Niederrhein + North Sea Coast Netherlands

2010-07 Koblenz – Rotterdam – Harlingen – Emden

On the 12.07.2010 we took the train to Zeebrugge where we wanted to head for Edinburgh with the night-ferry in order to do the English part of the NSCR (North Sea Cycling Route). Unfortunately there was big storm in the Ardennes. The train could not go on and the passengers were asked to continue by Bus.  We could not join them because there was no place for our bikes. So our whole trip with the ferry and hotel reservation was cancelled. We had to go back home and our mood was rather depressive. We decided to meet at Alain’s place and see how we could go on with our holidays. To lift our morals Alain started by serving us a 21 year old Whisky (Lagavulin). So my suggestion was to take the train the next day to Koblenz and follow the river Rhine to the Netherlands and afterwards go on by following the Netherland North-Sea-Cost to the German border.

Day 1: Koblenz - Köln

Done as said we left Koblenz in the early afternoon and headed for Cologne. Despite our late departure from Koblenz we managed to reach Cologne (+/- 100km). The whole road was on good cycling routes on the left bank of the river.

Day 2 : Köln - Duisburg

From Cologne to Duisburg cycling is possible on both sides of the Rhine. We stayed on the left side where we visited the harbour of Neuss-Düsseldorf. After Düsseldorf we passed a lot of industrial zones like Krefeld Uerdingen , not so pleasant. We crossed the Rhine in  Alt-Homberg to visit Duisburg and spend the night there.

Day 3 : Duisburg – Kleve

After leaving Duisburg we could enjoy the typical landscape of the Lower Rhine. We made a first stop in Xanten, a resort rich in history. Before reaching the Dutch border we left the Rhine to make a short side trip to the beautiful town of Kleve where we spend the night.

Day 4 : Kleve – Utrecht

Shortly after Kleve we crossed the border to Netherland, and kept on following the northern branch of the Rhine to Arnheim. Here like everywhere else along the Rhine we could witness the damages the storm had done to the forest and the trees Before reaching Wijk bij Duurstede we left the official Rhine Cycle Route to join Utrecht.

Day 5 : Utrecht – Rotterdam

From Utrecht we cycled through Woerden in the direction of Gouda where we crossed a typical Dutch landscape with plenty of little canals, ponds and lift bridges. 

In the late afternoon we arrived in Kinderdijk with the famous Mill Network. The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the most famous sights in the Netherlands. This is a group of 19 windmills that serve to pump the water occurring from the polders, in order to make the soil usable for agriculture. In Rotterdam we met our friends Hester and Donato who had organised a surprise for our accommodation: we spend the night aboard of the old transatlantic cruise ship, “The Rotterdam”.

Day 6 : Rotterdam – Zandvoort

Our friends advised us not to follow the Rhine to the “Hoek van Holland”place where you mainly see refineries but to visit the beautiful town of Delft. After Delft we crossed Den Haag and reached the coast of the North Sea.

Day 7 : Zandvoort – Den Oever

The bike trail along the Netherland coast was not flat at all, like we first thought. Cycling here was more like riding on a rollercoaster. Actually the cycle path followed the natural line of the sand dunes.

Day 8 : Den Oever -  Afsluitdijk – Holwerd

After leaving Den Oever we started to cross the huge “Afsluitdijk”. This dam of 32 km  separates the “Ijsselmeer” from the “Wattenmeer” respectively the North Sea. The Dutch province of Friesland starts just after the crossing of the dam. The landscape is very flat and the main attractions are sheep and canals.

Day 9 : Holwerd – Delfzijl – Emden

Our last full cycling day took us from Holwerd to Delfzijl where we took a ferry to bring us to Emden in Germany. Since we had some 3 days left we decided to take the train to Hamburg. With the bike time would have been too short to cycle to Hamburg and get back home by train.

