Our First Day on the Feniks

Today we boarded the barge Feniks about noon time. There are 16 cyclists, 2/room. We now have a new definition of cozy. The room Carole and I have is about 5 x 6 with two beds a right angle. The only storage is under the bed. I am storing some things in the sink which is about 4 inches from my head. We have two portholes for windows and folks on the upper deck can lean in and converse with us. And the best, we have the primo room on the barge! Kass and Doug are living in a small coffin like room, where only their heads are visible when they sleep. Despite the small living spaces everyone is in high spirits! We cruised about 2 hours from Amsterdam to a small town in the Dutch countryside. The weather is warm and sunny. There are no signs of any volcanic ash here. The barge tied up and we off loaded the bikes and began our ride through the countryside into Ultretcht. On the way we stopped at a working windmill and were given a tour by the couple who operate the windmill. The Dutch countryside is beautiful, we haven’t seen tulip fields yet but the landscaping is very impressive. The biking seems to be going well for everyone. We have some novice bikers in the group but the pace is not too strenuous and everyone is doing well. We returned to the barge which had docked before our arrival. We sat and had cocktails on the upper deck and then had a fabulous dinner. Some of our fellow bikers have gone walking into the town but some of us are resting up for a big day tomorrow.
The airport closures have caused some stranded travelers to go on this same trip for the second week in a row while others who had hoped to be on this trip were unable to get out of the states because of the European airport closures.