Holland is becoming hard work! Yesterday we were following a well-marked cycle route which would take us to the coast, but because we got so far off the route trying to find a camping spot the previous night, we got a little lost today.

First of all Mike used his Garmin to navigate, but it kept trying to send us down non-existent paths. I know, we’ve been here before! Then we thought, we’re in Holland, they have cycle routes everywhere using a number system. Every so often there would be a board with numbers on, showing you all the routes. So we knew we need to head west, so we collected all the numbers we needed to follow and I wrote them in a note on my phone. Then we were off.

It was actually a lot of fun. Follow the 2, then the 1, then the 70 etc etc. Until we got to a board where the numbers had been rubbed off. Oh well, let’s just follow the one going West. That worked out well, we got back on track and were following my numbers again in my note. We cycled through forests and fields, and sometimes on roads. But we still haven’t seen a frikking windmill.

Anyway the numbering system was working well, and we were making good progress to the west. Then when I stopped to check my notes to see what the next number was, I accidentally deleted them all, no way to get them back. I could have cried. To top it all off, our internet stopped working so we couldn’t even come up with an alternate route.

So we followed our noses, (the sun actually). Then we got to the town of Tilburg. We’d done 40 kms for the day and thought it would be nice to finish early and navigate to either a campground or a hotel. I was leaning towards hotel so we could get internet to find out why our internet wasn’t working. So we headed for the centre of town when suddenly we were thrust into a carnival in the main street.

‘Let’s go back!’ I said to Mike, but he was navigating to a campground and said we continue on. And it got worse. There were so many people and rides and the noise, OMG so much noise. Loud booming techno music coming from all different directions as we weaved our way through the covid-infested masses while keeping an eye out for pickpockets. This went on for a kilometer with no end in sight. It was too late to turn back now and claustrophobia was setting in.

Eventually we pushed our way through all the people and I asked Mike to navigate on his Garmin to get us the hell out. ‘Just head for Breda,’ I said. So we did.

It was quite scary having no internet, not knowing where the heck we were going or where we would find to sleep. It was lucky Mike had his garmin as that works regardless, despite it trying to send us some stupid ways.

Not long out of town we found a hotel, but they were fully booked. I told the girl on reception of our problem of having no internet, and she said we could use theirs, so that was really nice of her. She also suggested some hotels on our route, but they were all booked. We finally found one about 20 kms away and booked in using their free wifi. And it was a straight line to get there, so no navigation required. So with peace of mind, we navigated to the hotel and settled in just after 6pm.

We ordered a Dominos pizza for dinner.

We are both getting a bit grumpy with Holland and all the drama of finding places to sleep.

Well , what a day. Holland is not proving to be as easy as we thought.

The day started well as we are following a route which will take us to the coast. We tootled along looking out for windmills but seeing none.

We were heading down a road when we saw some cycle tourists coming the other way. They told us that way was blocked. I told them we are heading for the coast and they said they are too as they live there. They also invited us to come stay with them which was nice. So we’ve connected on instagram.

We kept running into them all day. They have been touring even longer than us and have been up into Sweden and up that way.

After about 50 kms I decided I’d had enough for the day, I was just so tired. It was 3pm and putting up the tent and having an afternoon nap sounded like a great idea. We had a nice coffee at a cafe (so much better than German coffee, and they use real milk!)

We found a campground about 2 kms away but not in the direction we wanted, but we decided to go there anyway. When we arrived the reception was closed but it looked like a nice campground so we figured we’d put up our tent and someone would no doubt collect our money later.

We chose a spot and were ready to set up when out of nowhere came a torrential downpour. We ran for the shelter of a marquee to sit it out.

I dug around in Mikes panniers and found our snickers bars. I dumped them on the table and a pile of ants appeared. Turns out we have an ant problem so we emptied all the stuff from the panniers and repacked them.

