Farewell European Phantom Trekkers!

It has been a fantastic 28 days for our European Trekkers.  And today, the Trek returned to London's Heathrow airport to bid farewell to out well traveled Trekkers.  From castles to beaches, city streets and quiet pastures the Trekkers have toured England, France, the Netherlands and Belgium in two wheeled style.  We wish all of the Trekkers the best as they safely Travel to the countries of Canada, Germany and the USA.

London

Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England

Normandy region, France

Rouen, France

Paris

Bruges, NL

Ghent, Belgium

Ghent,Belgium

Amsterdam

Rural Holland

Rural England

Along the River Cam, England

European Phantom 2013

Oh, the places you've gone!  Teen Treks hopes the rest of your summer is as exciting as the past five weeks.  Bon voyage, merci and cheers!

European Phantom Taking Ferry from the Netherlands to England

The European Phantom Trekkers are on board for a night at sea as they float over to the rural town of Harwich, England. The group has spent the last few days cycling and going to the Dutch's variety of museums:windmills, houses, galleries-they've sampled it all!  Today the group explored Den Hague and took a short ride to the ferry port in Hook van Holland.

Tiny Trekkers next to the windmill

On the grain scale inside the windmill

Den Hague mixes modern and traditional Dutch life well, and is seen as a welcoming place to live

The Het Binnenhof functions as the central government building

The MC Escher Museum

Today the group enjoyed the M.C. Escher Museum located in the very modern city of Den Haag (also functions as the city of Dutch government), and after an overload of the graphic designer's work, they grabbed some frozen yogurt-still somewhat of a new treat to the Dutch compared to its popularity in North America.

Summer in Den Hague

Catching some early zzz's on a canal boat.

So, what does the group think of the Netherlands?  They have enjoyed the vast diversity of the country-everyone adored Amsterdam although they conclude that the rest of the country has a different personality (in a good way).  The Dutch have offered them more culture and history than anticipated, and when combined with the good eats and endless bike paths, it has been a great visit.  Still undecided if it beats the groups' beloved Belgium...

Farewell to Holland (this is as serious as this bunch of goof balls get)!

The Trekkers are pooped from all of the sightseeing and looking forward to spending time without lines and tourist crowds.  The group will get just that for the next few days as they bike through the villages, farms and estates of Essex and Cambridgeshire, with a stop to visit the picturesque town of Cambridge. 

Harwich, located in the coastal county of Essex and used as a port for cruise ships, ferries and fisherman.

Trekkers are looking forward to thatched roofs, rolling farm land and sheep for the next few days

Amsterdam and The Netherlands are Home to Bikers on the European Phantom Trek

The European Phantomers are having a great time in The Netherlands so far. After arriving to Amsterdam by train on Thursday night, we went out for a delicious pancake dinner. The restaurant had over 100 choices of pancake toppings and fillings, both sweet and savory. Yummm.

We spent Thursday exploring the city and visiting two museums: the Anne Frank House and the Torture Museum.
The Anne Frank House was really neat to see. The museum was made around the actual building where Anne and her family hid for two years during the Nazi occupation. We saw the rooms they lived in, read excerpts from her famous diary, and saw video clips of people who had known her. The museum finished with a collection of short videos about modern human rights issues, and asked the visitors to press buttons to vote about their opinion on the issue. It was a neat way to engage people and encourage them to connect the past with the present.

The Torture Museum, on the other hand, was what you'd probably imagine: a gallery of replicas of medieval torture devices, accompanied by descriptions and etchings. The whole place felt kind of spooky, so the trekkers took the opportunity to scare each other by jumping out of dark corners and making mysterious noises.

On Saturday we spent the afternoon on a boat tour of some of the city's many canals. The recorded audio-tour taught us about the city's architectural history, from the middle ages to the present. The boat provided a great view of the tall, narrow houses, the many houseboats, and the bike-lined cobblestone streets. In the evening, we went out for a tasty pasta dinner.

Today, Sunday, we got up early and rode to the city of Haarlem, where we toured an old windmill, built almost 250 years ago. With the aid of wooden model windmills, our guide explained the mechanics of the milling process. (They had to lug ALL of the grain up five flights of steep stairs in order to mill it! ...Yet we complained about having to haul our stuff up four flights at the hostel! ) After a quick picnic lunch, we headed to the beach in Zandvoort Zee, for an afternoon in the sun on this warm Dutch day. It feels good to be back on our bikes, and we're looking forward to a few more cycling days here before heading back to England.