Monday, June 13, 2011

Zeeland Bike Tour

I never said this was a running blog, did I?
So this (long) weekend, the hubby and I loaded our bikes and took off to Brielle (South Holland). We were supposed to bike from Breda to Brielle, spend the night in Brielle, ride on to Middelburg (Zeeland), spend another night there, and then bike back to Breda, for a total of +/- 285 over 3 days. It did not happen exactly that way. Instead, due to "circumstances" (read bad things happening to good people) we left Breda late (around 2 pm and after 20k made it to Zevenbergen. We stopped there for coffee (and to let a rain shower pass) and decided to take the train from there to Maasluis. We did exactly that and arrived 1 1/2 hours later in Maasluis. We biked from Maasluis to Brielle (including a short ferry hop across the Maas) and arrived in Brielle in time for a (pancake dinner) and a great night's sleep (10 hours +).

After a good breakfast, we biked from Brielle to Hellevoetssluis and then across the long bridges of the Delta werken to Middelburg. Those bridges went on and on and on, and the headwind was pretty impressive. Either way, it was an amazing bike ride and we made it :-)

After a terrible night's sleep (never ever book a hotel without checking the reviews on tripadvisor first) we spend 1 1/2 hour discovering Middelburg. We then biked to Arnmuiden and Goes. In Goes the rain caught up with us and we decided to call it a day, and caught the train home. All in all, a fantastic weekend of biking and sightseeing with my favorite hubby!

Bikes on the Ferry

Hubby's first time on the ferry

Brielle, South Holland






Hellevoetssluis, South Holland

All we saw of Renesse...

Weather turned ugly on the bridges

Veere, Zeeland




Middelburg, Zeeland








The flagpoles that kept us up all night (sounded like machineguns when they shook)

Arnemuiden, Zeeland

Goes, Zeeland



Saturday, June 4, 2011

Maastricht to Aachen Bike Tour

I am two race reports behind... Hope you forgive me...

In the meantime, in celebration of the four day weekend, the hubby and I took our bikes on the train to Maastricht, and biked to Aachen through the beautiful landscapes of Limburg and Wallonie (yes, that's right, three countries). The weather was perfect!

Solar tourist bus in Maastricht
Maastricht


Maastricht

On the way between Maastricht and Aachen

Vijlen maybe?

Diner in Aachen: Flammenkuche

German pastries are the best

And so are Belgian pastries...

Belgian breakfast in Aachen (Germany)

Aachen main square

A little Tea Garden on the way back

Hubby's latest adoring fan

Wallonie Castle

Wallonie Castle

Limburg: cycling paradise

Limburg Castle

The End