When I’m in the Netherlands, I usually spent some time with my brother and his family. They live in Haarlem, about half an hour by bike from my parents. When the weather is nice, I take the long and scenic route, which takes you along the edge of the dunes all the way. Last week, I brought my camera and took photos along the route 🙂 so come and cycle with me!

In the Netherlands you’ll find cycle paths everywhere. On this route I was usually on a separate cycle path, sometimes even far away from the road. This is something I really miss in Tromsø – in the Netherlands I cycle for fun, while in Tromsø I only cycle to get from A to B. Anyway, after crossing the busy main road around Haarlem, the scenic ride starts here…

Here I’ve arrived on the grounds of a stately home called Elswout

Of course on a Saturday in June, there was a wedding going on…

In the other direction you can just about make out the St Bavo church.

Further on, there are some pretty little houses along the road. One of them sells eggs and home-made jam with an honesty box. You can also see how many people are cycling – I wasn’t used to it anymore and found it almost frightening 😀 If I stopped anywhere to take a photo, people on bikes would pass me in all directions, some of them irritated that I dare to slow them down – these are mainly the lycra-clad/Tour-de-France-wannabee variety 😉

A small canal, with two boys playing in a rowing boat 🙂

This is the (tiny) main street of Overveen, I continued cycling to Bloemendaal.

The city hall of Bloemendaal and some typical houses further on the same street. Most of the area I cycled through is very affluent, and Bloemendaal is the wealthiest place in the Netherlands. It’s a very pretty area, but the houses costs fortunes 😉

Later on, I passed this little tea house near Thijsse’s Hof, a kind of botanical garden named after a famous Dutch botanist – we used to visit here while I was at primary school. The other photo shows a park with deer.

Almost home, behind this field the dunes national park starts – a huge area with only cycle/bike/horse paths, taking you all the way to the sea. I used to dream of owning one of these cute little houses in the forest. But small as they are, I am sure they still are above my budget 😉

Hope you enjoyed this guided cycle tour 🙂