Once in Alkmaar I picked up a map of the city and surrounding bike routes (there are hundreds upon hundred of bike routes all over Holland) and headed off in no particular direction. It took me a little while, but I finally got my bearings and was headed off towards Stompetoren and Schemerhorn in no time. Once outside the city, the scenery changes quite a bit (don't get me wrong, Alkmaar is a lovely city itself) and you quickly find yourself cycling in the shade of tall tree-lined side roads. Right off the bat you can see the colorful mosaic of tulip fields in the distance. The road out to Schemerhorn is dotted with a ton of molen (windmills). I'm quite certain I encountered at least 20 of them throughout my day-long excursion. 
The first one got me pretty excited and I had to stop and snap some photos. As I continued on I went where ever I wanted. If I saw tulip fields in the distance, then I would go there and check it out. I paused momentarily at the base of a windmill to each lunch. That was the first time I'd seen 3 windmills all clumped together (but it wouldn't be the last). I checked the map and there was a tulip icon just past Schemerhorn so I headed out that way and in no time I could see the colors ahead. It really is a bit odd; people don't seem to mind the taking of photos. I thought maybe I'd get yelled at for walking on the land, and in one instance I asked the farmer himself, and he seemed quite non-chalant about it, like he just expects it (I'm sure it happens with frequency). So that was nice. I didn't feel bad about walking out into a field to snap photos. 
Some fields are behind homes and those I didn't try to get into, but the ones right off the road are fair game. In some cases irrigation ditches prevented me from getting up close, but still made for some nice photos. The sun was out all day long and it was nice just riding along the quiet tree-lined roads taking photos at my own discretion. This is what I did for most of the day from 130 onward to 7 pm or so.
Around 3 pm, I took a look at my map and realized there was a small town marked on one of the routes. It was apparently a good place for lunch. So I headed out to Westbeemster and found the restaurant with ease. This town had 150 residents in 2007, and by the look of things, it hadn't done much growing. It definitely felt like a small town. I parked my bike out front (without locking it) and proceeded inside. I startled the bartender, he was singing karaoke (on the newly installed sound system I later found out). 
I guess they weren't open yet, but he offered me a seat and I sat down and had a couple half-pints of Amstel on the terrace. Now maybe I put too much faith in people already, but it's places like these that totally and completely restore my faith in humanity. I am always reminded of Louis Armstrong's - What A Wonderful World, I used to think that kind of life no longer existed anywhere, but I'll tell you, it actually does. Everyone in this small blip of a town waved, said hello, and knew each other on a first name basis. It was quite amazing actually. The english spoken was broken at best (and that's a real sign you're getting far away from the city). I paid the 4€ for the 2 half pints, thanked the bartender, and was on my way back towards Schemerhorn. 
The rest of the afternoon I spent cruising the country roads looking for tulips and windmills. By the time I was headed back towards Alkmaar the afternoon sun was diminishing and it was transitioning to the evening. It would be excellent for photos and was only getting better and better by the minute. I took an alternate route back to Alkmaar that would take me by 6 or so molen. Near Ursem there were 2 molen together, 1 sitting solo, and near Rustenburg I encountered the next clump of 3. My plan was to head to Alkmaar and have dinner before heading to the train station. I really could not have planned it out better.It was primetime for relaxing by the canal as I entered the city. The streets were nearly deserted compared to when I cruised through earlier. I found a nice little restaurant and took a seat on the terrace. Het Gulden Vlies (The Golden Cup) and it had a lovely photo of the city taken in 1902; the restaurant sitting in the exact same place. I ordered a Duvel, a goat cheese salad, and a side of fries. Was amazing. I love Duvel :] Anyhow, after dinner I headed back to the train station. It was nearing 8 pm and I lucked out as the train for Sloterdijk was leaving in just 12 minutes. So needless to say it was a great day. I snapped close to 500 photos (which I will upload to this blog a bit later on). Hope you enjoy reading. Until next time, tot zo!
Zach
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