My wife and I just got back from a 3 week self-planned and self-guided bicycle trip through Holland, Germany and Belgium. We had a great time following their wonderful bicycle route system and logged over 1500 miles. As a recent abstainer (almost 3 months now) from alcohol I must admit I was a bit worried about my being tempted by what is widely reported to be the best beer region in the world, but I never experienced a strong urge to drink. I did eat way too much and certainly set records regarding chocolate consumption. One night towards the end I asked the waiter what he might have instead of sparkling water for someone who does not drink alcoholic beverages. He suggested I try a non-alcoholic beer from Germany and it was pretty good. It did not seem to get my booze motor going again and that was the only one I had over the course of our trip. I still think I prefer a good juice drink but they did not offer much in that regard at the restaurants. Maybe a market there? Anyway, the Dutch seemed to be the least likely to order beer or wine etc. with their meals. The Germans and Belgium people both drank a fair amount, but I never witnessed any real obnoxious drunken behavior. Men seemed to be much more likely to drink alcohol than women, but the gals could put down some wine, especially in the big cities like Amsterdam. I did not see any drunks on the streets etc. at any of the many locations we visited. We did get to bed pretty early though!

Good to be home and look forward to seeing my Grandsons today. Can't wait for the next bicycle journey (Sardinia in April). Still sober and enjoying my life more than ever.

Cheers, Buck