Xanten to Roekel

June 12 - Day 7

96.7 km                                                                               

Total distance on the trip 396.61

5.24 hrs  moving time

177m  elevation                                                                      

Total elevation 593

Today was about travelling beyond the German border, past Arnhem to the centre of the Netherlands to stay near the  De Hoge Veluwe, a giant National Park which every Dutch person we had met told us we must visit as it is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL part of the Netherlands. We had some time along the Rhine then we left its banks for the Industrial Kulture of the German Hinterland as we approached the Netherlands border. 

We left Xanten at 7:54 after a hearty cheese loading breakfast.

We rode through some very pretty small forests and past some fields on our way back to the Rhein.

Back on the Rhein we enjoyed watching the barges and river traffic and the houses along the river with boats as garden features. There were also parts of old boats up along the  levy looking out to the river. There were also a number of stork poles along the way.

We stopped at a little town along the way for a snack (it must have been after about 30km of riding). There was still nothing open as we were so early, but while we were sitting there this convoy of little tiny cars zoomed through the street. We think they are Messerschmitt KR200 bubble cars from the 50's and 60's. See more about them here Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooters). Messerschmitt turned to making these cars after they were banned from making planes after the war.

We rode along the river for a bit more, and somehow followed a trail that led to this waterway, there was supposed to be a ferry across, but alas, none. We had to back track for about 5kms to back to the main road.

As were riding along the river we could see the shape of a huge silo / tank / chimney in the distance, and as we got closer we could see the sides of it had been painted with mountains and sky on it. It all looked very industrial, we just thought it had been painted to lighten up the mood of the place, but as we drew nearer we passed the front gate and saw that it was an amusement park. Wunderland Kalkar. This was originally built to be a nuclear power plant that was never commissioned due to construction problems and issues. So a millioanir bought the buildings and land and turned it into a successful amusement park. Just shows that truth is stranger than fiction.  

We crossed the river at Emmerich am Rhein - another heavy industrial town and we crossed the longest suspension bridge in Germany. There was some seriously loud machines working on the bridge as we crossed, so we needed to make short work of the crossing.  

"The Emmerich Rhine Bridge is a suspension bridge located in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany. Completed in 1965, it has a main span of 500 metres, crossing the Rhine, carrying the Bundesstraße B 220, the federal highway between Emmerich am Rhein and Kleve. It is the longest suspension bridge in Germany."

As we crossed the bridge we noticed a little beach on the river and a herd of cows enjoying the solitude on the beach.

We also passed a field of poppies somewhere along the way - they went for ages and were so beautiful.

The above photos show some of the rural scenes we rode past as we headed north.

More of the scenes as we approached the Netherlands border. The clouds were becoming ominous as we approached Arnhem and we were watching the weather app to squeeze as much time out of our riding as possible. There were a few showers before we reached Arnhem, and then just as we were riding through Arnhem city, the skies opened. 

We had completed 74 kms by the time the rain fell, and it fell really heavily for about 2.5hours. We sought refuge in a hotel cafe near the train station while it poured down. We knew it was bad when the locals on bikes took refuge as well. The Dutch commuters are a pretty hardy bunch who will usually ride in the rain, we were actually feeling a bit wimpish about our rain avoidance behaviour. Uber had a busy had a busy time picking people up out of the rain.

While stuck in Arnhem for so long we had the opportunity to look for accommodation. Part of our criteria was that we needed somewhere to lock up our bikes, and ideally be able to pay by credit card. We looked on Booking . com for options around the National Park, but not sure if would make it that far due to the weather (21kms), we did not book anything.

We left the cafe at about 2:30pm and headed north by the shortest route. It was freezing cold and rainy for most of the ride. My Garmin disappeared off my bike close to where we thought we might stay, retraced steps to find it but with no luck.  I had a quick thought to look into my handlebar bag and it had flicked into the bag and was hidden under my phone,  I was so very thankful not to lose the days data! (and the Garmin). No photos were taken  on this short and very wet segment.

We arrived at Pension de Klein Pol at about 4pm freezing cold and with our feet soaking in our water filled socks.  We were happy to be told that yes they did have some rooms available, but only the glamping tent for 2 nights. So we took it. We promptly had a very warm shower, washed our damp clothes and hung them out to dry and then sat in the afternoon, clear skies in the sun warming our core body temperature to its normal temperature. Quite a relaxing afternoon to finish off the long day.

Top left photo - our shoes stuffed with newspaper to dry out.

Top right : Clothes hanging out to dry the afternoon warm sun.

Bottom middle The bikes in bed for the night

Bottom right Dinner delivered to our door

We learned of an app we could use in the Netherlands to order food delivery Thuisbezorgd.nl, which we used a few times after this.

Our lodgings for the night. It was very comfy inside, a full kitchen, a queen sized bed, a dining room, with an upstairs loft with a couple more beds.