Alkmaar is the perfect place from which to explore the surrounding area. How about a bike ride from De Rijp to a cow hotel and the smallest candy store in the Netherlands?
Start of the cycle tour in De Rijp
We start our cycle tour in De Rijp. This village was once located on the former Schermer Island, which was situated between the Schermer and Beemster lakes. The small village was a lively fishing village at the time and had the largest herring fishing fleet in North Holland. There were probably 80 herring boats in this village alone.
The areas of De Schermer and De Beemster were created in the course of the major land reclamation campaigns that created many new areas in the Netherlands. The former fishing village by the sea became a place in the middle of the countryside towards the end of the 17th century. The inhabitants now specialized in whaling and sailed towards Greenland with their 20 or so boats.
With the end of whaling came the economic decline of the village. Since then, things have picked up again and you can see this in the beautiful village, where you can feel the flair of the past as you stroll through the streets and alleyways of the listed village. Beautiful historic houses that once belonged to shipowners and wealthy merchants are well preserved on the plots. Today, the village is a popular place to live for artists, craftspeople and people who want to live in the countryside near Alkmaar.
I particularly like the town’s impressive town hall. The brick building stands directly on a canal and was once the site of the weigh house. This can be seen very clearly from the rather high, almost warehouse-like area on the first floor. The upper floors are much flatter and were used as council chambers.
Today it houses the town’s tourist information office, among other things.
The bridge is open
But before we can really set off, we have to wait…
The road leads across one of the town’s countless canals. To allow boats to pass, there is of course a bridge that can be opened and closed. And right now, a boat with a wedding party was sailing along the canal towards the bridge.
There is no electrically operated bridge in De Rijp. Here they rely on manual labor. Two, I’ll call them “bridge masters”, stood on each bank of the canal. They used muscle power to open the beautiful white bridge so that the boat could pass.
Once the bridge was firmly anchored again, we set off on our bikes to explore the polder landscape.
The route
The map shows the route we took that day. It was a leisurely tour that we managed to complete in one afternoon on our e-bikes without any stress.
The cycle tour takes us between fields and meadows in the direction of West-Grafdijk. The route is excellently developed and if you didn’t have the typical “wind from the front”, the bike would almost roll by itself. It’s fun and I just love being able to enjoy the landscape.
At junction 58, we turn off in the direction of Driehuizen. The town is a popular destination in the region, especially in winter. If the canals are frozen over, this is the perfect starting point for ice-skating tours. In summer it is quieter here and at junction 80 we turn off in the direction of Zuidschermer.
“Black church” in Zuidschermer
Our tour took us to Zuidschermer. We stopped briefly at a small church. It is one of the last peasant churches dating back to 1663.
At first glance, the church doesn’t look unusual and I’m very surprised at the name “Het Zwarte Kerkje” on the map in front of the building. The church does not owe this name to its orientation towards the “black side” of the faith. It is much simpler! It stands on black tarred planks. Tar was once a means of protecting the wood from the water and, as the water often pushed up from below, it was the ideal protection to preserve the church.
The route continues along the Zuidervaart Canal. At the beginning, there are still some very typical houses of the region along the way. The Stolpboerderijen have small cubic and pyramid-shaped roofs and fit perfectly into the landscape. The small farmsteads are often surrounded by moats. The excavated sand was used by the farmers to raise the height of their farmsteads to better protect the house from flooding. Today you can find one or two “surprises” in the ditches.
Het Koehotel – the cow hotel
The route is not signposted, but you should not miss turning off at Laan Vaart (Laanweg), which goes off to the right directly behind a canal. This road takes you to the “Kuhhotel”.
I couldn’t really imagine anything under this name. When we entered the farm, it was clear – the Kuhhotel is a cowshed.
How do you come up with a name like that? Quite clearly. The cows on this farm stand in large meadows around the farmstead. They have learned to go to their stall on their own. There, the path leads them to the milking robot and then they find food in the barn. They can then leave the barn again and go out into the meadow. They use the barn practically like a hotel for short stays.
If the team on site has some free time, they are happy to show you around the farm. There is also a small farm store that sells lots of great products from the region.
After the visit, we leave the farm and continue to the right along the canal. Following the road, we reach the village of Grootschermer and turn right into Noordeinde. This road leads us via the village of Noordeinde to Graft.
The smallest candy store in the country: Bram&Aagie
Shortly before we got back to our starting point, we stopped for a treat. In Graft, directly opposite the town hall, is the smallest candy store in the Netherlands.
The Bram&Aagie is 5.4 m² in size and full of sweet temptations right up to the roof. The small space has not changed since 1890, only the goods are different. Originally bread was sold here, later vegetables and for a while even smoked goods.
Today, for example, there are sweets that are reminiscent of times gone by. Thick sweet lumps with the taste of the Netherlands. My favorite was definitely the Stroopwaffle flavor.
The small store is always open from April to September. If you drop by outside opening hours, you don’t have to miss out on a sweet treat. A confectionery vending machine hangs on the wall. It is reminiscent of the old cigarette vending machines and is operated in a similar way. Put your money in, pull open the drawer and take out a box of Stroopsoldaatjes. Yes, and then of course enjoy!!!!!!
Return to De Rijp
From Graft, it’s not far to the starting point of our cycle tour in De Rijp. We cross the small bridge again at the town hall and are right in front of the Wapen van Munster restaurant. This is a great place to end the tour in the cozy dining room or on the sunny terrace.
The bike tour from De Rijp was part of the program during a press trip with Visit Alkmaar.
Leave a Reply