Day 2 of Biking: Destination – Deventer, Netherlands. Today’s Mileage: 35.7 Miles
Today we had a choice between two routes -one was 28 miles and the other was listed as 37. In general, we’re the type that wants the most direct route from Point A to Point B, so I was quite surprised that Mike wanted to do the longer route.
Today’s ride was mostly through the countryside. Our route took us through farmland and a few forests too.
The guide had mentioned that we’d be going by an old windmill -so when we saw it, we pulled over for a couple of pictures. These days the windmill is home for a brewery -but it was too early to get a chance to taste-test their product! (And it would have made the rest of the ride a bit “wobbly”).
The mornings were chilly. I spent the entire week in my orange jacket.
A bit further along, we were on a dirt path through some woods for a short distance and as we rounded a small curve, we noticed a couple standing on the side of the trail, having pulled over for a break. We were riding quite slowly at the moment and the woman said something to me in Dutch as I passed her. I stopped and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Dutch!” Luckily, she and her husband both spoke English and they asked us a few questions about our trip and told us they were doing a ride in the opposite direction. They were definitely off for an adventure because their bikes were packed for more than just a day’s riding. They were quite interested in the bike and barge idea and we were able to tell them how we find our trips. Mike was actually wearing a lightweight wind vest with Tripsite’s logo on it. The woman took a picture of his back so she’d remember it.
Before long we were riding into the town of Zutphen. Our guide had told us to see the church and the “dome” across the street. The church was closed, but I dutifully took a picture of it.
The “dome” is a small entry vestibule to a property once owned by a wealthy noble – Baron Farraven Fonhickarin. It was built in 1647. The guide said that the Baron wanted to show off his wealth. The dome is decorated with sea shells from all over the world – over 40,000 of them.
In Florida, 40,000 shells might be the daily count for a shell collector at Navarre Beach! (Down the road from us).
The dome was the entrance to the Baron’s estate. The estate is now a museum.
This was an interesting building to the side of the church.
A teeny bit further into town, we arrived at a busy plaza with restaurants and shops. Mike had been promising me a diet-Coke so we sat down at the first place we saw.
What a lucky accident to find out that we’d picked the local ice-cream shop! When in Rome!
There was a clock tower overlooking the square we were sitting in,
By then we were ready to get the day’s ride finished, but we still had about 15 miles to go. We wandered through various farm lands and a few very small villages. The most interesting thing for the afternoon was the ferry we needed to take.
Mike paying our ferry fare.
After the ferry, we only had about 6 miles to go. We were riding on the opposite side of the river from our end town -Deventer
. 
So close and yet so far! We had to ride further up-river to cross a bridge. This is the view of Deventer from where we actually crossed to the town-side of the river and had to circle back.
After showers and settling in, we took a quick walk into the town to see what we could see. We quickly found a lovely square area with some interesting buildings, a fountain and several restaurants.
Deventer City Gate
That evening, our table mates were nowhere to be seen. Our table was set only for 2. No one bothered to tell us where they were, so we were left to our own devices and made up several conspiracy theories about what happened to them. We found out the next day that it was Valerie’s birthday and she and Jean Paul went to dinner in town. I have to say that that news was less exciting than the possibilities we’d thought up!
Today’s route map:
Categories: Part 1: Netherlands Bike & Barge 2025, Part 4: Doesburg to Deventer
Those route maps are SO intimidating to me!
Love the shells – how unique. And the umbrellas in the alley.
AND the ice cream – yum!
These things we see along the way are one reason we enjoy these trips. We’re passing through places that aren’t necessarily famous tourist areas, but are wonderful towns with their own history and stories. I do wish Mike was more inclined to linger sometimes. I felt like I won the lottery when we stopped for the ice cream…LOL. We both tend to get a bit focused on getting the miles over with and aren’t always “in the moment”, which we should be. My sister Laura is one of my proof-readers and she’ll lecture me about that sometimes! 🙂
Such a beautiful place to travel. The buildings are amazing. And those ice cream sundaes looked so good!!!
The ice cream was a highlight…and the only day we did it. Darn diets! We like these types of trips because we see smaller cities that we’d never pick to see from looking at a map. They all have their unique history ands stories. And most of them are so cute and tidy!