A rather longer than initially planned 3-week trip to Europe turned into a 5-week adventure. The occasions were a bike trip in the South of Holland and a family reunion of the van den Broek family. When the reunion was rescheduled by two weeks, it turned into a 5-week trip.
Paula and I arrived on Tuesday, June 15th, after visiting family (Annique and Ingrid) and friends Remco and Charlotte. We picked up the rental van on Friday to collect Mike, Sandra, Erin, and Mason from Schiphol Airport. We had rented an Airbnb in Gulpen, a former flour watermill with plenty of rooms, a large dining area, and living room.
During the week, we rode roads used in the Amstel Gold Race and the UCI Gravel race. I also rode parts of Limburg's Mooiste tour. There were an amazing number of bike paths and beautiful single-track trails. We visited Gulpen, took a quick trip to Aachen in Germany, reached the highest point in Holland (Vaalserberg), rode trails in Belgium, and had dinner at a Michelin-recommended restaurant in Maastricht on our last night.
The next morning, we dropped off the crew at Schiphol Airport, picked up a rental car, and dropped off the van.
We spent the weekend with Erik and Saskia, experimenting with their new wood/pellet/gas-fired pizza oven. Although the oven didn't reach its recommended temperature of 400°C using wood and pellets, we still managed to make some good pizzas.
On Monday, June 21st, we drove to Schiphol, dropped off the rental car at Hertz, and flew to Stockholm to visit my sister Marjon and her husband Mattias for a week. They live in Vaxholm, a peninsula in the Stockholm archipelago. The weather was amazing, with everyday sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s. Marjon worked during the week, but Mattias showed us around the surroundings on foot, by rented kayak, and on mountain bike.
On Thursday, Paula and I visited Stockholm, taking the ferry and exploring the city (walking over 7 miles). Marjon joined us on the ferry return, and with beer, wine, and snacks, it felt like a mini-cruise on the back deck.
Over the weekend, we ferried to another island, Grinda, for a 6-mile hike on Saturday. On Sunday, after a morning run with Marjon and Mattias, we visited the Artepilag museum, featuring a multimedia exposition of van Gogh's work.
On Monday, we flew back to Amsterdam and took the train to my brother Eric and his wife Willeke, where we picked up their campervan for a trip. We spent the first two nights visiting them while sleeping in the campervan.
Then, we drove to Limburg, staying on a campsite in Kuttingen for two days and then camping in Gulpen for four nights. The last couple of nights were spent at a campground in Gelderland, near Ruurlo. Here, we enjoyed gravel rides, and Paula completed her first 100k on the Gelderse Strade Bianche route.
On Thursday, July 10th, we returned the campervan. The next day, I took the train to Amsterdam to pick up a Hertz rental car for the rest of the trip. I drove straight to our next event, the van den Broek family reunion in Echten, Drenthe. Almost all of my immediate family attended the reunion (29 people). With barbecues, pizza baking, puzzles, card games, family runs, and farmer's golf, it was a fun weekend.
On Monday, we went our separate ways, and Paula and I started the final part of our trip. We rented a vacation house in Loosdrecht, where Florence, Seppi, Isabella, Julius, and Margot joined us the first night. Julius flew home the next day, and Florence and family moved to an Airbnb in Zandvoort. Margot stayed with us for the rest of the trip. Annique, Paula's sister, joined us for the last two days, and we enjoyed walks and boating on the nearby lake.
Thursday, July 17th, marked the end of our 39-day trip, which was super fun, but it was also nice to be back home.