Just as we’d finished a man came to ask us to pay for camping. It was still pissing down so we said we wanted to wait and see what the weather was going to do. He said he is a busy man and we have to either pay now or leave. We didn’t like his attitude so we left.

We navigated to a hotel which was on our route as we didn’t want to camp in the rain. It was only 14 kms away but it seemed to take forever. The skies were dark and it felt a lot later than it was. We arrived at the hotel around 6.30pm tired and hungry. I walked inside and there were masses of people. “Do you have a room?” I asked.

“Sorry we’re full,” was the reply I did not want to hear. Turns out there is no more hotels in the area but there is camping 5 kms up the road. So we headed there. We arrived about 7 pm, tired and hungry. “Sorry we are full” he said. “You don’t have room for a small tent?” I pleaded.

He said they had reached capacity and it would be illegal to allow any more to stay. He then went and got us a list of all the campsites around the area and their phone numbers. He pointed out the closest one. Mike rang them. They answered and Mike asked if they spoke English. “No,” they said and hung up on him. Geez, we have not met anyone in Holland who doesn’t speak perfect English.

So we tried another campground on the list at the recommendation of the camp owner . He said they always have room as it’s a big campground. Mike rang them, they spoke perfect English and he said they have space but to ring when we arrived.

We cycled another 5 kms ( 82 kms for the day) and arrived just before 8pm. Reception had closed at 5pm but thankfully he answered when Mike rang and checked us in.

We’d seen a lot of campgrounds charging 37 euros to camp and we figured this was one of them due to having a lake and a swimming pool. We held our breath for the big price tag and were pleasantly surprised that it was only 20 euros for the two of us as we were on bikes. Other campers were paying 37 euros though. Crazy!

We cooked taco mince and rice for dinner. We didn’t even have a shower as it’s really cold. So we’re in our tent feeling a bit sticky. And we still haven’t seen a frikking windmill!

We had such a lazy day today and did pretty much nothing. I read my book, did some video editing, ate lunch and then dinner.

Mike’s wheel came back today, the spoke all fixed. But it’s possible others might break as they’re so old, but it will be ok to get back to England on. At least it’s not catching on his brake now.

We thought it might have been quite expensive but it only cost 16 euros to fix, so that was fantastic.

We are moving on tomorrow but still no idea where to, still undecided whether to take the ferry to England from Dunkirk, which is about 5 days ride away, or whether to keep going to Cherbourg which is about 2 weeks riding.

I remember the ride from dunkirk to Cherbourg as being quite hilly and a lot of it on roads and feel a bit reluctant to do it again having ridden it before. Plus we need to get back onto a proper diet and it’s so hard to do when touring. And all the hotel stays are eating into our budget.

We had a great rest day in our lovely campground. We walked 40 minutes to lidl and got some supplies for the next couple of days. Then we dumped all our clothes into the washing machine and hung them out to dry.

It was a hot 31 degrees today but thankfully our campsite was in the shade for most of the day. We sat around, read our books, snacked on junk food and grapes, and generally did nothing. Well, it was my birthday after all.

The camp owner just visited us and his friend owns a bike repair shop and he has offered to take Mike’s wheel into him for repair. This is really lucky as we would never have got in to have it repaired without an advanced reservation.

So hopefully we’ll have it back by lunchtime tomorrow, but we’ve decided we will probably have another night here as it’s so nice.

We’ve heard from locals that the coast is very busy at the moment and the campgrounds are very crowded and possibly full. So we think we’ll head to Dunkirk and catch the ferry back to England next week, then catch the train to Bournemouth via London. We’re both pretty tired and the thought of crowded camping grounds does not appeal at all.

We woke up in Germany and went to bed in Holland.

We woke up really groggy in our hotel room in Germany this morning. The fire alarm kept blipping in our room from 2am until 3.30am when I made Mike take it down. So we had a slow start to the morning.

