21 Harlingen to Leeuwarden - Confusion & Emotional Rollercoaster

So I was back from the island on the mainland, my island-hopping plan was ruined, and my motivation to continue cycling along the dreary Wadden Sea coast in a straight line along the dyke was limited. ^^

Also, from the beginning, I had been considering helping out on a farm for a week in exchange for food and accommodation. I had already contacted several farms on the Wwoof platform (https://wwoof.net), but I hardly received any responses... Some of them were also nearby, in Friesland, so continuing to cycle would have meant giving up on this idea as well - which I really didn't want to do, because I was starting to long for longer contact with the same people instead of constantly meeting and saying goodbye to new ones. So I was really undecided about what to do next, where to go, and where to stay...

Therefore, I left my sleeping place near Harlingen and went to the town to think and research about what I could do next.

One idea was to go back to the next island, Vlieland, and try to get a Wwoofing position there for a few more days. However, when I inquired at the ferry terminal, the next tickets were only available for the following day and not exactly cheap. So, I discarded this idea again.

So, being totally clueless again, I started looking for a nice café where I could continue my research with Wi-Fi.

However, this was relatively difficult in the small town on a Sunday morning, which didn't improve my mood in combination with the confusion... Eventually, I found one, treated myself to a coffee and a slice of apple pie, and discovered on Warmshowers that there were some hosts in Leeuwarden, which is located a bit inland. According to the North Sea Cycle Route, I didn't actually want to go there. But the location of the city would allow me to continue cycling to the Wwoof places without having to 'go back', and at the same time, I could easily cycle to the highly recommended island of Schiermonnikoog from there. Plus, I didn't have to continue riding along endless, boring dikes along the coast :D

Happy with this new idea, I contacted three young women whose profiles seemed very nice, and I promptly received a reply from one of them, who unfortunately was also traveling. However, she gave me some very helpful tips for interesting places in the area and her lovely messages already lifted my spirits ;) Then the second woman responded - a German who has recently moved to Leeuwarden - and she said I could stay with her, but she would only be home relatively late in the evening. Super happy to have found someone so quickly and spontaneously, I accepted her offer immediately and gradually started making my way towards Leeuwarden.

On the way, the third woman also contacted me and said that I could stay with her and that she would be going to a small Midsummer solstice ceremony organized by the Women Circle, and I could join her if I wanted to. Since I had already been thinking about doing something special on the longest day of the year and was very impressed by my New Year's Eve ceremony experience in Barcelona, I was also immediately enthusiastic and decided to seize this opportunity - even though it meant having to cancel my first acceptance, which was thankfully understood.

So, once again, I was incredibly lucky and cycled joyfully through the not-so-enticing, flat landscape.

In the beautiful town of Franeker, I stopped briefly to take photos and was asked something in Dutch by a passing man on a bicycle. When he noticed that I didn't understand, he turned around and struck up a conversation with me in English. He asked where I came from, where I was going, if I was traveling alone, etc. (there it was again, the well-known 'Alone? As a woman? Quite brave!' remark... *grr*), and he told me about his adventure with his motorcycle through France 3 years ago. Then he wished me a good journey and continued cycling.

These kinds of small encounters actually happen constantly, and they are so wonderful and enriching! Please forgive me for only describing these exemplary ones, otherwise I would be writing more of a blog than actually sitting on my bike :D

When I arrived in Leeuwarden, I learned that the city was the European Capital of Culture in 2018, and I explored the city center a little. Unfortunately, in the center, there were mainly the usual stores of big chains, but fortunately, there were also some nice side alleys with beautiful houses and shops.

When I looked at my phone, I realized that my host had contacted me and informed me that due to Corona, it was unfortunately no longer possible for me to join her at the event... However, I could just have a nice evening in her apartment. Although her offer was also very kind, in that moment, I was still quite disappointed because I was looking forward to it so much and had somehow canceled the first accommodation offer 'for nothing'... But later, my fate once again proved me wrong ;)

When I arrived at her apartment, I was warmly welcomed, and my bike was safely stored in the basement. She explained to me that the building was actually a nursing home, which is supposed to be demolished as soon as all the residents have passed away. In the meantime, the vacant apartments are rented out very cheaply to young people - with the additional clause in the rental agreement that the demolition date can be announced at any time with three months' notice... Interesting concept, I would say^^

Contrary to what one might assume, her apartment was super beautiful, bright, and wonderfully minimalist! She showed me everything, we had a nice short conversation, and then she had to leave and left me, someone she had only known for a few minutes, with her apartment and the key. Wow!

I realized that I had a lot of sleep to catch up on, so I was actually quite happy to have a quiet evening on the sofa or taking a walk in the neighborhood. When the whole sky briefly lit up in pink at sunset, I was once again very happy with my longest day of the year ;)

When my host returned, she told me about the ceremony and also mentioned that it would have been linguistically difficult for me anyway because there were many explanations in Dutch. So, luckily, I didn't get a spot where I wouldn't have understood anything anyway ;)

The whole day was a true emotional rollercoaster for me because of seemingly insignificant things - and in retrospect, it was still so good and educational!

I can't really assess how understandable all of this is when viewed from a distance, but I hope that it becomes at least a bit clear that everyday travel, even though it makes me very happy overall, can also have its downsides and that 'simple' decisions about where to go next can become real challenges..

But at the same time, that's the wonderful thing about this kind of travel, because having to take care of things that are otherwise taken for granted, such as drinking water, food, accommodation, or daily routine, is truly grounding and back to basics - with all the advantages and disadvantages ;)