Geilenkirchen to Blad

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Our longest day today at 61 miles and heading north west all day. There were light rain showers all morning but not too bad. There was a mixture of woodland and farms with large fields of crops. We passed through Limberg?? Which looked like a very pretty town. We crossed the Maas River using a small ferry that was only big enough for people and bikes. The owner told us to go inside as it was wet. This actually meant stand under the tiny canopy.



Soon after leaving the hotel we left Germany for the Netherlands and criss crossed the border a few times and also passed through Belgium.



Yoghurt break was in a church yard at Rotem and lunch was sat on a bench next to a canal. Both were quite quick stops as we had a long way to go and although we were warm enough when peddling it felt quite cool when we stopped.



We had some lovely sunshine in the afternoon and miles and miles of canals which meant easy navigation and no keep stopping for traffic lights, to cross busy roads etc so we made better time.



About eight miles from the hotel we had a storm and heavy rain. We avoided the worst by sheltering under some trees. Luckily the rain didn't last too long but the thunder rumbled round for ages. Just before we reached Bladel we passed through a forest and the path seemed to wind and wind. It felt like we were going round in circles but we eventually came out the other side. There was a sign up to warn us there could be snakes around. Thank goodness we didn't see any. They are not my favourite creature.



We had been given a code to get into the hotel and then another code to get our room key. This key also gave us access to the underground car park to store our bikes in.



Our room is enormous and very nice. It also has a kettle and tea and coffee. Something German hotels lack.



I had booked an evening meal at a restaurant I had found online so that we knew we had some where to eat. It was a little like a tapas bar where you order several dishes as each dish is a smaller portion. It was a little different but very nice.

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