This post features student writing.

Hello, friends and family of Putney Student Travel Middle School France and Holland!

Yesterday we took a train to Amsterdam and a bus to Egmond, where we stayed in a very nice hostel called Stayokay. We then picked up our bikes and practiced riding on them. It was a little difficult at first, but eventually we all got the hang of it.

This morning we split into two groups and set out on the bike trip. One group went one way and another group went another way. Group A (our group) biked to Haarlem and Group B biked to Noordwijk. We biked for quite awhile and made stops along the way. We will not be seeing the other group for a couple of days but we are excited to all be meeting up again soon back in Egmond.

When biking through the Dutch neighborhoods, we saw the important way pastimes like biking, gardening, and farming were integrated in the Dutch culture and in the natural routine of society. We saw many Dutch bikers, some of whom were not much older than ourselves. The Dutch bikers rode with no helmets, no hands, and surprisingly at times, no feet on the pedals! When passing the train station you could see hundreds of bikes lined up like sardines waiting for their owner to greet them after they got back from work. The neatly organized fields were a great addition to our sightseeing. We passed many quaint cottages nestled in between a monsoon of colorful, luscious flowers. It is gorgeous here!

More to come from the beautiful Dutch country side <3

Have a great week!!

Yours truly,

Lily W. & Jack G.