2026 North to the Nordics and Nordkapp, Sun June 21, 2026

Brussels, Belgium → Zwolle, Netherlands

Compared to the crowds filling the streets last (Saturday) night, this Sunday morning is super quiet. I went and retrieved the scooter from the parking garage going out around the exit gate without making too much of an effort to figure out how to pay for parking. Then I got a latte which I promptly spilled setting it on a wobbly table. Wobbly tables and spherical cups don't go well together. After drinking my coffee, I sat outside and ate some bread while watching the cleanup guys working their nicely quiet vaccuum machines in the plaza. I would notice these vaccuum machines all over Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark.

As I rode through Herselt, I stopped to take a picture of an impressive church. Suprisingly little activity at church on this Sunday morning.

I got off the larger round and detoured along a small side road (N712 parallel to N71) which was beautifully tree-lined with bike paths on both sides. Near the end of N712 in the village of Lommel, I stopped at t'Macheltje / marlon Cafe for another latte. The bartender was a tough-Harley-Riding-looking guy with lots of tattoos and a goatee beard. He was chatting with several similar looking friends. Outside, several women were chatting. No conversation was forthcoming, but it was a pleasant morning to be sitting outside drinking good coffee.

After coffee, I turned left onto N715 to avoid N74 and the tree-lined lanes continued.

I stopped to read the posters at a War Cemetary for Polish soldiers. Every time I see this stuff, I'm saddened by how much war sucks and how crappy humans can be. But then I look around and see how much the world has recovered and I have hope for the future.

Crossing a bridge, I see it is called "Joe's Bridge" :)

Then across the border into Netherlands, a new first-visit country for me today. That's Belgium and Netherlands new for me on this trip so far.

I see lots of impressive houses. Big houses on big lots with expensively manicured gardens and fabulous thatched roofs.

I stopped for a break in the village of Grave. Again, very quiet on a Sunday now early afternoon. I found a park bench next to the canal and ate my bread and cheese when an older couple stopped by on their fancy eBikes. I had seen many adult couples out riding those tree-lined lanes earlier. Bicycles in Netherlands are basic transportation for all ages. The woman of the couple talked to someone (turned out to be about a child gone missing) and she left to help. The man stayed and we talked for about 20 minutes before she came back. Child found. Then they took off to continue their Sunday ride.

Along the way, I occasionally saw a typical Dutch Windmill in the distance. There were fewer than I expected.

I stopped for a few pictures in the largish city of Deventer and then headed north towards Zwolle. I finally stopped for pictures of a windmill at Windesheimer Molen. This one operates and grinds flour which they sell in the souvenier shop. The sails were not installed when I saw it, but it seems like they run it occasionally and grind flour to sell to visitors. It is open on Saturday mornings.

Near the windmill, there was a pair of massive barns (milking barns?) with roofs full of solar panels, perfectly arranged with no roof penetrations. I count 16x50 panels on each building. At around $200 each, that's $300k just for panels. This is pretty far north (52° N, compare to Vancouver WA at 45.5° N), so I wonder about the annual output.

Onward into Zwolle, population ~130k, 18th largest city in the Netherlands. It was founded in ~800CE but the area was inhabited since ancient times. BTW the top 24 largest cities in the Netherlands are:

1. Amsterdam: ~930,000 residents (Capital and cultural center)
2. Rotterdam: ~670,000 residents (Major port and industrial hub)
3. The Hague (Den Haag): ~560,000 residents (Seat of government)
4. Utrecht: ~370,000 residents (Central transit and canal city)
5. Eindhoven: ~240,000 residents (Technology and design hub)
6. Tilburg: ~225,000 residents (Southern university city)
7. Almere: ~220,000 residents (Modern planned city)
8. Groningen: ~200,000 residents (Northern student hub)
9. Breda: ~185,000 residents (Historic southern city)
10. Nijmegen: ~180,000 residents (Historic Roman roots)
11. Apeldoorn: ~165,000 residents
12. Haarlem: ~165,000 residents
13. Arnhem: ~165,000 residents
14. Enschede: ~160,000 residents
15. Amersfoort: ~160,000 residents
16. Haarlemmermeer: ~160,000 residents
17. Zaanstad: ~155,000 residents
18. Zwolle: ~130,000 residents (Hanseatic capital of Overijssel)
19. Leiden: ~125,000 residents
20. Zoetermeer: ~125,000 residents
21. Leeuwarden: ~125,000 residents
22. Maastricht: ~120,000 residents
23. Dordrecht: ~120,000 residents
24. Deventer: ~105,000 residents (Historic Hanseatic city on the IJssel river)

The total population of the Netherlands is 18.45 million, ranking as the 71st most populous country in the world, but densly populated at 547 people per square kilometer.

In Zwolle, I checked into my rather nice hotel, Hotel Fidder, one of my top stays. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures! But you can see the breakfast tomorrow morning.

Well, after checking in, I went for a walk around City Centre, buying groceries and touring the downtown plazas. A bunch of kids were having fun jumping into the canal from a bridge which seemed to be completely accepted behavior. They did object when I started to video.


Brussels, Belgium → Zwolle, Netherlands

Brussels → Zwolle

Ride Log