instructs us to turn right here and left there. We have to get used to her instructions and how the bike paths work as a couple of times her saying turn right here, then left then right, confuses Murray (who is leading), and we have to stop, turn around and try again. By the end of the day’s ride, he has it figured out with a combo of voice instruction, blue line on the map and bike path reality.
The bike paths are mostly red in colour. The pedestrian path is pavement colour so there is a separation. There is usually a hedge or curb separating the road, and cars, and the bike path. Occasionally the bike path is a shoulder of the road with a dashed line as the separator.
We wiggle waggle through residential, light industrial and farm areas. There are canals everywhere. Sometimes with ducks or geese, a few swans and one heron(!) floating on or standing in the water. A town called Woerden is our lunch stop. We park ourselves on a bench next to what happens to be a church. Next thing we know we are chatting with a local woman, then her kids and then her husband. The best kind of lunch stop.
Our next stop is Oudewater where there is a witch weighing museum. Apparently, if you were accused of being a witch, you could get weighed and if your weight was within a “normal” range, you were declared not a witch. Luckily, neither Murray or I are witches, and I have a certificate to prove it!
From Oudewater to Gouda is only 15 km. Lesson learned today…..make sure Murray’s phone is 100% charged in the morning. We pulled up to the hotel with only 3% battery left on his phone. Phew!
After checking into our hotel, parking and locking the bikes and showering, we go for a walk in Gouda. It is Saturday, the market is in full swing and there are people everywhere. The market sells fruits, veggies, meats, purses, clothes and, yes, cheese!
Every larger town has a Stadhuis, or town hall. Gouda’s is quite impressive.
Supper is Thai. By the time we exit the restaurant, the market is shut down and the streets are quiet. Gouda is a lovely town full of unique shops and sights.
