Day 1 - Amsterdam

Amsterdam to Kudelstaart: Saturday July 29 2017

The cyclists (“fietstochters”) began arriving in Amsterdam from throughout the week from Africa, Asia and North America.  During this week the various members took canal tours, visited (the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh and the National Maritime) museums and stopped for poffertjes, pannenkooken and stroopwaffels.

Late Friday afternoon the group assembled for the Heineken experience and dinner.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny the cyclists made their way to dock to board the Tijdgeest to begin their cycling and cultural adventure. As we were introduced to our guide Andre the ship slipped into the Ij River to begin an hour long sail through the canals of Amsterdam to Kudelstaart.

Our bicycle tour began in Amsterdam, the constitutionally mandated capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.  While  Amsterdam is the capital city, The Hague/Den Haag is the seat of government.

The city originated as a fishing village on the Amstel river and its name is derived from the fact that it was located around a dam in the Amstel river (Amstelredamme).

Amsterdam was one of the most important cities in the world during the Golden Age in the 17th century when Dutch ships navigating the globe made The Netherlands the economic and trading capital of the world.

Today the city’s population is just under 1 million while 2.5 million people reside in the Amsterdam metropolitan area.

Wilhelmina Hendrika van Dyk (1797 - 1872), the second great grandmother of HCP, was born in Amsterdam and raised in an “aalmoesenierhuis” (poorhouse for orphans) there.

She started working, as a housekeeper, for Pieter Lindhout (1763 - 1850) sometime after his wife (Artje Arends) died in 1803.

Wilhelmina Hendrika married Pieter Lindhout’s son, Dirk Lindhout (1796 - 1876)  in Noordwijk in 1822.