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Check in: 3:30 PM – 4 PM. We’ll present you with a welcome drink and introduce the crew. We will also provide information on the tour, the ship, and offer you a safety briefing. After you have become acquainted with your home for the next 10 days, we will serve you dinner in Merlijn’s restaurant. In the evening, there will be time for a city walk through Bruges.

After your first breakfast on board, there will be a bike introduction so you and your ‘barge bike’ can get to know each other. Afterwards you’re offered two options;

1. A guided bike tour to Oostende, a major city by the sea, and once home to soul singer Marvin Gaye. Have a swim in the North Sea, and feel the sand between your toes while you enjoy a picnic lunch on the beach or at a seaside restaurant.

2. Culture lovers can leave their bike on board, and go sightseeing in the city of Bruges. Visit the market square, go on a ride through the canals, and eat some Belgian fries for lunch!

Bruges, also called ‘the Venice of the North’, is perhaps the most beautiful of all Flemish cities. Its old centre, which dates back to the Middle Ages, is almost completely intact. At the time, Bruges was a metropolis, a centre of art and commerce, which we can still fully enjoy. It’s also a great place to shop or have an evening out. At the end of the day, everybody will be back on board, and we’ll enjoy dinner aboard Merlijn. The evening is free to spend in the city or on board in our cosy lounge.

We start with a sailing breakfast and then head for Moerbrugge, where your bike tour will start, taking you through the pleasant countryside of western Flanders. Today’s destination Ghent is a lively university city, and once again one with a rich and varied past. The city has its origins in Roman times, and it is where the rivers Leie and Schelde converge. This favorable location has generated a great deal of prosperity over the years. Its main church is the St. Baafs Cathedral, built in various ages and various styles. We will make a loop through the city before biking to the Merlijn. The berth in Ghent is a fair distance from the centre; after dinner, we will offer you transport to the city - or, if you don’t fancy too much of a walk, we can organise a boat ride through the city’s canals by night!

After breakfast on board, your bike tour starts from Ghent and leads you along the river Schelde. There is a beautiful cycle path, and the landscape around the river is magnificent. Arriving at Dendermonde, a nice country town on the Dender estuary, you will find Merlijn awaiting you. From here, you can board and cruise, or bike on to Sint-Amands, which is a small town on the tidal Schelde river, surrounded by nature.

Today’s cycle tour will start from our overnight berth, and leads you further along the beautiful but capricious river Schelde. You will soon spot the St. Anna Tunnel, which will take you to the other side of the Schelde, where you’ll find the diamond city of Antwerp.

Antwerp is not only known as the ‘diamond city’, but also as the native city of the painter Rubens. In the heart of the city, you will see the Cathedral of ‘Our Lady’, as well as opulent merchant homes from Antwerp’s illustrious past around the Market Square. In the evening, we’ll offer you a guided tour to show you around this marvellous city; the guide can teach you more about the cathedral or the very interesting Central Station. At night, you can enjoy some Belgian cuisine, while eating out in one of the 1000+ local restaurants in Antwerp.

Because we love the city of Antwerp, Merlijn will be docked in the harbour until noon, leaving you with the difficult choice of these two options:

1. Spend another morning in the city to explore its cultural highlights, or shop in the lively city centre. From noon, you’ll join Merlijn for a cruise through Antwerp’s magnificent harbour and enjoy lunch on board. You then start biking from the little town of Kreekerak to Tholen, a short jaunt on Dutch soil.

1. You’ll start biking after breakfast, where a long route will lead you through the ‘harbour landscape’ until you reach Kreekerak where you can board Merlijn, or add another 20 km and bike on to Tholen!

All options will end the day in Tholen, which was once an island in the middle of the large Zeeland streams, where the main occupation was fishing. Nowadays, it is connected to the mainland in various ways, but is still a charming village with many relics of an eventful past.

After another delicious breakfast on board, you’ll start your cycle tour towards Willemstad, which will be on flat terrain through a ‘Dutch polder landscape’. After arriving in Willemstad, you can spend some free time in this picturesque small town with its windmill and harbour, after which the afternoon cruise to Dordrecht will start. If you’re in need of a bit of rest, then today is perfect - not just because we’ve just passed the half-way mark of your journey, but also because Merlijn will arrive in Willemstad before lunch, and will stay there until the afternoon before we cruise on. This will afford you the opportunity to visit the town as well. After a nice cruise, we’ll arrive in Dordrecht, one of Holland’s oldest cities. After dinner, there will be time for a walk through this well-arranged, mid-sized city.

After breakfast on board, the cycle tour for today will start. The first stop is ‘Kinderdijk’, which is world-famous for its windmills, and you will be able to see an impressive row of them, built to drain the ‘Alblasserwaard polder’. The best way to see this open-air museum is by bike. We then continue to the town of Alblasserdam. From here you have two options;

1. Board a deluxe fast ferry, which will take you directly to Rotterdam, from where you’ll continue the tour towards Delft.
2. Extend the tour and cross the river by a small ferry, then you’ll cycle on via Rotterdam to Delft.

By deluxe ferry or by bike, soon the skyline of ‘Manhattan on the Maas’ - as the city of Rotterdam is also known - will appear. You’ll cycle along the highlights of this metropole, while following the paved cycle paths. After your visit, the bike tour will lead you to Delft, taking you through the Green Heart of Holland. Merlijn will await you in Delft, famous for its ‘Delft pottery’ also known as ‘Delft Blue’. The afternoon includes a visit to ‘the Royal Delft’: offering you a memorable insight into the world of Delft Blue. At night you can sample some Dutch cuisine in one of the local restaurants of this beautiful city.

During breakfast, we’ll cruise towards Leiden. On the way, Merlijn will make a short stop to drop off the bikes, which might sound strange now, but after more than a week on board will feel very normal! Today’s bike tour will lead you further through the Green Heart of Holland along several interesting cities and towns to the city of Haarlem.

After your dinner aboard, you might want to stroll through the historical city of Haarlem, and perhaps round off the day by drinking the famous local “Jopen” beer in one of the many bars or in the “Jopen Church”.

The last bike tour of your journey will be from Haarlem to Amsterdam, along ‘de Zaanse Schans’, famous for its open-air museum, windmills, and green wooden houses that are typical for this area. You might want to visit one of the mills. Your tour ends in the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam. A farewell dinner on board will follow.

After breakfast, it is time to say goodbye and continue your European trip or leave for the airport. Extend your stay in Holland, and set some time aside to explore the city. You might want to go on a ride along the canals, or visit the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, or the Amsterdam Hermitage.