After breakfast we get our bikes fitted and head out following the Lek River towards Schoonhoven.

Today is a 33-mile ride along small canals, through villages, past back yard gardens of roses and potatoes, past farms with Cheviot sheep,

goats, horses, cows, chickens, and assorted other animal life including rabbits, turkeys, swans, herons, ducks, and some rare bird from Africa that nests here in the summer. We see baby swans,

and, baby goats.

The black and white Holstein cows produce milk and all the related products.

We are usually on bike paths (fietspad) but we share them with walkers, many other bicyclists, and cars.

Some are nice and wide. Others are narrow and make it hard to pass anyone.

We cross over several bridges including three short, steep ones but also some nicer ones.

We see lots of newer brick homes with thatched roofs.

We have a lunch stop in Schoonhoven at the Belvédère Hotel overlooking the river.

Nice ham and cheese sandwich.

We have to take a ferry to cross the river here but on the way, we pass through an old city gate.

Then we board the ferry to head for Kinderdijk.

It’s a super fast ferry so we arrive before I even noticed we had left.

We have a snack stop and I learn that licorice is a “big Dutch thing.” Great! Unfortunately beets seem to also be a big thing. That bowl on the far right is dried beets or something.

And windmills. We ride by a series of six and take a photo of one.

Later we go by the UNESCO World Heritage site where 19 of Holland’s windmills – some more than 260 years old- are standing. This one is open to visitors and we go inside to check it out.

First we see the shoes.

Then the kitchen area on the ground floor.

Then we climb the narrow steps to the second and third floors which were mainly sleeping areas.

In the early 1900s the miller and his wife and their 13 children lived in here.

On the way out, we check out a pair of wooden shoes.

After the windmill, we ride on to the boat, clean up, have dinner, and cruise on to Dordrecht for the night. Dordrecht is the oldest city in Holland and is considered the birthplace of the Netherlands. William of Orange was considered the founder of the Netherlands as he led the revolt against the Spanish occupation.