From Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip
“Bicycles are sacred in Amsterdam,” said Michiel Laterveer, director of sales and marketing at the Amsterdam Renaissance Hotel. “Like cows are to India.”
On a recent trip to Europe, I was struck by the green transportation efficiencies that were created out of necessity.
“You don’t want a car in Amsterdam,” added Brigitta Kroon-Fiorita of the Netherlands Board of Tourism. “Everyone rides a bicycle.”
In fact, I spotted several business men and women talking on their cell phones as they peddled to work. The Amsterdam train station had a three level parking garage specifically designed for bicycles. With its cobblestone streets and numerous canals, Amsterdam is a city to be enjoyed on foot.
Scooters were the preferred mode of transportation in the narrow streets of Madrid and Seville, Spain, as well as Lisbon, Portugal. While there isn’t a helmet law, most riders sported helmets in the heavily congested city of Madrid. The upscale city also offers an easily accessible underground and affordable subway system. The Sunday that I visited Madrid, thousands of bicyclists swarmed the Paseo de la Castellana that had been closed to cars for the event. I watched from my club room at the Intercontinental as the bicyclists demonstrated their solidarity in demanding bike lanes for riders. Unfortunately, there is not much room to expand for bicycle lanes in downtown Madrid.
For the green traveler looking to cover a lot of Europe, Eurail offers many alternatives from train to boat. I selected the 10 day, first class Global Pass, which is valid within a two month period. For Lisbon, Portugal I took a day trip to the charming city of Sintra. After several days in Lisbon, I boarded the overnight train, #385, to Seville, staying at NH Plaza de Armas. The hotel was a 10 minute cab ride from the train station. For a lovely day excursion, I recommend a train ride to the waterfront town of Cadiz.
Finally, a common mode of transportation spotted throughout my 10 day tour of Europe was the adorable Smart Car. Squeezed between bicycles and barges in Amsterdam or cozied up next to horsedrawn carriages in Seville, the Smart Car is slowly making its debut in the United States.
While I drive the fuel-efficient and sporty BMW Mini Cooper, I would happily convert to a Smart Car if I didn’t have to contend with SUV’s, Humvee’s and tanker trucks sharing California’s highways. Our gas guzzling USA would benefit greatly if we were to implement many of the green transportation alternatives offered in Europe.
Is green travel important to you? Do you find that you travel differently abroad than when traveling in the United States? For more information on this topic check out the Go Green Travel Green blog.
Seville bicycle photo, Cadiz scooters, Eurail train and horse and carriage photos by Nancy D. Brown
Related: Groningen for Bikes and College Kids; Getting Creative in the Netherlands
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18 Responses
great article, nancy!
Nancy I am very glad our green efforts inspired you to this article – it was great meeting you in Amsterdam and thank you for telling the world how wonderful it is here!
I too was astounded at the sheer number of bicycles parked outside train stations in the Netherlands. We rented bikes while we were there and it was a wonderful way to see the country. The separate bike paths were great and kept you safe from traffic (in addition to being a shortcut in many places). Thanks so much for linking to us!
[...] clipped from http://www.uptake.com [...]
I love the green travel focus, and you have excellent suggestions.
Actually I’m surprised that we haven’t seen more of the green travel alternatives already a long time ago, there has been a lot of talking and no doing when it comes to some alternatives. I’m sure most travelers would appreciate green travels.
Amsterdam is a wonderful city, but I’m not really sure I’d like to bike there, because of the cobbled and sometimes narrow streets. It’s much better to walk – it isn’t that big and I think one should spend a couple of days there at least, to really get the atmosphere there. Quite different. I love the canals and the kinda “hippy-feeling” I get here
Seville has excellent, wonderful horse carriages, even though I always find it a bit expensive where ever you go where they offering that kind of service. Never the less, it’s so nice just to see them!
Oh, and Cadiz has a very lovely beach!!! We did just that, (were there in beginning of April) sat down at a café at the waterfront and enjoyed life. YUM.
Whenever I travel in Europe, I’m return to the U.S. disappointed by how our city layouts and infrastructure do not support bicyclists and other modes of alternative transportation as well as they do big SUVs. I hope more change is coming.
[...] Brown from Uptake Blog writes about Traveling Green in Europe, saying, “On a recent trip to Amsterdam, Spain and Portugal, author Nancy Brown was pleased [...]
I wish we had better and more modes of public transportation here in Las Vegas. The monorail isn’t practical.
[...] majority of rural accommodations in Tuscany have a swimming pool. Given the cost of energy in Europe, most pools are unheated. Fortunately, the swimming season that runs from June-September is [...]
I go to Amsetrdam every year and never hire a car, there’s no point! I don’t even tend to use the tram’s a walking is such a great way to see the city and nothing is really that far away from anything else. Plus, it’s so flat it’s extremley easy to cycle about even if you aren’t that used to it
Milly
Green Travel is impressive. In Asia the scooters, like Spain are preferred mode of transport, however those horrible big SUV are beginning to make their mark and clog the beautiful soi (streets). I would ban cars if I could and just have the wonderful scooters and public transport.
As others have stated, stay in Venice. Set your alarm for early, and wander about at 6am – you will have the place almost to youself and you will see just how beautiful everything is. Fog and Acqua Alta – they just add to the experience.
Seville has excellent, wonderful horse carriages, even though I always find it a bit expensive where ever you go where they offering that kind of service. Never the less, it’s so nice just to see them!
I bet people are a lot healthier for riding their bikes around everywhere rather than driving anywhere they went.
The ambiance created by bikes and scooters is simply gorgeous. To consider a life without those terrible noise polluting motor vehicles is almost heavenly. I realize our motor vehicle are not the polluters that they once were, however their presence destroys the beauty and the look of any street scape. I too say “ban the car from our city streets”
[...] friendly ways to travel in Europe without harming the environment? I wrote this post for the Uptake blog and outlined some alternative forms of transportation. While Americans like to travel by [...]
those are great suggestions Nancy. the entire world should be more going green focused