Gouda to Amersfort-59 km First Warmshowers Visit

 Lisanne

 I repacked the bicycle today so I won't have to take out much tonight. Tante Betty made me a nice breakfast. She walked down to let me out and we hugged good-bye. The Komoot program continues to function very well. I took photos of all the little towns that I passed through. I was riding along a dike for a long time. I took photos of the beautifully landscaped properties. I passed 2 windmills today.  I stopped at a place in the country to buy "versen", cherries, ate a few and continued on.  I try to take a break every hour. At my first break, I was near a roadway that was  2 flights of stairs below me. I was eating my walnuts and raisins when I heard a girl calling me for help. She was having trouble pushing her bicycle up in the trough beside the stairs. Together, we got her up. She was Pernilla from Denmark but living here now. We had a nice chat and I gave her my cards. The busiest part of the day was going through Utrecht where at one corner with many roads, I went off the Komoot map and was trying to reorient myself when Arjan and Ann-ruth approached me to see if they could help out. Arjan said he had just come back from a trip in the Alps. Between the three of us , we figured it out. I gave my cards, told them they were my angels and said good-bye. As I was leaving the city ,I noticed a bakery, wheeled my bicycle right in and ordered a sausage roll . I gave my cards and down the road a ways enjoyed it. I was careful all day to avoid the trees that were ribboned off due to an infestation of caterpillars that make you very itchy if they touch your skin. As I came into Amersfoort, there was another mix up by me and an elderly gentleman helped me. Around the corner out for a walk were Simone, her cousin Frank, 4 year old Lucas and 7 month old Hanne. Simone and her husband, Huub who came home later, are my first ever Warmshowers hosts. We went in their little back yard and I unloaded what I needed and went in for a cup of tea and got acquainted. Simone and Huub have bicycle toured Thailand with Lucas when he was very young. Huub ,last year, finished a bicycle tour from the Netherlands to Istanbul, Turkey to raise money for medical charities. He raised 8000 Euros. I helped de-end the beans  Frank cut the broccoli while Simone fed Hanne. I was glad I could speak Dutch to Lucas who was still a little shy. Huub came home ,we had salmon, noodles, broccoli and beans and chocolate mousse for supper. Then while Simone put the children to bed, we looked at Huub's photo book of his cycle to Istanbul. It took him 2 months and he met lots of people. We all went to bed about 9:30 and I did Facebook. My room was up on the 3rd floor and the bathroom is on the first, so I'm glad I bring a little jar with me to use at night. It was a good day. Thank you to Simone and Huub for your hospitality.