Friday 12th August
Julie and I have planned a 2 week trip to Europe.
Our rough route is Rotterdam to Namur in Belgium for 2 nights, onto Trier then Vosges to Colmar for 2 days,Schiltach in Black Forest,Sindelfingen and Stuttgart for 3 days with Friends,then up to Rothenburg for a day/ night. We then head for Hann Munden before riding over to the Harz mountains looping back to Paderborn,Arnhem and Rotterdam for the Ferry home. We have a mix of accomodation most pre booked for the bigger places. 197 miles being the longest run over the 15 days . Weather looks promising.
Everything ready to go, panniers packed , tankbag and map in case ,routes done,hoping to be off by 14.30 pm , Julie still working finishing at 13.40 pm - tic follows toc.
Green Light 14.15pm bikes out onto the road, my panniers on,tank bag on , satnav on, fetch Julies panniers and they wont clip in place ,now thats odd. Had the frames powder coated, after much trying twas clear it wasnt happening. There are many gifts in there for friends in Germany , I can see that Julie is heading for a meltdown ,we repack into her rollbag and my panniers, getting very warm in all the gear. Finally getting underway, ½ a mile from home I realise the pannier fastenings are upside down oops. Dont mention it to the Mrs until we get to the Ferry Terminal. We hold everyone up for 35 mins as they want to charge us an extra £85, a few phone calls later all is sorted. Set off and get pulled into customs for a search, like a Monty Pythons Sketch
“Always look on the bright side of life!”
Onto the Ferry at last,we get settled in and retire to the top deck to see the Sunset
Arriving in Rotterdam to bright sunshine, the day ahead looks good.
A little assistance required
We disembark and set off on the first leg of our journey to Namur in Belgium for 2 days.
We arrive in good time at the central ibis, easy to find and well located, the aircon is on ahhhhhhhh
So we go out to walk the citadel 4.5miles and its 29 deg C
Apparently a large Turtle has moved into the Citadel. There are Polar Bears on the Lock too almost like AnkMorpark? Terry Pratchet
A few pictures from the citadel.
Having earned a beer we call in for tea,
Tomorrow we will walk the city and towpaths and maybe take a boat trip.
Julie and I have planned a 2 week trip to Europe.
Our rough route is Rotterdam to Namur in Belgium for 2 nights, onto Trier then Vosges to Colmar for 2 days,Schiltach in Black Forest,Sindelfingen and Stuttgart for 3 days with Friends,then up to Rothenburg for a day/ night. We then head for Hann Munden before riding over to the Harz mountains looping back to Paderborn,Arnhem and Rotterdam for the Ferry home. We have a mix of accomodation most pre booked for the bigger places. 197 miles being the longest run over the 15 days . Weather looks promising.
Everything ready to go, panniers packed , tankbag and map in case ,routes done,hoping to be off by 14.30 pm , Julie still working finishing at 13.40 pm - tic follows toc.
Green Light 14.15pm bikes out onto the road, my panniers on,tank bag on , satnav on, fetch Julies panniers and they wont clip in place ,now thats odd. Had the frames powder coated, after much trying twas clear it wasnt happening. There are many gifts in there for friends in Germany , I can see that Julie is heading for a meltdown ,we repack into her rollbag and my panniers, getting very warm in all the gear. Finally getting underway, ½ a mile from home I realise the pannier fastenings are upside down oops. Dont mention it to the Mrs until we get to the Ferry Terminal. We hold everyone up for 35 mins as they want to charge us an extra £85, a few phone calls later all is sorted. Set off and get pulled into customs for a search, like a Monty Pythons Sketch
“Always look on the bright side of life!”
Onto the Ferry at last,we get settled in and retire to the top deck to see the Sunset
Arriving in Rotterdam to bright sunshine, the day ahead looks good.
A little assistance required
We disembark and set off on the first leg of our journey to Namur in Belgium for 2 days.
We arrive in good time at the central ibis, easy to find and well located, the aircon is on ahhhhhhhh
So we go out to walk the citadel 4.5miles and its 29 deg C
Apparently a large Turtle has moved into the Citadel. There are Polar Bears on the Lock too almost like AnkMorpark? Terry Pratchet
A few pictures from the citadel.
Having earned a beer we call in for tea,
Tomorrow we will walk the city and towpaths and maybe take a boat trip.
