Bergen Aan Zee, or should I say, one of the most beautiful places in the Netherlands! Discover the hidden treasures of the Netherlands in just 1 hour by train from Amsterdam!
Dennis surprised me with a short romantic green weekend in Bergen in May 2016! True, neither Thailand nor Patagonia, but well, every destination has something exotic, right? I have to admit that after 5 years in the Netherlands, I'm starting to despair a bit because there's no new activities to do, mainly because of the lack of natural diversity - just vast pastures or dune parks and bushland.
You know, the Netherlands is first of all a low-lying country, which means that the soil is very loose and it is difficult for vegetation to take root.Therefore, there are few big trees and dense forests. Most of the trees in the Netherlands are birch, oak or beech, the landscape does not vary much and the forests are sparse and not very dense.
adventure...,Cycling from Amsterdam to Bergen, passing cud-ruminating buffaloes, riding among giant sand dunes with stunning color contrasts, and sleeping under the stars is all possible in the Netherlands.
I love Holland (despite some repetitive landscapes), I think it's a beautiful green country full of hidden treasures for tourists likezandvoort national parkeven biggerPark Heveluwe.The Netherlands has 20 national parks, while France has 10, 10 times as many as France! All of these parks compete with each other in terms of rich biodiversity. But ok... but didn't expect there to be Bergen and this area we haven't explored yet. incredible!
Day 1 Cycling to Bergen Aan Zee via Egmond and forests:
How to get there?
take the train
go to bergen you decidego by trainStop in Alkmaar. Alkmaar is a pretty town known for its cheese market every Friday from April to October. If you're coming by train, you can pick up your bike from Alkmaar directly at the train station. From there you will have to cycle about 16 km to Bergen or further if you want to enjoy the surroundingsEgmont-sur-Mer(with a very nice lighthouse). On the way you will find many campsites andAgritourism placeand hotels. The route we chose is as follows. bergen-sur-mer is a placeThe Dutch cherish it very muchWhen you're there, you'll understand why.
Cycling
If you decide to cycle from Amsterdam, you will pass through many quintessentially Dutch villages until you reach near Bergen. The itinerary from Amsterdam is straightforward.The bike lanes are well marked and you can even do thisYour own itinerary on this page.
Approaching Bergen, you encounter "dense" forests (certainly compared to the Dutch average), stunning sand dunes cutting the horizon and landscapes that I think are impossible to find in this country! You'll almost feel like you're in another country (well, I said almost!).
If you don't know where to live after a long bike ride, we recommend aCamping Bregman.The campsite itself is in a great location, close to the sea, but also close to the village, and is the starting point for many hiking and cycling trails in the area. It's also clean with great showers and areas for the kids to play. They even have some kind of big inflatable mat that the kids can jump on. And friendly staff.
What to do in Bergen and Anzer Bergen?
Bergen is a "city" that looks more like a village, with trees and nice houses all around. The Dutch are big fans of the cityIt is one of the most expensive places per square meter in the Netherlands after Amsterdam.You could say it's the Dutch equivalent of the French Riviera, with one big exception, you'll find far fewer foreign tourists here (despite some Germans trying to contradict me).
The town is small and you can get through it in no time, but there are some interesting things to spend your time on:
- ruins of churchsome placesconcertSometimes they are organized (agenda in link). Entry is free, unless there is a show (approximately 18 euros)
- thisfactory restaurantServes locally sourced organic produce that is delicious! tasty!
- mountain by the seaaquarium, especially if you like piranhas :) Entrance is relatively cheap (about 13 euros per adult)
The city gets busier at night so you'll have no trouble finding a good bar to drink a good dutch beer like this one,Hope, a very typical (so called Brown's Pub) serving local beers.
After a good dinner and checkout (of course we were in the Dutch version of the French Riviera), we headed back to camp for the evening! what a pleasure! A truly healthy ride, perfect before falling asleep to the sound of the wind blowing the leaves.
Day 2 Relax on the beach and walk in the dunes before returning to Alkmaar:
The nights at the camp were nice (okay) with a good coffee and a croissant at the camp (8 euros in total) and you could cycle to Anze Bergen, this time by the beach!The slopes and trees, the dunes and finally the beach, the ride is amazing.The beach was as pleasant as the one in Zandvoort, we wanted to swim but it was too cold (17°C). But some Dutch people are enjoying their time in the water. Uh... what to do? We couldn't swim, but we just ate at a tavern on the beach, avoiding meat or fish as we didn't know where they came from. You'll find plenty of options on Bergen's beaches and around Egmond (the neighboring city). Most of these places offer vegetarian options.
What to see nearby?
To give you an idea, find below some pictures related to our bike tours. You will see a lot. From tulip fields on the way to Alkmaar to pretty little Dutch houses if you go through a national parkNorth Holland Dunes ReserveYou can even make friends with some buffalo! !Huge and full of bugs, but very gentle and completely free, which means they are easy to approach.You might even find a few of them sleeping on the bike lane...
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Still on the bikes, we walked to Ujtergeest after catching the train in Alkmaar (I was tired, but of course it was easy to bike back to Amsterdam!) and we walked through forests and dunes, and then we met the lovely small village.Just know that in the Netherlands you can take your bike on the train for about 6 euros(Valid for the entire itinerary on all trips) - If you rent a bike during your stay in Amsterdam, you can repeat this trip with the option to stop when you get tired.
This weekend in Bergen was short, but magnificent and refreshing. It takes us out of normal everyday life and makes usDiscover one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in the Netherlands: Anze Bergen.
So if you're in the Netherlands for more than a weekend, I highly recommend going there, it's definitely worth the detour - I'm totally drawn to this romantic eco getaway.
Here is the full itinerary on the Tripcipe website:
Prevela i kopirala uredila Fujimoto plant
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