Advertisement
Published: September 25th 2008
Edit Blog Post
The Garden Hut
Sara and Paul enjoy noodles in the Garden hut. And they call this nature camping? After our wonderful rest day in Utrecht we were excited to get back on our bikes. We rode through the city, and after a couple of lucky turns through poorly marked bike paths we found our way out of Utrecht. What can we say, the landscape was nearly identical to how it has been through the whole trip. We saw lots of flatness, corn fields, sheep, and cows. Horses seem to be getting more popular down south, and sheep slightly less.
We rode 60 miles out of the city and set up camp. In the most amazing campsite ever. We were skeptical at first as it was listed on our map as "Nature Camping." While we are used to that in the USA, we have definitely grown accustomed to our nightly showers after long riding days. We were tired, so we decided to check it out. As we entered the gate a woman came to greet us and showed us where we should set up our tent to get the most morning sun (too bad it was cloudy the next morning). She pointed us to the showers and toilet, then let us be. She came back to us just after
A Few Wild Places
Paul enjoys one of the few wild looking places in Holland that we encountered on the way to Maastricht. we had set up our tent and asked us if we needed anything to keep us warm during the night. We assured her that our sleeping bags would be warm enough. She then offered to let us eat and spend the evening in her garden hut. The garden hut was incredible. With a wood-burning stove, radio, and comfy chairs we couldn't help but be totally and completely relaxed after showering and eating. We stayed until we were desperate to sleep.
We woke up the next morning and headed south again. We felt tired and slow. We think it was a combination of being worn out from the long day before and not eating enough. We also spent a lot of time looking for food. Our path kept skirting by towns, and the one town we did go through only had a silly little corner shop with a measly selection.
After 30 miles we came across the first campsite on our route. We decided to quit early so we didn't get any grumpier. This was the first campsite where we had to pay like at an American campground. We filled out a little form, dropped our 12 Euro into
Inspiring Scenery
Sara atempts to take a picture of herself while riding through inspiring scenery. the envelope, and found our site. It was just us and a couple other trailers here. The campground was going to close in a couple days. We took our showers and started cooking. That's when Max came by. Except we didn't know who Max was until later. He growled and barked at us, inching his way closer and closer. We were scared. Our only means of defense were boiling noodle-water and a hot stove. We didn't want to use them, but Max was scary. Just in the nick of time and old man came by and said, "That's Max." He then proceeded to yell, "Max, naar Huis!" until he ran off toward home. As the old man left he turned to us and smirked, "He's a coward." The night was saved, we didn't get rabies, and the noodles ended up in our tummies and not on Max. We were quite glad.
The next day turned out to be quite a day. We rode all the way from Mierlo to Maastricht. We did our first metric century (100 km ride in one day). Along the way we rode through some really cool little towns. Thorn was painted completely white and
Water Wheel
We stop to rest by a water wheel just as it starts to rain. was filled with curvy, cobblestone roads. We had lunch in Kessenich on a park bench. After that we only had a clif bar and some chocolate paste to eat. We saved that for 75 km. The ride followed a long string of canals and ponds on a very nicely paved bicycle route. It skipped by almost all of the towns, which kept our pace up. We rolled in to Maastricht at about 5pm. We asked a passerby about the campsite. She said is used to be there a few years ago, but it closed. Great. We rode into the city center to find the tourist information, just before they closed. We got directions to the hostel. Quite a bit more expensive than camping, but we had no choice. We checked in and, exhausted, looked for dinner. The restaurant at the hostel served an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. We quickly showered and made our way to the restaurant. What could be better after a 65 mile ride than all-you-can-eat buffet? We ate. We ate and ate and ate. It was incredible. Pasta, potatoes, salad, bread, cous-cous, rice, steamed vegetables, apples, oranges, tea cookies, yogurt, and of course, a chocolate muffin for dessert.
Luxemburg City
Paul stands in front of a typical breathtaking scene. Then we sat for a while, until we could move again.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.21s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0728s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Holly
non-member comment
On Toward Maastricht
Sounded like a novel I read a long time ago. Saved by an old man from a hungry dog. I love reading your travelblog. Great writting! love the humor. Can't wait to read your next blog. Love Mom