July 28, 2026
South of Giethoorn, the usual canals and rivers were joined by large lakes. Cycling through Zwarthuis to Hasselt, we opted to stop for coffee in the lovely square. A sign here pointed towards Zwolle on the north side of the river. A look at a map revealed a ferry ride as part of the route and the local info office confirmed the ferry was running today.
The scenery was delightful as we rolled along the Zwart (Black) Water River. A short road led to Haetsterveet and a small shed in someone's front yard with coffee, cake, and some paintings paid for on the honor system. Ringing a bell, we convinced the artist to wrap two paintings, which fit well in the bike panniers. The dimunitive ferry was basically a wooden raft holding 6 bikes. Propulsion was effected via the driver pulling a cable through his hands using blocks of wood. The ferryman said there was an ancient aristocratic charter granted to run the ferry here. Definitely worth the detour to get here.
At Zwolle, we espied an open door in an old city gate leading to a tower. The guide was very proud of city dating from the 1200s: "older than Amsterdam." The city's name is simple: there was a mild rise in the land (i.e., the land was swollen (zwoll) surrounding a river called the "aa."). Oddly, there was no view from the tower.
After about 20 miles, we hopped on the train from Zwolle to Utrecht, where urban cycling was more organized that I had expected (based on previous experience in central Amsterdam).
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