Click on button for music, a melody from "Boerenlieties en Contredansen", published between 1700 and 1716. Performed by "Madlot".
A short sample (1 minute) from the CD "Rozen aan mijn hoed". More information & music on www.madlot.nl (also in English).

All bicycle trips are tailor-made, depending on the subjects you're interested in.
What follows are mere suggestions.
Guided tours start from half a day. Whole day and two day tours are also possible. See what-page for more information.
During all trips, we will come along places that are a good location for some general knowledge on history, development and culture of Holland. And during a trip, as you most certainly will hear new things, it is quite logical that you'll have more questions and, may be, a shifting interest. That's great, because it's never a problem to change a route.
There is no such thing as a standard day trip. Fortunately.

A general notion - God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland.
That's what they say, and there certainly is some truth in it. Around here, the concept of nature is rather relative. Through the ages, man changed this land over and again. Sometimes totally unaware of the dramatic consequences that was going to have.

For a general overview of Dutch history, see this site of Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs : www.minbuza.nl

Route - Once, there was nature.
Within easy cycling range, different landscapes.
Lakes and marshland. A river valley with sand and clay deposits. Low sandy hills, a souvenir of (Scandinavian!) glaciers and an Ice Age. And don't forget that until about 80 years ago the sea was right here. With salty water, tides and regular floods.
Man started changing the land very early in time. But with a little help, it is not too difficult to imagine what the different human environments must have been during all these millennea.

Route - Look ! How cute these windmills ! or Help ! The land is sinking !
The Netherlands were always those low lands by the sea.
But under the sea level ? No, of course not. That would have been sort of science-fiction a thousand years ago.
Already in the Middle Ages people saw, to their horror, that the land was going down. It did not take them long to understand : this was a result of their own actions. Draining the land, building dikes. But as the population had steadily increased, and ever more mouths had to be fed, there was no way back.
Nowadays, that story is still ongoing. Ever more people. The land sinking, and the sea level rising ...
Cycling around here, you'll see all elements that contributed to what was after all an ecological catastrophe.
And you'll be able to put a few things together that had consequences for many developments in history. Not just for the Netherlands. There is a reasonable chance it affected the history of your country as well.

A general notion - You can't build a dike on your own or We all flourish, or we all perish !
The simple and basic fact that, in this country, there is an absolute need to work together if you want to keep dry feet.
From early on in the Middle Ages, very strict rules were established for construction and maintenance of the all important dikes. Concerning all the people protected by that dike. Everybody was compelled by law and rules to work and to pay.
This had an immense influence on Dutch mentality and the way this country functioned. And consequently, it still is of some relevance for the two next subjects.

Route - Housing in the Netherlands, or From stone age tent to a 25th-floor penthouse.
In this region, buildings older than, let's say, 500 years are extremely rare. Muddy land, you know, and wars. Also, Holland as we know it started developing after the year 1000 AD, so rather late for European standards.
Nevertheless, it is very well possible to draw a picture of the evolution of housing through the ages.
All kinds of housing : from humble dwellings to flats ; from castle to country mansion.
And on this subject, something very typical for the Netherlands : a special kind of massive social housing projects, based on a background of a strong sense of community and social justice. From early in the twentieth century till today, examples of these projects are also within easy cycling range.
A peculiar country, the Netherlands. On the one hand a 100% merchant business nation of individualists. On the other hand this strong tradition of solidarity, combined with an even stronger centralised bureaucracy. A legacy of history ?

Route - The edges of the city, or Urbanisation in the Netherlands.
Sometimes a bit weird. You know you're cycling close to, or even inside Amsterdam. Nevertheless, you have the impression of being in a rural area.
An illusion, indeed. A direct result of a long tradition of careful and strongly directed urbanisation. Resulting in a typical Dutch "townscape".
Especially in the last few decades a lot has changed. Mainly in the name of privatisation and efficiency, and sometimes also because of bureaucratic accidents, certainly the outskirts of the city changed dramatically.
This is a unique moment in time to cycle through the rapidly changing "edges of the city", into what some call "a developing delta metropolis".
One thing is certain though : there is a lot of daring modern architecture out there.

Route - How peaceful this landscape is !, or But don't you see there is preparation for war everywhere ?
For centuries, this region was disputed between the counts of Holland and the bishops of Utrecht. With both parties rushing in from time to time, and burning everything down.
Incidentally, that's a major reason why Amsterdam became the prevailing city. Far too dangerous around here.
Only in the late Middle Ages, the region became firmly territory of Holland. With the border with Utrecht just a few miles South of Weesp, even today.
Naarden and Weesp were fortified border towns, and Muiderslot-castle a claim of power on the river Vecht. The river being very important for trade and economy of Utrecht.
During the 80-years war of independence (1568-1648) inundations proved to be a successful (but painful) weapon against the Spanish armies.
From that time on, an ever more ingenious system of dikes and locks was developed to protect the hartland of Holland.
Lines of forts, bunkers, and firing positions, combined with a miles wide stretch of land that could be inudated on short notice. With deliberately shallow waters, about 40 cm deep. Deep enough to make the land difficult to pass for soldiers, vehicles and horses. Especially as invisibly under the surface there were treacherous canals. But at the same time with water not deep enough for boats or barges.
The defence lines were used, and proved mainly an effective deterrent, until the Second World War. No match for paratroopers and planes, flying over it.
Nevertheless, until the end of the Cold War certain parts were secretly adapted to give the Russians some nasty surprises if they would dare to come. Which they never did, fortunately.
That's why it is so hard to find a place in this region where, when looking around, you will NOT see preparations for war. If you know where to look ... because a lot of the defences were very much of the stealth principle.
For more information on these defence lines : www.stelling-amsterdam.nl and www.hollandsewaterlinie.nl.

A general remark : if you are an enthousiast photographer, please do mention this. You'll get plenty of suggestions, and the time, to make some special shots.

Other themes and angles are certainly possible. If you want more information, or if you have other suggestions or interests, please feel free to send a mail.

Click here for an external Google-map, with location and pictures of some points of interest mentioned in this site.