Day 21 - Raamsdonk

When planning for this trip, Johan was keen to take in the river country in the south. I was skeptical. I'd seen the hyper-industrialized port of Rotterdam, a human-made, hi-tech world of outsized ships and dikes and industrial cranes with little remnants of nature. Fascinating to see what humans are up to in this epoch of their history -- but otherwise not my cup of tea.

Southern Holland is also more densely populated than the north. It's true, when we left the forested "high" country and crossed the bridge over the Rhine, we traveled alongside busy highways and through built-up areas that felt like the oppressive hand of man's technological prowess clamping down on our joie de vivre of the open countryside we'd just emerged from.

But things changed. We soon left that pocket of busy-ness and returned to the countryside, with bicycle paths that wove through the quaint villages and green land, fields of potatoes in bloom, corn that seemed to grow an inch each day, and now, in this region, fruit trees. Long lines of espaliered apple, pear, cherry and plum. And water everywhere! The wide rivers and their tributaries, lakes, and channels weaving with as much playfulness as our bicycle path.

Today is panoply of sensory impressions as we ride through ever-changing landscae: peering down at fanciful Dutch domiciles tucked cozily into the dike, with their secret paths leading to shaggy green gardens; the chorus of bird calls as we pass under the canopy of sculpted beech, suddenly appearing to break the monotony of farm fields; the sweet smell of fresh cut grass mingling with the ever-present cow dung; a castle, 16th century, sprouting out of the landscape as though ignorant of the modern world, a grand green coloured moat crossed by a wooden drawbridge; a sudden stop at a small paddock where a ram rests, his stately horizontal horns twisted like a narwhal's tusk -- a sign tells us these are racka schaap, an ancient breed of Hungarian sheep, rarely found anymore; a sculpture in a small town of a man and woman dancing naked down a river; three workers on scaffolding building a thatch roof, mesmerizingly slow and methodical, an ancient art.

The road into Heusden, halfway through our cycling day, follows a curiously shaped wetlands, were swans nest. We  learn that the wetlands are actually a carefully sculpted moat surrounding this town that was originally settled in 1202. A castle was constructed in the early 14th century, built as a fortress with a peculiar moat that resembles a geometrically designed crest. We walk around the top of the green embankments but it's impossible to get a sense of the design. The aerial view is much more impressive.

We ride through the clunky cobblestone streets of the ancient town, following Google Maps on our phone to keep on course. Our eyes quickly spot the "IJs" on the electronic map and we follow the trail to the town's only ice cream shop. The jolly Dutchman behind the counter is happy to have customers from Australia. We take our double-dip cones to the outdoor tables and yes -- this is definitely THE BEST ice cream experience I've ever had. Seriously good. Creamy, rich, and delicious. I want another bol (scoop) -- perhaps the mango this time? -- but am too embarrassed to go inside and order one. Johan's happy to feed my cravings and steps back into the shop while I crunch the last bit of cone. He comes out smiling and hands me the cup of sweet orange delight. He gave you this for free, he says. Why? He just likes that we're Australian and that you love his ice cream so much. Thank you, Mr Ice Cream Man -- you just sent me to heaven!

We're stopped by another sign that tells us the fietspad is closed for repair, so we take a nearby ferry and cross to the north side of the Waal, ride for 10kms and take another ferry to get to the south side, close to Ramsdonk where our next B&B is.

Our beautiful B&B: an old rustic renovated farmhouse: