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.

Xanten - tourist day

11 June 2019 - Day 6

Distance 10.37 km                                                                               

Total distance on the trip 299.91

46m  moving time

29m  elevation                                                                      

Total elevation 548m

This day was planned to be spent at the Ancient Roman ruins at the Archaeological Park on the site of  the Roman settlement of Colonia Ulpia Traiana. We had passed Xanten and this park in 2014 on our previous Rhein route and I was excited to have the opportunity to revisit and set a day side for the exploration and it was well worth doing. 

If you are interested to find out more - visit the Museum's website. Be sure to translate if you do not read German. 

The town itself is a medieval walled village with towers, gates and windmills and cobbled streets.

We were out early and there was no one else on the streets except for these statues.

The windmill from outside the walls of the town, and a large sculpture of a dragon which has a hero -> "Siegfried of Xanten" that goes with it.

The town has two very strong themes - Medieval and ancient Roman. The medieval village was mostly built from stones pilfered from the Ancient Roman remains. The stones were also sold to the Netherlands and sent on the river in barges. 

All about the Museum and history of the place with a model of what it may have looked liked in its hey day in the photo on the bottom right. Over 10,000 people were estimated to live in  Colonia Ulpia Traiana on about 73 hectares. 

The above photos were from the partially rebuilt Harbor Temple that was on site. 

It was very impressive.

The museum is a very large, open to the elements museum, with a few buildings with exhibits in them. The horses were wooden sculptures of the types of horses in the Roman times (squat with broad shoulders and shortish legs,) and the type of carriages they would have pulled. This was the transport for the rich, and the seats considered first class travel.

The sides of the carriage were made from leather.

Behind us is one of the sentry gates built into the 'wall' which now is constructed of high hedges, but would have previously been stone. 

Top photo shows the roads that are placed on the same location that roads were found to be in the excavation. Then the pipes in the photo under this is the drainage system of the  town which took the waste water out to the river. 

The door is a reconstruction of the door which would have been in the city gates. Quite robust and large.

The photo on the left is a replica of the first known street directory that would have been in scroll form. It was 33cms high and 7m long and showed the way to get to different Roman towns. It was called the Tabula Peutingeriana. The top right photo shows the building that houses the archeological dig of the towns "roman baths', the bottom photo is looking down the street toward a city gate. The trees have been planted to indicate where the buildings would have stood in relation to the road. 
All under the grassed area are ancient ruins. It is pretty cool.

Inside the Roman Bath house. This set up was really impressive in the way the water was circulated, heated and cleaned.

The bottom right photo is of what the columns on the buildings would have looked like when painted. It must have been a very colourful city.

These are some of the exhibits from the museum showing clothing, pieces of art and life from the people who lived in the town. 

 A little way away from the bathhouse was a tent which housed a number of boats that have been remade as the Roman barges would have been using the same techniques.

 Then another building where they actually made the boats in the way the Romans would have. This was the highlight for me. Here they are building a Quintus Tricensimanus - a mighty rowing ship of the Roman Rhine fleet. Very impressive.

 In another building there was an exhibit of the famous people who lived there, and showed the type of lifestyles the politicians would have enjoyed.

 In smaller houses that had been reconstructed in a similar style as the local artisan there were exhibits of local weaving, leather word, and metal work.  

       All Hail Caesar!

This is the reconstructed  amphitheater of Colonia Ulpia Traiana. In the tunnels around the performing area were a number of exhibits explaining how the ampitheatre was used, who gladiators were, and the basic history of the site. The ampitheatre is used for amny cultural events and even a "Swords, Bread and Games" gladiator festival, which I think would be quite fun to attend. (see video in link above).
The next one will be held in 2020. 
https://apx.lvr.de//de/ihr_besuch/veranstaltungen_1/roemerfest/roemerfest.html 

 After having our fill of Roman history and culture we exited the museum and headed back into the town for a late lunch (we chose Italian food) and another wander around the town.  We then jumped on our bikes to go an explore and see if we could get out to the river. 

Interestingly, the river used to come right along where the main road is now, it used to be right outside the walls of the Roman city, but with a flood came silting up and a change and then everything fell apart for the Roman city. We did get out to the river, but we could not ride along it to the north as there was no path due to there being a bit of a swamp area.
we only did about 10 very slow kms as we started at 6pm. 

Wayne at the river, the very full bike lock up shed and a restaurant by the river near Xanten.

 And finally dinner - at the hotel. The Germans have large servings. 

Dusseldorf to Xanten

10 June 2019 - Day 5

Distance 65 km                                                                               

Total distance on the trip 289.61

Moving time 3:35:05 

82m  elevation

Total elevation 519m

We spent the morning walking around Dusseldorf looking at the architecture and making our way to the K20 art gallery to see an exhibit by Ai Wei Wei. We discovered there are two branches of this museum through error - one is K20, and we first found K21 about 3kms from each other, but both having exhibitions by Ai Wei Wei. We were at both so early (late opening on a public holiday) there was plenty of time. We even had time to walk around the K21 neighbourhood and see the historic buildings and statues around there. This area is normally a night life area, so it was very empty at 10am. (photos below).

