Blabla, the Dutch have it easy, blabla, the country is flat, blabla, no hurricanes, blabla, small place, blabla, bike lanes, blabla, more bikes than people, blabla, bikes rule the road, blabla, etc.
Not entirely true. We, the Dutch, normal people in normal clothes on normal bikes, we have to endure some rough elements during our daily cycling routines. Millions of oblivious tourists pour into our compact cities each year, either stoned, drunk, sober, high on a new adventure, or just having left their brain at home, hitting their heads against the same stone. Not three times a charm, no, but over and over again…aka down with the Disneyland Syndrome, as I like to call it.
But I digress. One route I like to take to forget about any kind of tourist-induced schism of my cycling momentum, is the one taking me alongside the Amstel River. Certainly when the autumn sun is setting. On my way back home today I got off my bike and positioned myself at a few spots to capture a typical Amsterdam scene: people cycling over just a few of the 1500+ bridges that connect the 90 islands of this city.
See the slideshow ‘Seize The Bridge‘:
My Moments of Zen before plunging myself back into the downtown rush hour. Not bad for therapy :-p.
WHAT TO DO NOW?