Day 10-11 Hamburg

On the first day in Hamburg we tried to familiarise with the surroundings of the city… we cycled almond the Alstar to the outskirts of Hamburg and nearly all the way to the spring of the river and back to town.

On the second day we visited Hamburg and enjoyed a show at the theatre.

Hamburg

Western part of the Donau cycling trip

Strasbourg - St. Nazaire

Once we had finished the cycling trip that took us from Luxembourg to the Black Sea (Tulcea), (blog: stong181.blogspot.com), we decided to do the Western part of the Eurovelo 6, in order to join the Atlantic to the Black Sea.

Day 1 : Strasbourg-  Mulhouse

Early morning train to Strasbourg. From here we followed the “canal lateral au Rhin” which lead through the charming Southern part of the Alsace down to Mulhouse where we hit the cycling route Eurovelo 6.

Day 2 : Mulhouse - Baume-les-Dames

From Mulhouse we followed the “canal du Rhin au Rhône” through the Franche Comté to Belfort and Montbéliard. Here we joined the river Doubs to finish our 2^nd day in Baume-les-Dames.

Day 3 : Baume-les-Dames - Dole

After a short visit of Besançon, we kept on following the river Doubs to Dole where we saw the birth house of Louis Pasteur, place of interest for our two pharmacists.

Day 4 : Dole - Chagny

From Dole the river Doubs led us to Verdon sur-le-Doubs, where it flows into the Saône. After a short ride to Chalon/S. we crossed the river Saône to find the “Canal du Centre” and settled down for the night in Chagny, the heart of the Bourgogne. Poor vegetarians: you get advised to have some good red wine instead of food!

Day 5 : Chagny - Digoin

After leaving Chagny we kept on following the “Canal du Centre” through Monceau-les-Mines and on to Paray/Monial with its famous "Basilique du Sacré-Coeur". Spending the night in Digoin at the Hotel Canalou.

Day 6 : Digoin - Nevers

In Digoin we passed the “Pont du Canal” which crosses the river Loire, that was going to be our companion for the rest of the journey. Rain and sunny moments kept on alternating for the rest of the day.

Day 7 : Nevers - Bonny-sur-Loire

Leaving Nevers in heavy rain we were soaked in 10 minutes .Obviously we had made the bad choice and should have left half an hour later….But in the end our bravery was rewarded with some sunshine so we continued our tour enjoying pleasant little villages and towns along the banks of the river Loire.

Day 8 : Bonny-sur-Loire – Orléans

On our daytrip to Orleans we passed through some beautiful villages, but outstanding was Gien with its famous pottery as well as the splendid Chateau de Sully.

Chambord

Day 9 : Orléans - Amboise

As far as the “châteaux de la Loire” are concerned, the highlights started after leaving Orleans. An entertaining picnic just facing the magnificent “Chambord”, after that Blois, Chaumont…until we arrived in Amboise.

AMBOOISE

Day 10 : Amboise – Saumur

Shortly after leaving Amboise our cyclometer showed the magical number 1000!! 








We couldn’t resist making a joke by changing the sign on the cycling-panel...

Seeing the beautiful castle of Ussé, we could understand why it did inspire the writer M. Perrault for his “La belle au bois dormant”

Day 11 : Saumur – Ancenis

This was the hottest day of our trip, blazing sun in the beginning of September made the cycling even more enjoyable, certainly with the coolness of a soft breeze that rose up from the banks of the river Loire

Day 12 : Ancenis – Nantes - St Brévin les Pins/St Nazaire

Our last real cycling day took us to Nantes, The former headquarters of the Dukes of Brittany, whose castle is the symbol of the city.

In Nantes we organised our return by train. After crossing the Loire on a ferryboat to the south bank we arrived in St. Brévin in the late afternoon, where the bravest took a bath in the Atlantic remembering the dip we had at the end of our trip to the Black Sea.

Day 13 :

Return via the famous  Bridge de Saint-Nazaire spanning the Loire estuary to Saint-Nazaire  and back home by train.