Fine and sunny 19-29deg, 30km, av. 12.5km/h, tot. 1782km.
Another short day in the saddle; we are winding down to the finish . And another nice day weather wise. A hearty brekky, a bicycle ride on off-road paths and blue skies; life doesn't get any better than that.
Got away from the motel at 8:45am and found the first route number to Leiden near the Central Station. We then just headed in the general direction while avoiding going directly to our destination. That gave us a good variety of sights and scenery and put a few more ks in the otherwise short day. We saw that the forest area north of The Hague was full of very grand mansions; obviously a favourite place for the rich/famous from the Big Smoke to live. Like all the forest routes we've taken it was quiet, cool and very relaxing.
Stopped off at Wassenaar, an upmarket village bordering the forest and had a wander. Despite the extra ks we did and the rather leisurely pace we rode at, we were in Leiden dropping off our bikes and luggage by 12:15pm (the 3pm check-in was enforced today). Lunch was our usual fair eaten beside a canal watching the passing parade of recreational boats .
Then went off exploring Leiden, with its narrow cobbled streets, old buildings, canals and boats. It's one of the most intact 17th century cities in Holland.
It was market day so a good chance to see the local fresh produce. These markets are always interesting events for us visitors. The amount and variety of cheeses on display reflect the Dutch love of the stuff.
What we initially thought was a smallish village turned out to be a medium size city. It was then back to the hotel to check in, do our chores and watch the finish of Le Tour stage.
At 4:00pm today the Netherlands observed a minute silence as the aircraft carrying 40 victims of Flight MH17 touched down south of here at Eindhoven Airport. They telecast this live on TV. Very sad occasion. It was good to see that the Dutch treated all the caskets with the dignity and respect they deserved. Good to see the RAAF (Aussie Air Force) helping with the repatriation.
Dinner was taken at a nearby pub, lamb, steak and beer, good!