We knew there was a big industrial section coming up on the Rhine route between Düsseldorf and Duisburg with very little camping or accommodation. We had decided the previous evening to only cycle 25 kms and spend the day looking around Düsseldorf. But when we woke up the day was stunning and the thought of spending it in a big city with crowds of people didn’t appeal.

So we decided to ditch the Rhine route altogether and head for Holland. But first, a feast of MacDonalds was required. It was almost lunchtime after all.

We felt so much better after our feed and Mike expertly navigated our way, avoiding Düsseldorf completely.

Some of the day was on nice cycle paths, some of it on a bike path next to main roads, but we never had to ride on the roads, which was great. For some reason I felt so much more relaxed getting away from the Rhine. It was always so busy there, lots of bikes, boats, industry etc.

I noticed today that Mikes rear wheel was wobbling. We stopped and checked it out and tried spinning the rear wheel but it was catching on the brake. Mike didn’t seem too worried and we continued riding.

It was slow going today, probably because of the late start. I was struggling to get any speed out of my bike and wondered if my wheel was catching on the brakes too. Then I realised we were actually cycling up a very slight hill. The fact it didn’t even look like a hill made for frustrating riding.

It was 6pm by the time we got to the town of Venlo, but no time to look around as our camp was still another 7 kms away.

The campground is lovely though, quiet and surrounded by trees. They even have a common room for cyclists with a fridge, tables and power. Just as well as we’ll probably be here for a few days.

Turns out Mike has a broken spoke. It’s a Saturday and the bike shops don’t open unti Tuesday. But the camp owner is going to ring around for us and see if he can get a mobile bike mechanic to come out. But we could do with a rest and this seems like a nice place to do that. And it’s only 15 euros a night.

We left our hotel in Koblenz just before 11am and did a quick stop to pick up lunch and were on our way. It was easy to navigate out of the city and we were cruising alongside the river in no time.

It had rained overnight and was much cooler today. We both felt full of energy today, either because of our rest day or because it wasn’t so hot, and we zoomed along at about 20 kms/hr.

It was overcast all day, but the scenery was still stunning with more castles in the hills. The route followed the river for most of the day and it was quite pleasant.

We stopped at the first camping place after 45 kms, but decided to keep riding. We stopped at the next camping place at 55 kms, but it had just started to rain. The thought of sitting around all afternoon and trying to cook under our small shelter didn’t appeal.

The campgrounds here are not like NZ campgrounds. At home, all campgrounds have a common area you can sit out of the weather, and a fully functional kitchen with cooking facilities. Here, most places have nothing like that, not even a shelter. They are more set up for camper vans than tents, despite a lot of cycle tourers. I would have thought all the Germans that travel to NZ and stay at our campgrounds might have brought some of that information back and implemented it here. But alas, no.

We ended up cycling 70kms to the town of Bonn, and also the birthplace of Beethoven. We stopped at the first hotel that was easily accessible by bike and were done for the day. Except we needed food.

There was a Vietnamese restaurant across the road so we headed there, not wanting to venture too far as we were tired. I’ve always said never eat asian food in Europe, as it’s always awful. I should have listened to my advice, as it was disgusting. Not sure what they do to it, but they must adapt it to European taste buds. Everything just seemed to taste like sweet chilli sauce.

We were so hungry, we ate it anyway, but never again. Then when we went to pay, they said cash only. Mike handed some notes and then they got grumpy because it wasn’t the correct amount. The fumbled around looking for change between two of them, then dumped it on the counter like it was our fault. What a horrible place, they insist on cash then get grumpy because we don’t have change. Never again!

I should have stuck to my previous vow of only eating schnitzel in Germany, but at the end of the day we’re just so tired our judgement is always impaired.

I’m also getting a bit anxious about the next few days. People have been saying how industrial it is, and the route is awful with the signs hard to follow, and ending up on main roads with trucks. Apparently it’s pretty bad from here, through the major cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Duisburg. But if we can keep up our 70km days we should be in Holland in a couple of days, cycling along wonderful flat cycle paths, completely off the road.

