Amsterdam, De Biesbosch and New Tires
Sven Walther
Amsterdam
After all the beautiful, peaceful nature, it’s time for a contrast — off to the big city of Amsterdam.
We found a campsite close to the old town (just one free(!) ferry ride from the Central Station) and surprisingly stood surrounded by greenery at Camping Vliegenbos.
View of the Amstel River from Central Station
Day one in the city was all about the typical tourist spots — we started at the Central Station and wandered through the old town and the shopping street — past the kind of shops you find in every city, but also countless stores selling lollies, cookies, and other treats infused with rather interesting special ingredients. That’s really omnipresent here — at every corner.
At the Munttoren, there are more and more lovely views of the canals — simply beautiful.
Floating Flower Market at the Munttoren
Next stop was the Rijksmuseum and the adjacent park — even in the city center, we’re always looking for a bit of nature.
Park at the Rijksmuseum
Then came the absolute highlight of any visit to Amsterdam — a canal tour by boat. As we did back in Copenhagen, we chose a small provider, and once again, it was the right decision — a small boat with only a few passengers gives you a much more personal experience.
Boat ride through the canals
Ship
We returned through the Red Light District — but it was still afternoon, so there wasn’t much to see, and what there was (in my opinion) wasn’t really worth seeing.
Lou in front of the Dancing Houses
Canal overview
Day two was inspired by the Reisen Reisen Podcast (a recommendation from Marco), and we stayed on our side of the Amstel (by the way, that’s where the city’s name comes from — dam on the Amstel) and explored the trendy areas of Amsterdam-Noord.
There you’ll find old industrial and shipyard sites that now house the creative scene — up to and including a hotel in a crane.
Old shipyard hall, now STRAAT Art Museum
Art at the STRAAT Art Museum
Lou found matching art
The way back took us through many residential areas — and finally past some beautiful old houses along a dike.
Houses on the dike
Houses on the dike
De Biesbosch
After so much big city, we needed a quick reset — so on our way toward Rotterdam, we made a short stop at De Biesbosch National Park and hiked for several hours between water and forest. A beautiful loop and yet another proof that where there’s a will, there’s a parking spot for us (or two in a row ;))
You always find a spot — or two…
De Biesbosch impressions
De Biesbosch impressions
De Biesbosch impressions
De Biesbosch impressions
New Tires
With about 70,000 km on the clock, our Mammothon is still “practically new,” but the rear tires have reached their end. One of them actually completely — it had been flat for the previous owners, so the empty rim had just been hanging on the lift. That’s now fixed, and brand-new (and expensive) 395/80R20 Michelin XZL2 tires are now on the rear axle, and the former spare wheel is back in its proper place.
New tires
Lou helping with the tire change
It’ll definitely be interesting if I ever have to change a wheel off-road. Not so much the swap itself (hard enough already…) but rather getting the other tire back up onto the lift. I’ve upgraded that a bit now — not with a winch, but at least some tie-down straps that make it easier. They also serve as a secondary safety feature.
And then we had a bit of fun with AI and created a few themed images for the mountains and the desert. Still not sure if or where I’ll use them — but they’re nice.
exmo.travel in the mountains
exmo.travel in the desert