Why we love the Netherlands

Join us for the first part of our summer 2025 trip to the Netherlands. We returned to Nijmegen for the first four days as we had a great relaxing time here last year. We explore the streets on our Brompton bikes with little to no danger from traffic and enjoy the long summer evenings in this great part of the world.

On the 23rd of June this summer, we cycled to the bus station to catch a ridiculously early bus to Glasgow airport. We packed the bikes up at the airport and caught the 6:00 a.m. flight to Amsterdam. From here, we caught the train to Nimigan, enjoying the beautiful countryside along the way. From here, we cycled to our accommodation for the next few days just outside Alna. Join us as we cycle through these lovely streets on protected cycle lanes, taking in all the little things that you notice they do differently when you arrive in another country. As someone who has cycled for most of my life on the roads back home in Glasgow, it just blows my mind that here in the Netherlands, this infrastructure is everywhere you need to go. Having the freedom to enjoy your journey without looking over your shoulder every few seconds is such a luxury. And for me, it’s what makes cycling here feel so complete and natural. You can really tune into your surroundings and appreciate everything around you as you cycle past. [Music] [Music] Back home, an underpass like this in the middle of nowhere would feel quite intimidating. Here, it just feels like part of a safer network of paths that everybody uses to get around. We arrived in Ala 13 hours after setting out from Glasgow on about an hour and a half of sleep and absolutely buzzing to be back in this beautiful part of the world. The next two weeks are going to be so good. But first of all, we needed to get a good sleep. [Music] The next morning, we cycled the 5 miles to Richmond to get some food shopping. This is all on familiar streets as we stayed here for a few days last year. Yet again, it felt like we’d come home. Beautiful streets with space for cyclists, drivers who know what it’s like to cycle, so they are patient and give you space. Beautiful houses and treeline roads. It’s honestly a magical experience. This just feels like such a good area to be in. Streets feel safe to cycle on, and it just feels great to see so many people using their bikes to get around. [Music] We arrive at the Big Albert, get some food, and then head back through these quiet psychop friendly streets to our accommodation, enjoying this model filter on the way. [Music] Later that day, we decided to head out in a different direction to explore on our Brmptons. Last year, we were a bit disappointed that we didn’t travel to Germany, as the border is only about an hour away if you travel by bike. This was only meant to be a wrecky and the plan was to do this the following day. It was also turning out to be a really nice summer evening. We headed out to have a look at a section of road that you had to use to see if it was safe. It turned out to be quite a busy road with quite a few fast cars overtaking us. We got to the other end and after that we decided to keep going. After a selection of segregated cycle lanes, traffic cam streets, quiet roads, and off-road paths, we get into this excellent cycleway that’s next to Adishu’s railway. This is a Europa Radban, and it connects the Dutch city of Nyiman to the German cities of Cleave and Crannenburg. A special feature of this cycling highway is that it gives cyclist priority over motor traffic at traffic lights and junctions. [Music] That’s according to this website description, but we didn’t see any evidence of this on any of the junctions that we crossed on our journey that day. The countryside rolled past at a nice slow pace as we enjoyed the evening sun on our backs pushing us along. We reached the border that is marked by this arch that goes over the railway line. After stopping to message and call relatives and also get a few selfies. We then decided to carry on to the next town. It was one of those beautiful summer evenings that just got better and better the further we cycled. Upon reaching Crannenburgg, the penny finally dropped for me when I noticed the rail bikes locked away in these sheds. You can rent these bikes and cycle along the rails. It would have been so good to visit here during the day to have a go on one of these. Another reason to come back here next year. [Music] The feeling was that we could have stayed out longer and continued to explore this new and exciting route as the evening was perfect. Unfortunately, it was now getting a bit late and it did take us longer to get here than the hour that Google Maps had told us. We also didn’t have any lights with us, so decided to hurry home so as not to be cycling on the road section of our journey after sunset without any lights. [Music] We traveled back through this tranquil part of the Netherlands on quiet roads and protected cycle lanes, recording happy memories of our travels that will stick with us for the rest of our lives. It really was the most amazing evening and only the second day of our trip so far. If this is setting the scene for the rest of our trip, then we are in for a real treat. [Music] On the way back, we enjoyed cycling into the sunset with that sweet feeling that we had achieved something special that evening. It really was a beautiful summer evening and we felt so lucky to have experienced it together while cycling here in the Netherlands, exploring new places and enjoying each other’s company along the way with little to no danger from traffic that you would expect during a cycle like this back home. This is exactly what we love about this amazing country and why we will return year after year. Alvera is a village in a municipality of witchin that’s in the province of Gilderland located in the center east part of the Netherlands. Ala has a population of around 2525. Today is a very warm day, so we headed to Witcher to have a look around. Then check out something that caught my eye on Google Maps. You feel more relaxed when cycling through traffic cam streets. When you remove the danger, it reminds you of the fun you would have had playing on the streets as a child. We had a look around this nice area, looking around the shops and Market Square, soaking up our surroundings. We then headed north to see a sculpture I spotted on Google Maps when planning this trip. Mosek is where the statue is situated and it has a population of 3,820 and is quite a nice area with the usual quiet streets that you get used to feeling safe when cycling on. We cycled through these streets until we reached a sculpture that’s situated slap bang in the middle of a residential full circle culdeac with all the houses facing the green. It gave us a slight feeling that we shouldn’t be here. We wandered like trespassers onto the grass and got a few photos and tried to translate the Dutch text using our phones in the hope that it would explain what we were looking at. I think it’s some kind of sundial, but I’m not sure. After about 5 minutes, we left none the wiser to what we had just looked at. Traveling back through the streets, we made our way to the town center for another we look around before heading back to the house. Some of the gardens in and around this area are absolutely stunning. Just look at those hydrangees. We roll through this lovely area looking around and enjoying the scenery before gliding slowly back to the house. A nice gentle cycle around doing a little bit of exploring and enjoying being in a different country. Last year, we tried to buy some fruit from this farm vending machine, but couldn’t get our cards to work. This time, we had some euros and managed to purchase some apples. Later that evening, I headed out myself to see where a cycle lane goes that we were on the other day. When it gets to the roundabout at the end of the road, it splits into two directions. I suspected that this one goes to Nimigan. So, we’ll go this way first. The purpose of this is to see if it’s a quicker way to get back to the train station on the next leg of our journey. It was yet another perfect evening and it was just so good to be out in this light summer night on my bike. As I thought, this path does go back to Nimigan. So, this will be the route we take back to the train station when we leave. Perfect light and a perfect little jaunt out in the bike. I’m going to say this in every video I make in the Netherlands. Separated cycle lanes just take the stress out of getting around on your bike. I get to this sculpture at the side of the road and take a photo to send to my honey to let her know where I am. I get back to the roundabout at the St. Wall restaurant. Then I head in the other direction to see where this route goes. Just exploring and joining the dots on my bike. What an excellent night. There were stalks in a field that I passed as well as a hot air balloon far away in the distance. Little things like this just add to the magic on what felt like a very long golden hour. [Music] [Music] Cycles like these on warm summer evenings are the ones that you just want to stretch out as far into the night as possible. Passing little pockets of houses that look like an oasis surrounded by green fields. Traveling from town to town, removed from traffic, so you get a sense of safety that gives you time to look around and absorb everything around you. Like admiring the sensational sunset before getting back to the house to recharge before doing it all again the next day. Join us next time as we travel to and experience Rotterdam for the first time. If you’ve enjoyed this video, please give us a thumbs up and subscribe if you haven’t already. All that’s left to say for now is thank you for watching and see you next time.