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Holland On Bike

Scene 1

This was when the Raigad rope way was just completed. I had climbed Raigad steps many times. After the ropeway started, we thought that we will experience climbing the fort while looking at the western side of the fort. On the side of the rope way is the wide ridge of Raigad. High enough for the hat to fall when looking up from below.

Scene 2

The story of when I went wandering in Holland. Amsterdam was getting tired of visiting museums and parks for three or four days. If you look at the traffic on the road, look at the number of bicycles! And then the idea came to my head to experience Amsterdam by bicycle. And what can I say! The person who sat on the bicycle that day, traveled on the bicycle for the next seven days until he went to the airport to leave Amsterdam. In fact, I had never ridden a bicycle in my life before. I didn`t have (and still don`t have) the courage, perseverance, ``muscle power`` required for cycling, but Amsterdam, which is known as the bicycle capital of the world, is something else to enjoy on a bicycle - just like riding the rope way looking at the impenetrable edges of Raigad! In the middle of the last century in Holland, as in other countries, the number of four-wheeled cars was considerable. So significant that bicycles were almost on the verge of disappearing. But speeding cars and the accidents that result from them caught the attention of the Dutch in time. (In 1971, car accidents accounted for 3,300 deaths, including more than 400 children). Since the 1970s, some important political and administrative decisions have been made in Holland to make the bicycle the main mode of transportation in the future. Roads in Holland were built to be bicycle friendly. For this purpose, instead of crossing the mountain by ghat path, a tunnel has been dug out of the mountain, while at some places, special bridges for bicycles have been built over the river. As a result, today there are more than a million bicycles in Amsterdam alone. Cycling is the norm here and is happily accepted by everyone.

With all this in mind, I came up with the idea of ​​taking a cycle tour and went to Amsterdam after planning the next time. The plan at that time was, Amsterdam- Keukenhof- The Hague-Rotterdam-Amsterdam a two-hundred km tour - only on bicycles! And she too wandered through the tulip fields, along the shores of the North Sea! Every day of this cycle safari was unforgettable. But I remember the first one the most, the journey from Amsterdam to Keukenhof. The road passes through tulip gardens that stretch literally for miles on both sides. These gardens are spread as far as the eye can see. (I remembered the sprawling gardens of our India. Tried but couldn`t recall any garden that could compare to this length. So be it) The entire western border of Holland is the sea. At some places small islands have been formed by the sea intruding. These islands held Hitler back for a while during World War II. Heading south from Amsterdam, most of our journey was along the North Sea coast. Literally at a short distance we were stopping to take pictures.

Madurodam came on the way. The miniature park here is worth seeing. The history of the Dutch has been preserved here by the Dutch in the form of replicas. The ``Mini world Rotterdam`` exhibition in Rotterdam is also beautiful and a must-visit. At one point on the way, the bicycle had to be taken by ferry. This experience was also very nice and spectacular. When we returned to Amsterdam after six days of contented wandering, we were very happy to have found a new way of wandering around Europe. On the lines of ``when you are in Rome, do as Romans do``, ``When you are in the Netherlands, roam as Dutch roam``, there should be a saying. And yes, if you too want to experience this journey, you too will get such an opportunity, soon. See you again!

Written By- Heramb Kulkarni


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