This day turned out to be our longest in terms of distance and time due to the stiff headwinds. I protested when Klaus set a pace that made my legs burn. He relented and we paced ourselves. The first city we passed through was Zwolle and one could see the evidence of the Dutch passion for cycling: the streets honour those who choose two wheels or two feet.
The paths through the polders show how clever the Dutch have been in designing this land with agriculture in mind. Acre upon acre of food production is on either side of the bike paths. For a small landmass, the scale of these operations impresses.
We had our last meal before Erma’s home at Almere, on the eastern edge of Amsterdam. Erma knows the way instinctively so we enjoyed a leisurely meal, including a novel garlic soup, before setting off for the home stretch. The approach to the city from the east includes dense suburbs, a path shared by sheep sunning or feeding themselves, and a number of bridges to cross the canals. By early evening, we arrived In Haarlem where Erma prepared us a homemade meal of lekker pasta with pesto (arugula instead of basil).
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