Wind or hills?

For the most part, Holland is flat, but any long ride must take wind into consideration. Riding away from the sea it's at your back, riding toward it, in your face--and often gusty. Our hills can seem easier, simply because the grades are predictable.

Dutch skies figure prominently in almost all their great art. Once you leave the city on a bike, the sky becomes so prominent that--even at sea level--you feel close to the clouds.

Note the wheeling birds in the lower photo. This was on Schiermonikoog, which is a bird sanctuary. I lay back in the warm grass and tracked these birds for a half an hour.