Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is only a six-hour flight from Dammam and landing there is a gateway to one of the world’s most introspective and progressive nations. With around 20,000 kilometers of cycle paths, it is also the most bicycle-friendly country on earth; with a population of 16 million, the Netherlands has more bicycles than it has people. Due to the flatness of the terrain — it’s called the Low Lands for a reason: 65 percent of the Netherlands lies below sea level — a veteran cyclist can easily cover distances of up to 100 kilometers in a day and a week’s cycling holiday can take in much of the country from the city of Groningen in the north to Maastricht in the south.
Arriving from summertime Saudi Arabia, where the car is king, the cool breezes blowing in off the North Sea are a true breath of fresh air. Other than motorways, all Dutch roads are paralleled by cycle lanes, with their own traffic lights and median strips. In fact, in certain areas, such as national parks, some of the coastal islands and along the endless stretches of shoreline, the bicycle is the only form of transport allowed. Housewives and pensioners ride to the shops, white-collar workers to the office, laborers to the construction site and children to school. This adds up to zero pollution and a very fit populace, as the health benefits lead to strong legs, heart and lungs.
Getting hold of a bicycle couldn’t be easier, as more than 100 railway stations have rental shops, which, for a deposit of up to €100 and a copy of your passport, rent bikes by the hour or by the week for about €7 a day. They even provide discounts on longer periods, making it far cheaper, cleaner and healthier than renting a car. A word of warning: bicycle theft is big business. More than 150,000 bicycles are stolen each year in Amsterdam alone, so securing the bike when not in use is imperative, and every Dutchman will tell you that two locks are better than one.
My trip began in Haarlem, a beautiful, cobble-stoned city and namesake to the New York district, just west of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam. Haarlem has been in existence for 1,000 years, and with its river access to the sea it was soon established as an inland port. However, disaster struck in 1572 when the invading Spanish slaughtered almost every Dutch citizen of the town. Yet Haarlem’s renaissance came during the 16th century Golden Age and prosperity returned. By the 18th century the arts were flourishing: Mozart, at the age of 10, was giving concerts in the cathedral, and the oldest museum in the country was built in 1778.
Being so close to the sea (the resort of Zandvoort is only 5 kilometers away) restaurant menus in Haarlem are top heavy with fish. Herring and mussels are part of the staple diet, often served with fat Dutch-style French fries traditionally dished up with mayonnaise, or cheese-filled croquettes. Cafés, which also offer food, are an important meeting point in Dutch life, and Café Brinkman on the main square is a wonderful example of high-ceilinged art nouveau architecture. Visitors should be aware of the difference between the Dutch café and the Dutch coffee shop, with the latter offering marijuana alongside the cappuccinos.
The Dutch have been reclaiming land from the sea for centuries. A dike, or dam, is built up in shallow water; then the water within the dike is slowly drained out to leave dry land. Hence the saying “God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands,” and the engineering involved in this reclamation is phenomenal.
The village of Spaarndam is the setting of a well-known children’s story about a boy who plugged a hole in a dam with his finger and prevented Haarlem from flooding. In 1927, with an increasing population, a project was started to block off the North Sea and by 1932, a 30 km long, 90-meter wide barrier dike was completed. A second barrier was built in 1976 creating polders, or new land, that was used for agriculture and irrigated by another of the Netherlands famous sights — canals. Today, 2,400 km of dikes protect the Dutch from the sea, but with the alarming rises in sea levels, put down to global warming, the story of the boy in Spaarndam has worrying echoes in the modern day.
My journey took me north across farmland, populated by dairy cows grazing on lush pastureland and dotted by windmills, yet another unique Dutch icon. The province and city of Groningen is the nation’s idyllically rural heart, perfect for cycling and breathing pristine air. Groningen city is also home to 20,000 university students whose vitality has added to the social scene since 1614. Groningen is surrounded by national parks making cycling even more attractive as these areas are, other than tractors, no-vehicle zones. On the northern coast is a seal sanctuary where these oh-so-cute animals can be observed frolicking in their natural environment.
Due to time constraints I admit abandoning my bike at this stage and making my way down to Eindhoven in the southeast of the country on the excellent railway network. However, it should be pointed out that outside rush hour, even Dutch trains are bicycle friendly and your two-wheeled transportation can be stowed on board for just €6, no matter the distance.
Eindhoven, the nation’s fifth largest city, is synonymous with the electronics giant Philips as well as the production base of DAF trucks. Despite being burned down in the 16th century by the Spanish, the city was firmly put on the map 200 years later during the Industrial Revolution thanks mainly to a father, Frederik Philips, and his two sons, Gerard and Anton (first cousins of communist philosopher king Karl Marx) when they founded a light bulb factory there in 1891. By the 1920s, the company had branched out into vacuum cleaners and set up a radio station broadcasting to the world in Dutch, English, Spanish and German, while its Happy Station Show became the world’s longest running shortwave radio series. Just before the Second World War they had brought out an electric razor, known to the world as the Philishave.
Other pioneering innovations coming out of the by now multinational corporation included the compact audiocassette, the portable radio, the tape recorder, and telephone answering machines. In the 1970s, Philips was manufacturing the very first mass storage device, known as the C-cassette, for early personal computers. 1972 saw the company launch the world’s first videocassette recorder, quickly copied by Japanese electronic companies. Ten years later, Philips was teaming up with Sony to give the world the original compact disc, which became DVD and followed by Blu-ray technology, also developed in conjunction with the Japanese. It has initiated production of halogen lamps, iridium street lighting, cell phones, portable DVD players, handheld PCs and 3D television sets. In 2010, worldwide sales were €25.42 billion, and the company employs 119,000 people in more than 60 countries.
Back in 1913, and demonstrating that it was not only interested in turning a profit, Philips began to promote health and fitness among its workforce by creating a sports club encompassing many sporting disciplines, of which the most notable is the soccer team PSV (Philips Sport Vereniging), whose Philips Stadium is situated near to Eindhoven’s center.
In the last decade, Eindhoven has also emerged as the capital of Dutch industrial design with many eco-friendly projects entering the global landscape. The city’s Design Academy, dubbed by Time Magazine as “the school of cool,” has produced influential designers such as Jurgen Bey, Richard Hutten and Hella Jongerius, and a Dutch Design Week is held in Eindhoven every October.
Not only are the Dutch the tallest people in Europe, they are some of the most inventive, inspirational, social-leaning and laid-back in the world. A visit to the Netherlands is a truly fascinating and healthy treat. Get on your bike and enjoy!
