Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Benelux April 2013 -- Driving to and from Keukenhof

Trout has driven and I have navigated in a total of 8 countries so far (Iceland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands), but this is the only place we have ever seen this kind of a road.  It didn't take long each way from our B&B in Leiden to Keukenhof, but it was an adventure. 

It looks okay here, right?

 
But what happened after those striped poles?  Are we doing something wrong?


 
Let's pay attention to the graffiti and forget it ever happened.

 
Okay, the road's dividing into a one way set up.



 
This is cool.  We're all going the same direction.  With the parking on the left and bike lane on the right, it's a little tight, but our car is tiny.

 
Uh, oh.  It's not divided anymore.  We have no place else to go, so I guess this must be correct.


 
But how do we pass a car with bike lanes on both sides?  Verrry carefully.

 


 
Oh, good.  Back to a 2-lane road with a line down the center and bikes on a sidewalk.

 
Let's enjoy these flower fields.  We didn't drive this way on Bloemencorso day, so we didn't see them.





 
Ah, the ever popular road work.  It wasn't there on the way to Keukenhof.

 
That structure is for a Stork nest.

 
I think the only reason this vertical picture is working is that it was cut out of and blown up from the horizontal picture above.

 
Here we go again.  Look closely.  There's a lot going on in these pictures.



 
This is my favorite.  The old dude on the bike on the left is checking out the woman on the sidewalk on the right.

 
Now we're back to that divided 1-way part going the opposite direction.  Great! 



 
Rats!  Cars, bikes, avoiding each other, we hope.


 
It's over the bridge and back to a "normal" road again.

 
I took this picture because we frequently saw young kids, many younger than this, out walking around in classes.  They always had on vests.  They always were orderly.  And there were usually only 2 adults for the whole group, one in front and one in back.  

 
So that was the main driving sequence Trout wanted me to document.  Needless to say, we didn't go very fast.