Tripsite Traveler - Amsterdam to Bruges Aboard the Magnifique IV

Beth and I are back in Europe again. Once again, we are doing what we love to do: a bike/barge/boat tour. As you already know, we explored Germany's beautiful rivers and trails in 2017, the amazing mountains, and the Adriatic Sea of Croatia. This time, our adventure will take us to the Netherlands and Belgium. I will share with you my highlights of each day, my 5-favorite photos, and our all-important MOVING INTO LIFE stats. I will chronicle the total number of steps we take each day as well as the number of cycling miles we cover. For this trip, we rented E-Assist bicycles, which we’ve learned make cycling much more enjoyable. I hope you enjoy our journey as much as I know we will.

Day #1 / 7 –

We boarded our barge in Amsterdam and have already navigated our way downstream, on the Amsterdam-Rijn Canal, to our first stop in a little town called Heemsteade. Beth, me, Jane, and Bryce, along with 28 others, boarded our barge and she's called the Magnifique IV. She is beautiful. We will spend the next 7 days biking to Bruges, Belgium. Our barge will follow us each day, allowing us to unpack once and sleep in the same bed each night. We enjoyed a tasty salmon dinner while getting to know our fellow shipmates. After dinner, we were fitted for our bikes, and we'll take off after breakfast at 9:15 am Friday, planning to cover 37 miles. We are excited and ready to explore.

Here are MOVING INTO LIFE numbers for today.

- Steps = 5,740

- Cycling = 2 miles

I'll share my FIVE favorite photos each day. Here are my FIVE from today.

1. You'll need to zoom in, but this was our agenda for today on the ship. It was very organized

2. Beth and I are on our ship's top deck. The weather is beautiful, roughly 78 degrees Fahrenheit with very little wind.

3. Here's a photo of our dinner table. Jane, Bryce, a some new friends from New Jersey, Denver, and Virginia.

4. This photo was inspired by the photos that our son Brandon takes at special places he visits.

5. We did it! We are ready to go on the beautiful Magnifique IV!

We are looking forward to Day #2 tomorrow

Day #2 / 7 - of my European adventure with Betho.

Today was our first cycling day of our bike/barge adventure. The weather was perfect. After breakfast on the ship, we headed out for our 37.5-mile trek through the Province of North Holland, in the country of the Netherlands. The trails we followed today were pristine cobblestone the entire way. As we cycled, we saw dozens of Holland's famous wooden windmills. We cruised and watched the local children swimming and diving in the canals. We stopped at little villages along the way, tasting ice cream and enjoying freshly picked fruits and vegetables—such a great ride.

Our move-into-life numbers for today.

- Steps = 13,409

- Cycling miles = 37.5 miles

These are my FIVE favorite photos from today.

1. Our first bike stop of the day was at a fruit stand. Freshly picked cherries melted in our mouths. So good.

2. A goofy selfie while cruising our bikes. We split our shipmate groups into a shorter group (19 miles) and a longer group (37.5 miles). We went with the longer mileage. Our crew of 17 had a blast.

3. Here's a video of Betho and me goofing around in front of one of the windmills.

4. Us again in front of the beautiful centuries-old windmill.

5. After dinner on the boat (delicious pasta), we walked into the town of Dordrecht, where we docked. We enjoyed after-dinner conversations in this really old but very "active" little town. Oh yeah, it stays light here till 10:30 pm each night.

Tomorrow is a shorter ride (30 miles), but it promises to be another great day.

BONUS POST! The Magnifique IV

Refurbished in the Spring of 2020 – What does the barge we are staying on this week look like? Here's a quick 3-minute video of what she looks like inside and out. #bikeandbarge

Day #3 / 7 of my European adventure with Betho.

Today was our second day of cycling across the Netherlands. The terrain is flat, and the bike trails are safe with limited car traffic in this country, with the most significant challenge coming from getting comfortable on the bike seat. Today, we rode through small village after small village, stopping for coffee/pastries and lunch along the way. We arrived in Bergen op Zoom around 3 pm, just in time for tasty snacks and a gin-mixed drink. After dinner, we went on a walking tour of this old fortress city. After the tour, we grabbed cocktails with our new friends from Seattle and New Jersey. We are having a blast.

My "move into life" stats for today

- Steps = 7,140

- Cycling Miles = 27.8 miles

These are my FIVE favorite photos from today.

1. I snuck ahead of the crew to get a drive-by video of everyone. As you'll see, our crew is made up of all ages, shapes and sizes.

2. Beth took this photo of me, Jane, and Bryce. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful marina. We all make our sandwiches on the boat and pack them in our bike bags.

3. Check out this shot of our tasty happy hour snacks that we found when we returned from cycling. Chef Michel prepared some excellent sweets.

4. Here's a photo of Betho looking cute at the entrance of the old fortified city. It reminds me of sceens from the Game of Thrones.

5. After our walking city tour, seven of us found a “city center” pub where we shared beverages as we watched the sunset. (Again, 10:30 pm summer sunsets are still hard to adjust to)

One more day in the Netherlands before we heading into Belgium. Tomorrow's ride will be a shorter 20-mile ride. We are all looking forward to it.

Day #4 / 7 – of my European adventure with Betho.

It's our third cycling day on the bike/barge. We started the day in the small town of Halsteren. We had a short ride before we came to Fort de Roovere. It was the site of a fort originally built in the 1600's and recently refurbished. We could feel the history there. Our weather was mild, and there was very little wind on the bikes. Some riders climbed the stairs to the top of the viewing tower, and we all walked through what locals called Moses Bridge. We stopped at a cemetery where a battalion of Canadians were laid to rest after a battle with the Germans in WWII. We ended the day in the city of Bonaparedok. Beth and I snuck off into town for our last beverage in the country of the Netherlands.

