Rambling Cyclists: Arnhem to Grieth

Day 5
Days distance : 69kms
Total distance : 247.93
Garmin ride details

Today was a day of getting places but not being sure of which places, but it was a long day of riding - close to 70km's were covered.

We rode down to the John Frost bridge to take some photos, then road along the canal for a bit then back on the road toward Diel where the bike ferry was that we saw yesterday. We got a lift across the river to where the Airborne fleet had been evacuated in September 1944.

John Frost Bridge

The sign comemorating the Polish General who assisted during the Battle of Arnhem.

The view from the ferry back toward Arnhem

My bike on the ferry.

The Driel Weir gates - very impressive

This monument was erected as a thank you for the Dutch people who helped the allies withdraw by boat after the 90% successful Battle of Arnhem.

This farm house was one of the rendevous points for the evacuation of the allies.

We then proceed south along some more country roads, passing by more dairy farms. We rode into Elst which was a very pretty & busy small country village. I restocked on Stoopwaffles & Apple & Cherry flaps for later.

Dairy farms

The church at Elst - see here what happened to it during WW2

The town square sculpture

Loads of choice for fabulous pastries

We then headed into Nijmegen passing some pretty industrial areas. The city itself was very big & quite pretty. It is obviously a large trading and shipping port. Wayne had a technical problem with one of his shoes & cleats which we fixed near the train station.

Bus stops had bike parking stations - under cover - I love how the Dutch look after cyclists!

This was a very impressive bridge we saw from a distance

Nijmegan as we crossed the bridge

First mechanical problem - a shoe cleat that got stuck in the show due to a loose screw.

The main train station

Google maps was our back up to find where we were, where were going and when we were lost

Which way?

We then set off again heading southish along one of the scenic routes toward Kleve.

We passed unceremoniously into Germany - the only tell tale sign was that the bike path ended & so did all the signs we had been following. We only just realised we were in Germany due to the German flags flying, I also did notice a slight change in the traditional architecture.

We stopped for lunch in Kranenburg - doner kebabs no less eaten at a table the side of the road. (Kebab shops were everywhere in Germany)

A quick trip to the tourist info brought up the 2 things we needed to visit - the church & the medieval wall around the city. Quick photo ops and we were off again through the pretty scenery of crops growing, but not the most direct route to Kleve.

The main street of Kranenburg - cobblestones!!!

Part of the town wall

The tower left over from the walled town.

The church


Inside the Gothic cathedral - St Peter and Paul church - it was so spacious and beautiful


Trying to figure out where we were and where we were going

Bales of hay being made all over the place.

We got to Kleve, which I thought we were stopping at as we had already done 50kms, but no, Wayne found a new sign he wanted to follow ...

These giant windmills were everywhere.

German dairy farms

A roadside snack I kept for emergencies such as husband induced total exhaustion!! (with very bumpy bike track in the background)

20kms later after riding along really bumby bike tracks (the Germans are not nearly as good at looking after cyclists as the Dutch ) we saw a sign for Bed & breakfast and we followed it. The house was built in 1310 & the village was named by the original owner. Grieth. A beautiful small walled village that we probably would have ridden right past at any other time!

The entrance to the village

Another beautiful castle to sleep in for the night. Haus Grieth

Hidden luxury

We had dinner overlooking the Rhine river, watching the many barges go by. Quite relaxing & at times amusing when they tried over take each other. we were pondering if there were any rules regarding Rhine maritime movements - and have come to the conclusion- there are no rules except keep to the right when passing.