Aachen, Germany

Tues. August 27

We left Heerlen in the afternoon after we visiting The Thermal museum where the Romans had built a giant bath house. We have no pictures of this but we assure you it was an impressive site. The Romans knew how to build a comfortable bath house that we can call it today a fully equipped  spa.

After a very short ride we entered Germany. It started to get hilly and there is more forest land. Aachen is a small city with so much history that goes back before Jesus was born. We visited the cathedral treasury where we learned about Charlemagne. He was the first holy roman emperor who settled here and opened a university a brought many smart people from all over the world to work for him. Charlemagne did great things and he was well known in that time. The first cathedral north of the  alps built and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  Many pilgrims still come here to see the relics that are shown every 7 years for the past 700 years. Among the treasures we saw was a piece of the sponge that was given to Jesus while he was being crucified. There is also the whip that was used to beat Jesus during the stations of the cross. There are several remains of Charlemagne in separate gold relics that are beautifully adorned with precious stones, silver and gold. 

It would be easier if we spoke enough German to read the english menus at the restaurants because we are getting tired of sandwiches and surprises.

 

Heerlen gate in Aachen.

Someone knitted a bicycle

Aachen dome cake

The real dome

Big dome

Blind people can get an idea what the structure of the dome is by feeling this  shape and reading the Braille.

Candidates of the coming election.

Another candidate.

Allan has chosen his favorite.

A church on the rocks.

A leather and linen whip, used on Jesus during his crusifiction.

In the centre of the circle, a piece of the sponge used on Jesus.

Archeologists are still digging today in the streets.

Buskers in the street.

The official Charlemagne symbol.

On our do nothing days, we amuse ourselves.

We also try to keep in shape.

Yoly is getting new ideas for her next hair cut.

Yoly is getting tired of her helmet, she wants this one instead.

Us at the museum.

Buskers playing statues.

We re entered Belgium, but this time we got to speak French. This is the east side of the country.

On the road south of Vught

Sunday August 25

The road had many twists and turns and scary moments. The scariest bit was a dead cat on the road that looked very mad about something, perhaps getting hit by truck? We both saw the cat and decided to ride a bit faster to get some miles between us and the scary dead cat. On a positive note, we reached our first 1000 km on our bikes and looking forward to many more. We are still loving the bike paths and the quiet streets. We have been enjoying the sight of several rescue animal fields by the paths. The weather has been perfect for cycling, we like it when is cloudy and this morning was very foggy but not cold.  We also got to stay in a spider sanctuary for the night south of Weert. It was supposed to be a camping resort with cabins. We chose the cabin because it was raining and we did not look forward to the night eating salads in a wet tent. Anyway the cabin was full of spider webs and spiders. The area around the cabin was full of little brown frogs the size of a thumb nail but they were cute and we were careful not to step on them. The owner/manager of the resort, was very nice to us, he gave me a hot mint tea and beer for Al. We had a long chat with him while we sipped our drinks in his cafeteria and then we retired to our little cabin. After 85 km today, we felt tired, fell as sleep and no spiders bothered us at all. 

Monday August 26

We kept riding south of Netherlands this morning and entered Belgium where we had our second breakfast. By noon, we were back in Netherlands and very close to the border of Germany. We found a place to stay in Heerlen in the south of the province of Limburg in Netherlands. We walked around the town and went to the Luminarium (a colourful walk through an inflated bubblle tube) Al says it reminded him of his colonoscopy video only with more colours and music. Have I mentioned that everything is closed on Mondays around here? Well, we can still buy groceries and bread which is awesome. 

We love the bicycle paths on a foggy morning.

This is where we reached our 1000 km.

We really like to look at this type of roofs (thatched) and the detail work they use to give the shape.

Another nice path beside the road.

A marigold field.

Animal sanctuary in some neighbourhood. I am glad they put a little fence around them.

Yoly does not completely trust our GPS or she doesn't get the whole picture.

A partially blind small kangaroo in another animal rescue field.

We could have gone to the circus today for free.

Our little cabin in the woods, us, the bikes, the frogs and the spiders.

Us having our salad dinners in our little cabin with the spiders.

Hey Ray! We found your MR Toyota for only 800 E. it's a beauty.

Us in front of a mirror by a small intersection.

Arriving In the town of Heerlen.

If we could only understand the sign in Dutch  by the entrance, we would be able to explain what this is all about. This was between two homes.

I forgot to take a picture of the sign that is by the big elephant's foot.

While taking a tour of the city centre, we did some couch sighting. There were 21 altogether throughout the main streets. Each couch has a name, a number and the name of the designer. This o e is called LOVE.

Taking a tour inside the iluminarium

Iluminarium 

Iluminarium 

Tree in the iluminarium.

Vase

St Peter's church in the main plaza.

Had to leave Haarlem.

Didn't want to leave but we had to get on with it. We are now headed south towards Aix en Provence. The first stop was in fort Ann de Klap. It's near Haarlem almost seems like we haven't gone anywhere. We actually stayed inside the city limits of Utrecht which is a nicer city than it sounds. We met a grandpa and a grandma cycle touring with their grand daughter. They were from the Netherlands and had big loads for everyone. We still wish we had chairs every so often, ever since we saw the couple in France, from the Netherlands of course with some beauty chairs. Grandma and Grandpa had chairs. We sit on the ground as picnic tables are not common here.  We had a buffet dinner in the fort's patio then we went for an evening walk. Yoly noticed that birds and ducks don't sleep all night they squawk once in a while at odd times at night. Some campers do the same. Another of the other campers was walking to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. That makes 5 people from the Netherlands doing that trip so far. We will be off the route to Spain soon so they should become rarer for a while.

Friday August 23

We slept in! We left the campground at mid morning and rode under sunny and  30 degree temperature. We cooled off with some gelato on the way and made it to Culemborg some 55 km south east of Utrecht, still Netherlands. Culemborg has 3 museums but they only open for few hours a day this includes the Elvis Presley Museum. Elvis was here serving during the Second World War. The marina in this town is quite large and houses many sail, rowing and large boats. We are staying in the marina campground. We rode around the town for the rest of the afternoon and went to get groceries.

Next day the 24th of August, we made it south of S - Hertogenbosch after spending the afternoon at the fair in s-Hertogenbosch. This is the fourth town we have found with the midway rides on the streets. Some of the faces seemed familiar. The town has an amazing cathedral larger than Notre Dame in Paris.

We couldn't help noticing the tree that came through the ceiling of the restaurant  that provided shade for our apartment upstairs in Haarleem.

Mozart played this organ when he was 10 years old in 1766 in the Grote Kerk church in Haarlem. It used to be a Catholic Church and today is a Protestant church and it is one of the most historically important organs in the world.

Picture of the ceiling under a large chandelier in Grote Kirk church in Haarleem.

Bats in Haarlem's big church

More bats, possibly the same bats in context, the dog wipers chapel where order was kept the church by the dog whipper

2 Fiat 500s different colors and years.

A deer at a rescue centre.

 Windmill at windmill rescue centre.

Haarlem's Amsterdam gate.

Wild Windmill in its natural habitat.

Sheep that get near the fence to say hi to Yoly, how cute is that.

Yoly feels comfortable around sheep.

More Sheep 

Some castle near our campground.

Nice castle.

Just a fort but with all you can eat dinner.

Let op!

Mama duck baby duck.

Different breed of duck

Water tower in Utrecht

Statue by water tower Utrecht.

Looks like the windmill ran away.

 Lots of boats in the marina where we camped for the night.

Windmill fenced in so it can't get away.

More deer.

Church in s-Hertogenbosch.