Europe 2026 – Day 11 – Alkmaar to Zaandam

We had the options to ride a short, medium, or long route today. The accumulated cycling, and poor sleep I’ve been experiencing, is catching up with me, so I chose the short route of 38 km.

It was a harsh, snowy winter in Brampton this year. The snow started in late November, and continued to accumulate all winter long. It even snowed enough to cover our wooden deck a couple days ago. This meant that I was riding less over the winter than I normally would.  I accumulated about 400 km of riding from January to March. In the last six days, I’ve cycled 243 km, with one walking day, and it’s catching up with me.

The itinerary today had us cycling through  Egmond-Binnen and Limmen to Zaandam. 

Outdoor fire escape stairs are very common in all of the places we have visited.

It wasn’t long before we were in the countryside, and as usual for the Netherlands, there was cycling infrastructure between the towns.

Some of the group stopped at this nursery.

Another group of us stopped at  The Liobak monastery in Egmond Binnen.  The site originally featured a 10th century Benedictine Nunnery before it transitioned into a male monastery. However, today a community of Benedictine sisters,  founded in 1935 is on the site. It is known for its focus on hospitality and simplicity. One can stay with them for €70 per night.

A welcoming sign translates to: 

You are at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Distress. This is the largest Marian pilgrimage site in the Netherlands and was established around the year 1400. Tens of thousands of people visit the historic Chapel of Grace and Runxputte annually for the healing water from the Mary Spring. The Sanctuary is a special place for reflection and contemplation.

The Chapel of Grace and the Pilgrimage Chapel are open daily for Holy Mass, adoration, and confession.

Activities, retreats, lectures, and exhibitions are regularly organized. The Oesdom tea house and the shop can be visited on the grounds. You can stay overnight in the guesthouse located in the former Julian Monastery.

We walked around the outside of Juliana Closter, and the small area of the grounds around it. I realize now, as I’m writing the blog, that the grounds were much bigger than what we explored and contained many more buildings.

Across the road from the Julianna cluster there were some very sweet white tailed deer, which apparently belong to the nuns.

I thought it was interesting to see the edge of this hatched roof.

Espalier trees are very popular here. It is the practice of controlling with the plant growth for the production of fruit, by pruning and tying branches to a frame.

I saw another person riding an electric tricycle today.  And another one was parked at the gardens,

Next we stopped at Hortus Bulborum, a unique garden museum dedicated to the preservation of rare and historic bulbs. Some of the over 3,500 tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and other flowers planted here are nearly extinct in the rest of the world. 

They have a coffee shop which we visited first thing.

Everyone enjoying their coffee and cake sat with their backs to the building facing the beautiful gardens.

It was too difficult to select only a couple images so here’s a slideshow of the best.

These are a couple of the many windmills we have seen dotting the landscape as we cycle around.

I have been Ride with GPS to guide me. It’s my preferred tool for planning and navigation and I’ve been using it for years. I was pleased that it was the app chosen by this tour company.Those who prefer paper maps, and sign posts are able to navigate using a very clever system. At each intersection one looks for a number and that will indicate how you should proceed. People who wanted to navigate by paper were provided with a paper that has all the numbers on it. The numbers are not unique overall, but will be unique to an area.

We stopped here to watch a large crane, lifting a pre-fabricated roof panel onto a house.

Today I encountered many more mosaic benches. It seems to be a theme in this area.

Here we are Zaandam, which felt much busier than most of the small places we have visited, but not as busy as Amsterdam.

We had to cross a major canal to get to where the barge is docked. The bridge deck was up when we arrived and we had to wait several minutes for a ship to go through.

There was an elevator to get from street level down to the dock, but it wasn’t working. Fortunately, there was a bike rail, which meant we didn’t have to carry our heavy bikes down.

I’ve been waiting for days to capture this image of the crew, bringing the bikes back onto the boat with a small crane.

Some of us arrived back in time for coffee and cake. Then I took a half hour break before meeting Cindy to walk to the Inntel Hotel. I have been seeing pictures of this hotel for years and was very excited to see it in person.

We walked down a canal lined with shops on either side to the city center, where “modern architecture seamlessly blends with rich historical heritage, showcasing the city’s industrial past and cultural significance”.

The hotel was exactly as I had envisioned it, but what I didn’t realize is that the whole area is being built in a similar style and includes a train station and a large bike parking garage.

This is how the city centre is described in a book that I picked up at the tourist center.

One of the most striking features is the iconic Inntel Hotel, its façade designed to resemble a stack of traditional Zaan region houses, painted in vibrant green with crisp white trims. This building alone captures the essence of Zaandam’s unique identity, merging the old with the new in a way that is both visually stunning and historically respectful.

The transformation of Zaandam’s city center, known as the ‘Inverdan’ project, has turned a once-dreary entrance into a lively and inviting hub. Guided by urban planner Sjoerd Soeters, the municipality of Zaanstad undertook this ambitious project, which, despite initial skepticism over its cost of over 800 million euros, has had an enormous positive impact. Even during the economic crisis of 2010, the project was completed, transforming the area in just ten years.

Today, the renovated station area and shopping street ‘De Gedempte Gracht’ welcome visitors with open arms. Where the center was once unremarkable, the stunning town hall and the internationally renowned Intel Hotel now serve as vibrant gateways. This carefully planned area, with its blend of historical charm and modern convenience, has become a bustling center of activity.

A major highlight of the renovation is the improved flow in the shopping area. The focus has shifted from the east side along the Zaan to a direct connection between the main road, the station, and the city center. This has created a shopping area that is bookended by key attractions, with the Intel Hotel drawing tourists daily who can’t resist snapping photos and selfies.

This influx of visitors has also brought new life to the shopping district.

This modern area houses Zaandam City Hall (Stadhuis) which is designed as a series of Zaan houses. They showcase the façade architecture that is characteristic of the region. Wooden façades are painted in various shades of green accentuated with white trim, windows and decorative curls.

The bike parking station was the most incredible bike parking I have ever seen in person. I took some pictures, but they didn’t show the true size of the building.

Here’s a video of me, walking half of the floors of the building.

The barge set sail just before six. According to the itinerary, we were supposed to be sailing to Haarlem, but there was a problem getting a berth there, so we sailed back to Amsterdam. When we arrived at the dock we had been assigned, it hadn’t been vacated yet, so the captain took us on a cruise until the berth became available.

It was Alina’s birthday today. Cindy surprised her with a homemade bag and chocolate first thing this morning. I bought her some wooden tulips at the tourist office in Zaandam City Centre, and the crew and passengers sang Happy Birthday while delivering a cake. 

Unfortunately, this means that the planned ride to Keukenhof tomorrow would be about 70 km round-trip, rather than 40. So the tour company has arranged for a coach to take us. I’m disappointed not to be staying Haarlem, but I can use a day off the bike. Our final day of riding will be Friday, and the tour company will plan a route from Amsterdam to Harlem, so we won’t miss seeing that city.

These are the scenes from our cabin window.