Biking through Gouda

We took another trip to Gouda this weekend. It was nice weather, so we planned on biking around the nearby lakes. Linda’s parents were also in for the weekend, so the whole family came along.

It was the first time Chad and I had taken our new baby (the Nikon) to Gouda, so we took the opportunity to capture some of the interesting canals and houses that we always pass in Gouda on the way to the Amelink’s house. We walk along a foot & bike path that is flanked on both sides by small canals and beautiful houses. Many are large stand alone houses, which is a rarity in Holland. Some of them have elaborate gates at the front of their driveways, and little bridges to get over the canals. There are even, what look like, a couple petting zoos or small personal farms in their yards, with goats, chickens, sheep, etc. Interesting…

We haven’t described the Amelink’s neighborhood & house before, so thought I’d just give it a quick run through, since it’s very typically Dutch. Their neighborhood has street after street of buildings of row houses 3 floors high (what we might call townhouses). They share walls on two sides and open up in the front and back. Each has a garden on one side, and the other side opens up to a common area with sidewalks, grass, and trees. It is really the perfect place to raise children, and there are several other young kids in the neighborhood that Tomas & Lukas can play with.

There are a few different ways that people decide to arrange their garden. Some leave it all as grass, but most lay some paving stones to build a walkway or an area for table and chairs. If they have room, they may also throw in a Jacuzzi in a corner, or a shed for lawn equipment or toys.

Their house is narrow and long, and is 3 floors with 3 bedrooms & 1.5 bathrooms. The stairs are, of course, the typical steep & windy Dutch stairs. The first floor has the open living room, dining room and kitchen, and a half bath. The second floor has the three bedrooms and the bathroom. The third floor is an open, finished attic, which is a nice space for a study and a spare bedroom.

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As I said above, we took a bike ride with the whole family out to the lakes. The boys rode in their child seats on the backs of Arjen and Linda’s bikes. We stopped and had a small picnic by the lake. Chad showed everyone how to throw an American football, and even the kids were getting into it (yes… we’re brainwashing them well!). Then we continued our bike ride to a restaurant that had a beautiful terrace on a lake. It really was a beautiful, scenic ride. I would love to live in a neighborhood like this if we would have been staying permanently (but I also look forward to a house with a nice big yard around it! Shhh…).

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More pics from our bike ride in Gouda are on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157624730200272/with/4894686090/