Our overnight train was direct from Basil to Utrecht and arrived at 8:30 AM. We didn't have a map of the area and had to make a decision if we wanted to ride from Utrecht to Amerongen or take another short train to Amersfoort. Taking another train would require transferring the tandems from one platform to another. Looking at a map of Europe it didn't seem like there was a significant difference in the distance from Utrecht or Amersfoort to Amerongen. We decided to avoid the hassle of transferring the bikes and ride from Utrecht.
When we arrived in Utrecht we were able to purchase a map and it was only then that we realized the trip from Utrecht was significantly longer due to the location of the train stations in the cities. In Utrecht the train stain was on the distant side of the city while in Amersfoort it was on the near side of the city. We decided to start our ride and found that exiting the train station would require traversing a set of stairs or a set of escalators. We have navigated a set of stairs with scary results so we opted for the escalators. They turned out to be virtually drama free. With a creative use of the front and rear brakes as you are entering and exiting you could control the tandems quite well.
The Netherlands have great bike paths in general but those leading from the train station in Utrecht were poorly signed. Construction in the area was the primary problem but it caused us to ride in circles for a while. After some assistance from the locals (some of which was incorrect) we found our way onto a bike path that lead out of the city. As with our past city experiences, we made our share of mistakes guessing in poorly signed areas or missing a sign indicating a turn. Overall it took us over an hour to make less than five kilometer of progress. Once on the open road we slowed by the fatigue caused by a night on the train. At about 3 PM we arrived in Amerongen and finally found our destination around 4 PM. We were not expecting a serious ride today but this trip has been full of surprises and today was no different.
We were glad to be back in the quiet calm surroundings of Amerongen. We were even provided the exact same rules as we had at the beginning of the trip. We ate a hearty dinner in the guest dinning room and went to bed early.
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