I'm sure there must be shabby towns and suburbs in the Netherlands but we haven't yet seen them during our first 5 days cycling along the Rhine River route that we're following. The cycle track so far has taken us through "picture postcard" Holland away from industrial and built up areas in favour of scenic landscapes, iconic buildings and historic towns - just as we wanted.
After a few days in England and a week in Sweden visiting family and friends we drove across the bridge to Denmark and flew from Copenhagen to Amsterdam then caught the train to Rotterdam where the Rhine River empties into the North Sea; the start of our "upstream"journey.
We did the rounds of the new and used bike shops and ended up with two second hand touring bikes that seemed to be in OK condition with enough gears to tackle the Alps, lights, locks and all the necessary bits to hang our panniers on. Our panniers were bought in Australia and used as luggage to ensure that we didn't over pack and be overloaded when it came time to start cycling. Weatherproofing and fitting them to the bikes was a bit of a challenge but we got some good advice from a member of the Aussie Seniors hockey team over here for an international tournament and staying at the same hotel. She was outside having a smoke and saw us struggling a bit and gave good advice that we would never have worked out ourselves.
The city of Rotterdam is a great place for getting around on a bike but daunting for non-cyclists with all the road traffic, tram tracks and motorbikes so we decided to leave the city by Waterbus and start cycling from the historic city of Dordrecht about an hour up-river.
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| First leg of the journey - Rotterdam to Arnhem |
Getting down the jetty ramp fully loaded was traumatic and the captain kindly delayed his scheduled departure while Barbara wobbled her way to the gangplank.
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| Dordrecht - one of the oldest towns in Holland |
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| Signs to follow |
The above signs are at every change of direction along the track but not always easy to find as sometimes they're down low and covered in vegetation or up high embedded in amongst other road signs hence we've got lost or have deviated from the track a few times. We couldn't find a route map in English so we're using a German map that seems to rename towns different to how they'e shown on the street signs in Holland.
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| Cycle path near Dordrecht |
Just love the thatched houses
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| Morning tea stop along the Linge River |
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| The trail across the canal at Gorinchem |
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| First nights camping near Asperen |
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| Topiary on steroids |
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| Under table heaters - clever. |
We met this couple in a bar last Saturday afternoon and enjoyed a few laughs and beers while discussing all things Dutch, our Rhine River trip and life in general. Natalie and Tanja were great company and good fun and we're a bit sorry we didn't accept their offer of a nights accommodation at their home but we were keen to get a few more miles in. They're well travelled and have Australia on their list of places to visit and we will be disappointed if they don't keep in touch and come and stay with us in Perth.
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| With Natalie and Tanja in Geldermalsen |
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| Clever bird house |
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| Dutch attempt at the Land Speed Record maybe? |
We got caught in a thunder and lightning storm and sought shelter in Doorwerth Castle along with a hundred other drenched cyclists.
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| DoorWerth Castle on the Rhine |
We're currently in Arnhem in a small hotel just under the Nelson Mandela Bridge. The Arnhem Bridge that the town is famous for and was made well known in the 1977 movie A Bridge Too Far was defended during the war, then destroyed and later rebuilt, is within sight and is now called the John Frost Bridge after the British Officer who led the Airborne Forces here in 1944.
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| John Frost Bridge |
More storms are forecast so we've decided to stay another day.
