Beauty in Bloom: A Cycle & Barge Adventure in the Netherlands

Upon arrival at the airport, go through passport control, enter the baggage reclaim area and get your luggage, go through the appropriate customs section, and enter Schiphol Plaza and follow the signs to “Car Rentals.” Look for the Group Leader with a Road Scholar sign who will be waiting. As soon as everyone on the designated group transfer (for those who purchased airfare through Road Scholar) has arrived, we will board a motorcoach and ride to de Zaanse Schans. In this village with windmills and a wooden shoe museum, we will set out on a walking field trip led by the Group Leader and learn about the history of windmills when floods were frequent. We will be standing on land considerably lower than the North Sea, only a few miles away. We’ll also learn about the present use of the windmills: grinding flour, pigments used in paints, mustard seeds, and log cutting.

At a village restaurant specializing in Dutch-style pancakes.

We will continue by motorcoach to Amsterdam. Here we will embark our floating hotel for the week, De Holland. After check-in, the ship will start sailing towards Haarlem. Orientation. The Group Leaders, who will be with us throughout the program, will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Educational content will be provided by our knowledgeable Group Leaders and local experts. Whether bicycling in beautiful countryside or vibrant cities, Road Scholars will learn to understand and deal with local traffic, account for other bicyclists along the way, and be prepared for sudden stops. The included meals onboard as well as at local restaurants will future local cuisine. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leaders will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/current conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

In the ship’s dining room.

At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

Aboard the ship.

We will gather for a presentation by the Group Leader on the Corner System, designed to make sure no one gets lost, followed by a safety lecture on the rules of the road. Luckily, the Netherlands has laws in place that give the two-wheeler many advantages. We begin our cycling adventure with an easy ride to get used to the Dutch bicycles. Before departing, we take our time to make sure that every bicycle is adjusted to the participant’s liking. The ride will take us though some typical Dutch polder landscape; we will stop in the village of Spaarndam. Here, we will find the oldest, still operational lock in Europe. The history of the village is strongly linked to the Spaarne River, and it began after a dam was built in the river and tolls could be collected.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like in Spaarndam. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Next, we will bicycle back to Haarlem and make a visit to the Teyler’s Museum where a local expert will show us the wonders of its permanent collection of Dutch art and science under one roof since 1784.

In the ship's dining room.

At leisure. You might like to go out and explore Haarlem independently, spend time with fellow Road Scholars, or simply relax.

In the ship's dining room.

We’ll start our day heading south along the canals. Our first destination is the Cruquius Museum, where a local expert will present the history of this former steam-powered pumping station, operational from 1850 to 1933. We will learn about the technology used to drain the area around Amsterdam that was threatened with flooding in the past. We’ll then explore the museum.

We’ll enjoy Dutch cuisine at the museum’s Theehuis (Tea House).

After lunch, we’ll mount our bicycles again and head towards the route of the Bloemencorso (Flower Parade). The Bloemencorso is the largest spring festival in The Netherlands. This colorful, fragrant spectacle is celebrated annually. We will witness the parade during which the colorful floats and the luxury vehicles decorated in masses of flowers travel a 25-mile route with cheerful music from the marching bands and amusements on and around the floats. We will then return to the ship.

In the ship's dining room.

At leisure.

In the ship's dining room.

From Haarlem, we will bike to the Keukenhof Gardens. We will already see flowers along the way to the world’s most famous spring garden. Once we enter the park, we will see more than seven million bulbs bloom in springtime, including more than 800 varieties of tulips. While its history dates back to a 15th-century castle, the gardens were redesigned in the 19th century in the English landscape style. It was then configured as a place to exhibit spring-flower bulbs and opened to the public in 1950.

On your own to enjoy what you like at Keukenhof. There are several restaurants. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions, including for “poffertjes” — small pancakes covered in butter and sugar.

We will continue our exploration of Keukenhof until mid-afternoon, when we will return by bicycle to our ship which is now docked in Oude Wetering.

In the ship's dining room.

At leisure.

At a local restaurant following our first field trip.

Today, we’ll have an early start as we ride on a motorcoach to Aalsmeer. Here we will visit the largest flower auction in the Netherlands with a local expert. Buyers from around the world bid on flowers and plants online. This goes on for hours until all flowers have been sold. Within hours, all the flowers are loaded on trucks and headed for their destinations. Flowers for the U.S.A. are taken to the nearby airport and are for sale the next day, maybe at your local flower shop. Following a relaxed breakfast, we will head into Amsterdam via canal boat to see the city before having some free time. The remainder of the morning and the entirety of the afternoon will be free. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration.

On your own to enjoy what you like in Amsterdam.

Free time in Amsterdam will continue. We will rendezvous at an announced time and place to reboard the motorcoach and return to the ship in the late afternoon.

In the ship's dining room.

At leisure.

In the ship's dining room.

Today’s cycling field trip leads through the dunes around Castricum and Heiloo. These dunes form part of the North Holland Dune Reserve, a nature reserve of 11,800 acres, extending from Wijk aan Zee to Schoorl. While being a lovely cycling area, they also serve as The Netherlands’ natural primary defense system against the North Sea. We will walk on the beach and look out over the North Sea and observe the fishing boats.

On your own at the beach in Castricum.

After lunch, we’ll mount our bicycles again and head back toward the ship that is now docked in Alkmaar. On the way there, we will visit a bulb grower and learn about their export business.

In the ship's dining room.

This evening aboard the ship, we’ll enjoy a lecture from our instructor about the economy of The Netherlands.

In the ship's dining room.

This field trip to Amsterdam will be on our bicycles. One final time, we’ll ride thought the polders and along the lakes and canals. Our midday destination is De Rijp, a former fishing village now surrounded by polders and lakes. In the old days, 25 percent of the world’s herring was caught by ships from this village.

On your own to enjoy what you like in De Rijp.

After lunch, we’ll head further towards Amsterdam. As we get closer on the dedicated paved trails, you realize that this country had the two-wheeler in mind when it designed an extensive network of bicycle paths. Indeed, we will see school children biking in groups to and from school, and parents heading for work or shop on their bikes. The bicycle is the Dutch primary mode of transportation.

In the ship’s dining room. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.

At leisure. Prepare for disembarkation and departure in the morning.

In the ship’s dining room.

Having docked back in Amsterdam, we will disembark the ship by 9:00 a.m. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!