An easier day today even though a bit more distance covered than yesterday. Wesel is not a large town and we were quickly out in the countryside – peaceful surroundings and easier navigation. The wind had dropped a bit also, and was mostly coming from the west or south west, so we only one short section of headwind.
There are many cycle routes in this part of the world. Part of the official EuroVelo 15 was blocked off again this morning, but fortunately not in a place that led to any major detour. There were good options to cycle on either side of the river so we decided to get onto the Arnhem side of the river at lunchtime just in case of problems with the recommended ferry later in the day. The ferry we did catch was a pedestrian and cycle only one into the very pretty town of Rees.
The guidebook raves about big sky country and that’s entirely true. The whole landscape has opened out, and I find it almost impossible to take photos that do it justice. Statues are much easier to snap, and we had a vintage day for them: a straw-bale couple at the splendidly-named Obermörmter, a lifelike group posing for a photo outside the town hall at Rees, an imposing mammoth as we were approaching Arnhem and the ‘party aardvark’ waving his leggies in the air immediately outside our hotel (he appears to be wearing a party hat – don’t ask!).
We crossed the border into the Netherlands this afternoon. It was another very low-key affair, and the only real giveaway was that we suddenly had signs in Dutch instead of German. I had a moment of pleasure reflecting that we started in Switzerland and here we are now nearing the end. Just keeping everything crossed that both of us and both bikes hold out till Hook of Holland. Not so far now.
eleanor.scot 