Day 2 – The Netherlands
Friday, 13.07.2018
Early bird catches the ferry or so the saying goes. But since I didn’t have the foggiest idea how full the roads around Amsterdam would be in the afternoon, better get up early. I had decided beforehand not to take the A1 to and around Amsterdam. Instead I would go through the north of the Netherlands, beside other areas also over the Afsluitdijk (Enclosure dam) of the Ijsselmeer. So it was breakfast at 7 and on the road at half past 8. Again the weather was on my side, pretty overcast, but no drop of rain. And in the afternoon it actually cleared up.
Fridays are not really the best days for travel. In comparison to Finish roads the German and Netherlands ones were pure stress. On the side roads in the north it was kind of ok, but the driving behaviour is completely different. Less consideration for other cars, more harrassmen, driving a lot closer. That meant more attention for me while driving. Of course wind was my constant companion up here, making driving the motorcycle that much more exhausting.
It was no surprise then that I started to feel repercussions after the long first day.
My right wrist was starting to hurt constantly, so I needed to stop at a pharmacy. A support bandage for the wrist and, of course, Voltaren. The bandage at least helped already, while driving there is less movement and pressure on the wrist. Let’s see how the Voltaren filled bandage over night will help.
The Afsluitdijk was impressive like always. To separate such a big piece of the sea with piled up sand and a few locks and sluices was a mad, but ingenious engineering feat.
Well, after that it was just a small hop to Ijmuiden where the DFDS Seawas terminal lies. There I could immediately check-in and after ten minutes even board the ship. I could go on for a long time now about the differences between ferry companies, but I save that for last when I have seen them all. Suffice to say that fixing the bike on the DFDS ferry was a much nicer experience than on the Viking Line ferry, but that’s about it regarding things in favor of Viking Line.
Again the map of the day with 382 km and some impressions of this part of the trip.
