Our last full day in Amsterdam was spent outside of it. This was shot from a train - it doesn't get much flatter than that, perfect for cycling (as Davydd and I discovered for ourselves last Easter).

This is Utrecht, some 40kms southeast of Amsterdam.

Speaking of last Easter, Dav and I spent a day here during that trip, but I'd still forgotten just how many bikes there were everywhere! Losing your bike in the swarm must be a daily event! One of the worst things about driving in London is the lack of parking, making cycling ideal; not quite the case here.

Lunch along the river, nice!

Oh, somebody hanged teddy.

From Utrecht we caught another train to Alkmaar, another 40kms from Amsterdam but north.

Hahaha, that looks fun!

Alkmaar is a beautiful little city! It's home to around 90,000, and apparently well-known for it's traditional cheese market - yummy! I mentioned before that my Granddad is Dutch. Well he spent some of his childhood growing up here in Alkmaar, so it was very cool to actually visit the place (and smoke some weed ;)