The gallery opened at 11am and there was already a line to buy tickets. This is quite a small art gallery due to renovations happening and 2 of Ai Wei Wei's exhibits take up the entire ground floor over two very large rooms. The scale of his work is mind blowing. Having lived in HK for such a long time, I had never seen his work as he was discouraged from exhibiting there for political reasons, and I am impressed by his ability to create something so dramatic, with so much meaning from such turmoil in China. No wonder the Chinese government does not like him, his work moves you to the core.

The first room we entered was the size of 1/2 a soccer pitch, It has a number of exhibits.

1. Sunflower seeds -  in the center of the room is a level pile of 60,000,000 ceramic sunflower seeds that had been individually made and hand painted. Each being a small individual sculpture. The pile was over 650 square metres of the floor area. So much symbolism within this was explained in the museum booklet, I cannot do it justice here.

In the same room was another exhibit around the walls.
 

2. I.O.U. wallpaper. The very tall and wide walls were covered with a wallpaper made from 13,719 old style chinese IOU slips that Ai Wei Wei created to issue to his donors who helped him pay a tax demand from the Chinese Government who were keeping him detained due to this tax debt. His donors helped him raise 1.7 euros. All donations were re-payed.  

3. The third exhibit in the room was Zodiac

These were 12 very large Chinese zodiac signs depicted in front of famous buildings across the world, made from Lego bricks. Again, he has represented and portrayed so many symbols in these works I cannot do it justice.

We moved to another, smaller room where his exhibit Straight was.
This exhibit was created in response to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake where 70,000 people lost their lives - including over 5,000 school children when they were in government school buildings.

Straight consists of wooden pallets in the form of open coffins holding 164 tonnes of reinforced steel which was recovered from the collapsed buildings at the earthquake site. The steel has been straightened (it took over 3 years). it is to serve as a reminder of the cover up and  corruption that went into the building of these schools, but also in the aftermath of the earthquake.

This exhibit was confronting as on the walls were the names of the children who lost their lives which corresponded to each of the iron bars that were laid in the 'coffins'. The names were not officially released by the Chinese government, Ai Wei Wei had travelled to the site with 100 volunteers to find out the names of the missing children by talking to the people in the city. This exhibit is an attempt to ensure the children re remembered in an official way, and to highlight the cover up the government was involved in regarding this disaster.

The exhibit was very sobering but very worthwhile, I will be seeking out more of Ai Wei Wwi's exhibitions when I have the opportunity. 

We then moved into the upstairs part of the gallery where we were treated to some excellent works of modern art, including a Roy Lichtenstein  "Grabbeplatz" .

1.
2. Grabbeplatz
3.Voices from the Off 1 (Julien Goethe)
4. Choral 1962 A sliced cello mounted in black. (Arman)

We then had to farewell these guys after a fun weekend in Dusseldorf together. But first, a modern art selfie to send us off back to the hotel and our bikes ...

After a quick change a final packing we were ready to ride again. We had done 22,000 steps in Dusseldorf already and we were headed for Xanten, north along the Rhine.

We were out an on our bikes at 12:54pm and headed toward the river to ride north the 14kms we did not ride along the river in 2014.  We rode past the castle ruins we visited yesterday, and as it was a public holiday, the cycle path along the river was quite busy with people young and old out and about.  It was a gorgeously sunny day at 24 degrees celsius.  The advantages of leaving later (it had been about 14 degrees earlier)

We passed a whole bunch of people in the middle of nowhere just sitting out enjoying the sunshine and as we rode further around we realised it was a pub on the cycle path quite a way from any town which obviously draws quite a crowd on the sunny days. After this pub, the congestion cleared and we were good to travel at speed.  This ride was more about getting to our next stop, so not much stopping other than to check maps, food or bathroom breaks. It was also quite an industrial area we needed to ride through. 

We had a bit of a break at Uerdingen after about 25kms - it would be the last time we saw the Rhine today as we wanted to take the more direct route overland, rather than the convoluted route along the Rhine.  Uerdingen is a heavy industrial town. The packet in the photo above is a small packet of chocolate sprinkles ... a power packed punch of energy. We would snaffle these at breakfasts where possible for our ride. The photo in the top right is how the drains are placed in Germany - so cyclists do not lost their tyres down the slots - it is the little things that make a difference and know we are loved here.  ;-)

As we approached Moers we saw some more windmills  - new and old. There are many wind farms in this part of Germany.

Late lunch was at a little railway town called Moers (after about 40kms) - and again our fallback was a Kebab shop - tasty, nutritious, fast, cheap, and open. This one was particularly fabulous. Moers is on the other side of the Rhein to Duisburg - which we knew from previous rides that we wanted to avoid that town. 

We finally rolled into Xanten at about 6pm, which is town I have wanted to revisit if we had the chance since riding through here in 2014. On the outskirts of the town we checked Booking . com to find a place that we could park our bikes securely and was in our prince range. We found a lovely family run hotel called The Neumaier, which also a fabulous restaurant attached. 

After we checked in, we had dinner then went for a short walk around the town then fell into a blissful well deserved slumber. 22,000 steps plus 65kms at a swift pace.