The man in charge, Iain, took a trip across a few European countries recently. They took his A65 and it was his partner’s first time riding pillion for that long a journey. All went smoothly, until they were just 200 miles from home…
Me and Iain had talked for a long time about doing a longer trip on the motorbike, and my desire to explore the Netherlands and Belgium seemed like the best opportunity to give a bike tour a go.
We made the journey down from Norwich to Harwich, to catch the overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland. I remember waking up to the gentle sway of the boat but the journey itself was stress free if not particularly interesting. From the Hook of Holland we made our way to The Hague, where we stopped for a breakfast bagel and a much needed coffee. Then it was off to Amsterdam. We milled about the centre of the city and enjoyed some Dutch tapas including Bitterballen. Afterwards, we went to the Anne Frank House and Museum, a sobering but very interesting tour of the place Anne and her family and compatriots hid during the second world war. We then wandered back to our hotel (the Q Factory) for a much needed early night.
Our second and only full day in Amsterdam involved an amble around the city centre, spending an hour in De Oude Kerk, the oldest church in Amsterdam and an interesting museum-come-modern art exhibition. We then made our way through the city, sampling traditional Stroopwaffle and then partaking in a ‘cheese and wine’ boat trip along the canals. In the evening, we returned to Nomads bar and restaurant for some more delicious nosh.
The next day we made the short journey to Rotterdam for the first of many days of bike travel and stopovers. Rotterdam had a more modern vibe but was a really nice city to walk through. We took a long and sunny walk past the glassy Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Euromast and then down to the Nieuwe Maas river. After a quick ice cream stop, we crossed the Erasmusbrug, a unique white bridge and then ambled back towards the centre of Rotterdam.
A trip to Rotterdam is incomplete unless you gaze at the fascinating Cube Houses by the architect Piet Blom. Designed to be suspended above a pedestrian walkway, it’s fascinating to walk under these houses and get a feel for their unique shape. We were so interested we then spent a while on YouTube finding out more about them!
Our hotel had a lovely view of the city so we spent a good chunk of the evening watching the sunset over a busy intersection below.
The following day it was off to Efteling, a theme park closer to the Belgian border. This park had a great balance of rollercoasters and interesting fairytale theming. It was a glorious day with super warm weather, which made for a lovely stroll around the park. However, it did mean half of the Netherlands had also decided to venture there so the park was rather busy. We spent a full day in the park, got on most of the rides we wanted to, before making our way to our accommodation in the nearby town of Kaatsheuvel.
This accommodation was really special and probably the most interesting on our roadtrip. We stayed in De Oude Kaverne Torenkamer, a converted ground floor of an old fire station tower. There was a huge window on both sides of the apartment giving great views over the town square. The apartment was small but had some great original features and even some fire officer uniforms in the corner. The bed was suspended above the room on steel bars, so it felt like a very cosy nights sleep above our living quarters.
Next stop was Brussels, so after a bike trip across the border we rocked up to the site of the 1958 World’s Fair, to visit the Atomium. An icon of the city, this atom-shaped structure contains a museum of it’s history as well as the ability to travel up to the top and see amazing views of the city. The experience was truly a highlight of the trip – the museum is really informative and gives a great history of the structure and how it originated. Going up the side of the structure, we entered a light exhibition which really gave that 1950s ‘futuristic’ feel to the space. There are also art exhibitions and of course those great views at the top.
After this we went into the city centre to check into our hotel and explore. We enjoyed an authentic Belgian taster menu in C’est Bon, C’est Belge and then took a walk to see the Royal Palace and the city centre Grand Place.
Then it was time for our couple of days stay in Bruges. On the way we stopped off in Ghent which looked like a really interesting city. We only had time to tour the Gravensteen, a medieval castle in the centre of the city, but I would love to go back and spend some more time sightseeing.
We arrived in Bruges early evening and settled into the hotel. We then wanted to seek out some good Belgian beer, so we ventured to Le Trappiste. Once seated, we were handed a large folder which constituted the ‘beer menu’, hundreds of different types and flavours on offer. The beer we had was lovely, if a little strong for our British palate (I certainly knew I had had a couple later that evening). We were both pretty weary from travelling that day so an early night beckoned, to get refreshed for a full day sightseeing the next day.
Bruges is a beautiful city, and we spent pretty much all of the next day wandering up and down the streets, peering in shops and enjoying the atmosphere. We vaguely followed a walking route which took in all the major sites, such as the market square (where you can listen to the bells from the Belfry of Bruges), down the shopping alleys and into the peaceful Minnewater Park. We had to sample a Belgian waffle, so I opted for one with dark Belgian chocolate from Chez Albert which was delicious. In the evening, we grabbed a quick bite from a rather tasty fast food burger restaurant, then sat outside and enjoyed beers at Bar N whilst playing some cards. It was a really lovely end to the Belgium leg of our trip.
Time to head back to the UK, and we did this by traversing across Northern France, through Dunkirk and onto the Eurotunnel at Calais. Then it was through the back roads of Kent and onto our hotel in Earls Court, London. This was our longest day on the bike and I found it a little challenging. The seat is not the comfiest and holding your body up for 7/8hrs does take it’s toll. Once we arrived in London, it was a quick shower and change to then meet our friends in Clapham. I had a lovely fish and chips and a Brixton lager in The Stonehouse Pub. It was great to catch up with friends, but certainly a long day so we said our goodbyes and caught an early night.
After a somewhat broken sleep due to noisy neighbours, it was time for our last full day and we were certainly packing it in! When we originally planned the tour we hadn’t intended on finishing in London, but there were a couple of things we had planned for a different trip and we thought it would be better to combine into one. We started off with a cute little avocado toast at Over Under Coffee on Earl’s Court Road, then took the short stroll over to the V&A museum for the Naomi Campbell: In Fashion exhibition. I’ve always admired Naomi’s tenacity and spirit, as well as the incredible mark she has left on the fashion industry, so it was a real pleasure to see some of her famous runways, as well as learn more about her upbringing and venture into modelling. The exhibition even had a ‘walk like Naomi’ catwalk which was fun to watch. After that, we continued strolling through Kensington and into Central London.
Next stop was the Buckingham Palace State Rooms, a gift I had bought Iain for his birthday. This really was an experience – the decadent rooms within the palace are unmatched, and we got to see some original Canaletto paintings and even the coronation thrones. Although we couldn’t take any photos, the grandeur is truly imprinted on me and it was a great experience. At the end, we wandered through the garden and picked up a ‘royal’ ice cream.
This was the point where our energy levels really started to give up, after over a week of travelling and 6 cities visited. We limped our way to Covent Garden, and after trying unsuccessfully to get into Dishoom we settled for Uzbek street food at the Seven Dials Market, then headed back towards Earls Court, stopping off for a rather delicious cocktail at The Owl and Monkey (thoroughly recommended for a bougie stop), before retiring to our hotel.
The motorbike we were riding finally gave up the ghost on our journey home, with the clutch cable breaking, fortunately just next to a services off the M25. So a rather long journey back to Norwich was had, but it was a great opportunity to look back over the memories of the trip and write this piece!
Luckily the roadside repair man had a cable repair kit with him, but Iain should have had his own (especially as we stock them!) Pick one up ahead of your next trip and save three hours waiting in a service station for the RAC.