Blogs from North Brabant, Netherlands, Europe - page 20

22/10/05 - We said farewell to our hosts at the Hotel de la Paix and pointed the Renault toward the Netherlands. Fuel is expensive in France, but the autoroute toll charges are just as bad. It costs us the same amount in tolls as it did in fuel to get to Tilburg. All up about 50 euro in tolls and 50 euro in fuel. All those toll charges do have one great benefit, fantastic roads, the route to Paris and then onto Antwerp and then Tilburg is very easy driving. It took us about 10 hours to cross half of France and make it to Tilburg. The traffic around Paris was fun and Lorenza did a great job coping with it. We were tempted to drop by the Knoeri family on our way through, but the ... read more

A day of bicycle riding. After pedaling through Waganingen, then along the Rhine River, we found ourselves in the town of Rhenen. This town was once the home of the king’s palace. The church here has been destroyed so many times by fire or bombings that after rebuilding it a number of times the local decided it must be bad luck to complete the building works, so they have left one brick out of the building so it is technically not completed (seems to have broken the run of bad luck so far). The museum in Rhenen was also very interesting for such a small town, with a lot of Bronze Age items and primitive jeweler. They also had some postcards with a painting done by Bert's grandfather on them, one entitled "Evacuation of Rhenen in ... read more

22nd August 2004 - So, after 10 minutes on the A2, I got a bit more relaxed about the driving (it was much easier on a divided road with all the traffic heading in the same direction). The A2 lead us toward Utrecht and then Breda, and on toward Tilburg. Our friend Michel met us at a petrol stop and led us into Tilburg, to the home he shares with Lorenza's cousin Liesbeth. Michel took us on a scenic route to their place (no way could I find it again) via lush green fields, full of Friesian cows (you know the black & white ones). It was so good to see Michel and Liesbeth again, last time we saw them was a few years before at our place. When they visited, they were sunburnt; sun struck ... read more