Bicycle tour in dairy country Netherlands

Today I went out for an hour bicycle ride near my house in the centre of the Netherlands. These pictures give an idea what I see on my way while riding some 20 kilometers (~13 miles). On the first picture above are so called "lakenvelders" a tough breed kept (in the past ) for meat and milk, so not a specialist. "Laken" means sheet in English, got it?

The next picture shows how flat our country is and that we have bicycle paths everywhere not accesible for cars. During week days you can be the only one using it. In weekends they get used more often.

For wind mills you really have to look as most are replaced by electric pumps ages ago. The purpose of the mills is to pump (river and rain) water out of the country ultimately into the sea. As we are below sea level for 33% of the country not doing this would turn the country back into a swamp as it was in the medieval times. Netherlands or Pais Bajo in other languages means low country.

A typical older farm house looks like this but is often converted inside to a luxury house now. Roof coverage is "riet". The people live in the front, the back part is for the dairy cows (40-50) with a milk room with steel storage tank in between.

Frisian horses kept for riding or just hobby.

Almost home again:

Goldrooster

[All pictures taken by me myself with Huawei.]