APRIL 25 DAY 16 AMSTERDAM COUNTRYSIDE

A cool day for a walk through the countryside outside of Amsterdam. We took the tram to Amsterdam Muiderpoort Station. Quite the bike rack

The train arrives for our short journey to Abcoude

Rutger keeps a keen eye on his flock

Leaving Abcoude Station

Into the countryside. It's a bit nippy. The walk was quite the contrast to the hills and woods of the southern part of the country. Here, the land is low, flat with waterways that typify what one normally imagines the Dutch countryside to be

Leaving the village

Goats Galore

Impressive Farm House

Typical Dyke

Black sheep of the family

Windmill Home

Looking sheepish

Checkout Rutger

Photographing the Ducks

Tonie goes over the top

WW11 Fort now a good place for a pee

Mary gets hand

Gedenkwaardig Fort from WW11

Trees planted along the canal help to dry out the land, protect against the wind and assist navigation for barges

The Amsterdam - Rhine canal. Inaugurated in 1952 is 72 km in length with a minimum depth of 5.5 metres and contains 4 locks. It is the most heavily used canal in western Europe

My favourite photo of the entire trip

We crossed this beautiful designed footbridge

Wait for us!

From the bridge we enter the town of Nigtevecht. Our original lunch venue was closed. The proprietor of this small Bakery managed to satisfy our needs

Leaving the town we say goodbye to Merel, Tonie & Doug. They will go by bus to Weesp where we will meet up before catching the train

The National Bird of the Netherlands is reputed to be the Black-Tailed Godwit. It is one of the largest  and most colourful waders in Europe

For a rest the nest is best

Impressive private Lodge

Rutger checks out an historical plaque

"Cowscape"

Entering Weesp we encounter picturesque homes throughout the town

We meet up with Merel at the Cafe 't Heertje for refreshments before catching the train back to Amsterdam

In the evening we held an appreciation dinner for Merel & Rutger. The chosen restaurant, Srikandi, was an Indonesian one. Most of the diners enjoyed their meals, however, the service was deplorable. Some were served after others had consumed their meal. The practice of issuing one bill required time to sort who had what making the visit a 3 hour ritual