My "MOVE-INTO-LIFE" stats for today.

• Steps – 9,749 steps
• Cycling miles – 23.5 miles

These are my FIVE favorite photos from today.

1. We know why they called this bridge the Moses Bridge. The bridge allowed us to walk with water on both sides of us. Pretty cool.

2. Stopping at the memorial cemetery, recognizing a large troop of Canadians who lost their lives in a battle with the German army during World War 2.

3. Meet our two bicycle guides, Hans and Andre'. They are entertaining and fun…and very knowledgeable.

4. We ended our day in the large city of Antwerp.

5. At the end of the day, there's always time for another quality beverage.

Tomorrow, we will begin exploring the country of Belgium. We are slated to do 27 miles on the bikes.

Day #5 / 7 - of my European adventure with Betho.

It's our fourth cycling day on the bike/barge. Today, we left the Netherlands and entered Belgium. We started the day exploring the city center of Antwerp…which is Belgium's largest city. The city was ALIVE….we spent two hours viewing the sites before hitting the trail for a 27-mile bike venture. First, I experienced something new. Our group took a bike elevator 90 feet down, then rode our bikes 850 yards under the river only to come back up on the other side of the river and the bike trail. It's pretty eerie, for sure. We rode the beautiful countryside, stopping in numerous villages for pastries, coffee, and snacks. We finished the evening enjoying a BBQ dinner on the back side of our beautiful barge. Beth and I shared a table with a couple from New Zealand, another from Germany, and one couple from Sweden….so interesting learning about them and their lives.

My "MOVE INTO LIFE" stats for today.

- Steps = 11,500 steps

- Cycling miles = 27.3 miles

These are my FIVE favorite photos from today.

1. All 19 of us in the bike elevator, going down 90 feet. All this to get to the other side of the river.

2. Here's the tunnel you ride through (850 yards) to get to the other side of the river and the bike trail.

3. Sharing food with couples from all over the world. Beth couldn't stop talking with her two lady friends from New Zealand, and I enjoyed my conversation with friends from Western Germany. So many great stories.

4. The ships two bartenders, room cleaning, and food servers….Christine and Hannah. They both work very hard and are so much fun.

5. The sun was setting on another fantastic day. Oh yeah….once again, this photo was taken at 10:30 pm.

Tomorrow is another fun cycling day….32 miles. Oh, oh….rain is forecasted.

Day #6 / 7 of my European adventure with Betho.

Today was day five on our bike/barge portion of the trip. It was our first day with challenging weather, with rain coming down on us for our final 2-miles. We persevered, and the day turned into my favorite day of the barge trip. (So far ) We rode to the second largest city in Belgium, Gent. (230,000 people). We arrived on day 5 of a 10-day annual festival. The town was HOPPING! The city is the oldest in Belgium, established in 630. It was so cool to walk those streets.

Here are my move-into-life stats for today.

- Steps = 6868 steps

- Cycling Miles = 36.5 miles

These are my FIVE favorite photos from today.

1. We arrived early at Belgium's largest lake, Lake Donk. I snapped this shot of Betho, and I thought it was beautiful.

2. I am blown away by this country's sheer number of flowers. So manicured and beautiful. We saw countless displays that looked like this.

3. This is the first time I've ever parked my bike in an underground bicycle garage. Yes, Belgium takes cycling pretty seriously, too.

4. There is nothing quite like people-watching in the city of Gent. We grabbed a couple of adult beverages while waiting for a city boat tour. So good!!

5. I've never seen an outdoor men's urinal quite like this one.

Tomorrow is our final day on the bikes as we pedal into the beautiful city of Bruges, Belgium. Unfortunately, our bike/barge adventure is coming to an end soon.

Day #7 / 7 of my adventure to Europe with Betho.

We finished our last day on the bikes. Today’s 32 miles brought us to our final destination in Bruges, Belgium. It was a beautiful last day, too, with no wind and mid-70s temps. Along the way, we stopped in Lievegem, a town of 27,000 people. We explored a fun farmers market and shared cherries and strawberries. So good. It's been such a fun week on the ship. In total, we covered 183 miles over the six days. This may seem like a lot, but moving slowly, with the help of the e-bikes, and exploring small towns/villages along the way is the sweet spot for us. We love getting away from the big cities and seeing a country's "real" culture. It's active fun, for sure.

Here are our move-into-life numbers for today.

- Steps = 12,839

- Cycling = 31.96 miles

Here are my FIVE favorite photos for today.

1. Amazing visual beauty on the trip's final ride. The bike trails just go on….and on.

2. This is how we traveled. Each day, we were offered a "longer mileage" group and a "smaller mileage" group. We always went long, but there was always another option. Some even stayed on the boat occasionally if they didn't feel like cycling.

3. The farmers market that we stopped at in Lievegem. So good.

4. When in Belgium, eat the chocolate. In Bruges, we found plenty to try out. It's a good thing we were cycling to burn off some calories.

5. Sharing a toast with Bryce on our last day. Europeans focus on good beers AND their presentation, too. It is always served in fine glassware.

We debark the ship tomorrow in Bruges. We will say goodbye to our new friends on the boat. What an amazing 7-days exploring the beautiful countries of the Netherlands and Belgium. We will be back!

Randy Seevers was born in Sidney, Nebraska, and now lives in Sacramento, California, where he was an Advertising Executive and later a Non-Profit founder/leader. Randy retired in June/2024 and now spends his time traveling, playing pickleball and golf, and volunteering for the Non-Profit that he left when he retired in 2024. Randy’s family includes his wife, Beth, three children, and two grandsons.

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