6 September – Out on to the A10 autobahn and headed SW across Germany towards Frankfurt. We drove 300 kms on the Autobahns into a head wind and stopped in the Thurringen Forest at a quiet camp for the night.

7 September – Back on the autobahn again for a 250 km drive to Frankfurt which we bypassed. Some slow going again because of the wind, road works and trucks. We are camped on the east bank on the Rhine at Geisenheim. The camp was full and we got one of the last sites. From here for 65 kms is the most picturesque part of the Rhine Valley with steep grape covered hills on either side of the river.

8 September – A heavy overcast day with some showers. In the afternoon we set off downstream on a cycleway to Rudesheim. This where the tourist cruise boats leave from for their trip to Koblnez at the north end of the valley. The town was very cute but set up for the many tourists awaiting their cruise departure. It is fascinating watching the huge barges going up and down the Rhine.

9 September - A very short trip across the river by ferry and then 25 kms to our next camp on the west bank of the Rhine at Oberwesel. The weather is still overcast with the odd shower. We are right at the river level but towering above us on the hills either side of the river are the castles and châteaux. These originally were built by robber barons to guard the river access and extract a toll from passing boats. They even used chains to block the river. The camp was full so we parked in a temporary “Aires” set up for the “Rhine and Flames” weekend happening in this town. In the afternoon we followed the cycleway along the river upstream for about 8 kms passing some great villages to Bacharach (as in Burt) the best of them, where we sampled the local wine.



10 September – We woke to a mist in the valley which soon cleared to a fine day. Off on the bikes downstream along a magical cycleway next to the Rhine. We passed more lovely villages and ended up in Boppard, another town set up for the tourist cruise boats. After lunch in the square we headed back into a head wind. There are so many boats and barges on the river the ride never becomes boring. At one part the river is narrow and they have “traffic lights” for the boats. We stopped many times for rests and photos. There are more bikes cycling in both directions than cars on the road. Our last stop was in the village of St Goar where we had an ice cream. When we arrived back to “Lefty” we had cycled 43 kms. The campers in the temporary “Aires” have swelled to over 100!! We had an early dinner and followed the crowds into the town and onto the river bank to watch a spectacular fireworks display. When it was dark the event started with about 20 of the cruise boats parading upstream decorated with lights and full of spectators. They “parked” for the fireworks. This is quite a feat in its self as the current is very strong and the only way to hold station is to use the engine power. The fireworks were set to music coming from a barge in the river. The fireworks were set off from the barge and the opposite bank. Probably the best fireworks display we have ever seen.

11 September – We drove down the Rhine, past Bonn and Cologne, and are now camped once again beside the river. After Koblenz the valley widened and the river is now quite industrial. The tourist boats do not venture down here! It started to rain and we had some problems with road works buggering up our GPS and then finding the camp. At one stage we drove down a cycle path thru mud to get to a camp that did not take “tourists.” We eventually found the camp we had intended to go to. It had the wrong GSP co-ordinates!! We can see the barges going up and down the Rhine however. This is just an overnight stop.

12 September – We headed towards Dusseldorf (Auf Wiedersehen Pet fame) and across the Dutch border. Had a shop up before our camp in a village called Oirschot. This camp had good washing facilities and Val caught up on a huge wash. The weather is cool and but we managed to get it all dry in a strong wind. We biked into the town which would be a typical Dutch town with a nice central area. The weather is now decidedly autumnal.

13 September – We had trouble getting out of the camp past the barrier as reception had taken the day off! Before getting onto the motorway we were stopped by the police as there had been an accident and the road was closed. One of those days! Eventually we were on the motorway and a quick trip north to our camp at Arnhem. This is at the gates of the Hooge Veluwe National Park which we will visit tomorrow. We picked up a cycle route from reception and followed it thru a mixture of forests and farming country. Very pleasant. Back at camp we enjoyed a swim in an indoor pool and a sit in the late afternoon sun.

14 September – We had no idea as to the size of the National Park but knew that we could cycle around it. We bought a 1 day pass for the park and the Art Museum (16 euro) and decided to go to the Art Museum in the morning, come back to “Lefty” for lunch and explore the park in the afternoon. We discovered that the park is huge, 5000 hectares, and cycled 10 kms to the Art Museum which is in the middle. The park and Art Museum were donated to the Dutch State by Helene Kroller-Muller, a very rich lady, in the 1930s. She had a huge art collection which is now in the Art Museum. All the big names are there, Rodin, Monet, Cezanne, Picasso and many others. There are also many Van Gogh’s. (her favourite). It was great to wander thru the exhibition and see these great paintings. By now we had flagged the plan of returning to “Lefty” for lunch so we set off and explored the cycle paths of the park. It was a bit like a cross between, Bottle Lake and Hamner Springs Forests with Travis Swamp and the Scottish Highlands mixed in and all on great smooth asphalt paths. By the time we got back at 4:00 pm we had cycled about 36 kms and were tired and starving. A bite to eat and a swim in the pool soon revived us.

15 September – An easy drive of 160 kms up the motorways into northern Netherlands thru pleasant farming country. Boy is this country FLAT! We are at a nice camp near the town of Burgum. This is as far north as we will be this trip. There is a big lake here but it is cool and not many people around. We cycled thru the farms and along a canal to the town which is modern with a good pedestrian shopping area. It was interesting to wander thru some of the shops. Prices are about the same or slightly higher than home but we have no idea of the salaries here. Back to the camp and a swim in another great warm indoor pool. We have reliable internet for the first time in ages and will skype and publish this blog.