We had planned to get out early and explore the town, but it was 8.30am by the time we got away and already hot.

Koblenz is where the Rhine river meets the Moselle, so we visited there first, snapped some photos of the Deutches Eck statue, and continued on around the town. There’s a gondala that you can take across the river to the other side, but we didn’t do this. I anyone does find themselves in this town wanting to do this, make sure you catch the number 17 gondola as it has a glass bottom.

We wandered, found a decent coffee at an Italian place (well, decent for Germany) snapped a few more photos around the town, then headed back to our hotel for a mid morning nap. We woke up at 1.30pm and headed back out for food. It’s so HOT still, we are very pleased for our hotel room. We grabbed a salad from the supermarket then scurried back to the relief of the hotel room where I got some video editing done, and Mike slept some more.

For dinner, we ate out at an Italian restaurant but it was very average. Think I’ll stick with schnitzel while in Germany.

Back on the bikes tomorrow. We’ve cycled over 2000 kms so far.

We had a slow start to the morning as we both woke up exhausted. I probably would have stayed in bed but I needed the loo, which I managed to get to in my sleep. We thought about staying a second night in the busy campground but decided to find somewhere nicer.

At breakfast we met a nice couple from Australia who have been cycle touring up the Elbe river to Czech Republic, so I mentioned to Mike that I’d like to do that. Next thing, they’ve offered us their guide book. They fly home tomorrow and have no need for it. So that was really nice of them.

We stopped at the city of Mainz and had a quick look around. We’d hoped to get supplies but it was Sunday and everything was shut. Thankfully there was a bakery kiosk so we got some chocolate croissants and pretzels.

It was hot today and the day dragged. We stopped for lunch at a beer garden by the river. I had planned to be healthy and was about to choose a salad from the menu when I saw a lady with schnitzel and thought ‘I want that!’ So we ordered one each and some drinks. I handed over my card but they said cash only. We didn’t have enough cash so we ended up getting just one to share. I thought about cancelling my drinks but he’d already poured them.

Nobody takes cards in Germany, it is cash everywhere, even campgrounds. Something to do with high bank charges. So we need to get some cash out.

After lunch I struggled to stay awake as we cycled along, I was just so tired. We found a tree and lay the picnic blanket down and I promptly fell asleep for about 30 minutes.

I felt much better after my nap and we continued on in the heat. Apparently it’s only 30 degrees but it feels way hotter. We decided to stop at the first camp that looked ok.

The first few had no shade and didn’t have any space for tents. Then we arrived at one that looked perfect. Nice shady spot right next to the river with a restaurant and bar onsite.

We were going to cook but didn’t have much so opted for dinner at the bar. We bothered decided on schnitzel again as that was all that was on the menu that we understood. It wasn’t as good as lunchtime one though.

We had a great nights sleep and woke up and decided to stay another day. Turns out the town we are in is a picturesque fairy tale village so we took a look around this morning. It’s a neat little town with differing shades of chocolate ripple and wonkiness of all shapes and sizes. We marvelled, snapped photos, got some cash out then went back to camp, sat by the river and watched the boats go up and down the Rhine.

It was another crazy hot day of 35 degrees and we were happy to be sitting in the shade on the banks of the river, a gentle breeze doing its best but failing to keep us cool. It was the perfect rest day as we didn’t do anything. And the spot is so picturesque with the river, big hills either side and castles in the hills.

We bought a postcard to send to the kids and I bought one for Dad too, so hopefully he gets it.

I’m writing this at 8.30pm and it’s still really really hot and it’s going to be hotter tomorrow, apparently 38 degrees. So we’re gonna set the alarm for 6am and hope to be away by 7am to beat the heat. We’ve booked an air conditioned hotel in Koblenz as we both need a break from the heat.