The North Sea

I'm sitting here watching the German election results and most people are worried that the far right has gained significantly.  So Angela has had a bad day, but I have had a great day!

I wanted to start early in order to get through Rotterdam before it got busy.  Problem:  the water ferries that I was relying on don't start till 10 am.  So it was a big detour, but thanks to city signage, I made it to the Erasmus bridge.  So then, it was through the city and getting to the east bank of the river and then out to the beach where SS, the kids and I were just a week ago.  I saw the storm surge barrier that protects the river.

I dipped both my shoes and my tires into the North Sea.

I celebrated with some mini pancakes.

It was a much nicer day today, and the crowds enjoying the Strand were huge.  This was worrying in that I needed to get on a bus to get a ride back to the city rather than having to do the 26 km again.   I lucked into the same driver that we had last week and he was true to his word that he would make an exception for a bicycle if there was not a crowd.  Thankfully, most of the people wanted to stay longer at the beach and I got a ride on the bus which dropped me at the metro station which brought me into the city.  I rode over the Erasmus bridge one last time and then made my way to the SS Rotterdam which is my final hotel.  It's a lovely stateroom and a great way to wrap up this wonderful vacation.

The flight is still scheduled to leave at 14:55 tomorrow.  The eight hour flight is much more than just 480 minutes.  It's a major shift from waking each day and all I need to do is ride.  Too bad!