Summer comes on a Saturday

Nijmegen to Broekhuizenvorst to Maasbracht

Day 68 - Friday - August 19
We got breakfast at the train station market next door as the hotel wanted 16 euros each for their breakfast buffet. We have found train stations to be a good source of food, especially early in the day or on Sundays when most other places are closed. Our new route follows the Maas River south.

This is a World War II cemetery, the first one we've seen in all our journey.

A majority of the headstones were for British soldiers.

Our first ferry ride across the river for the day. It was 1.25 euros per person.

Yes, the route marker really did say to go this way. And no, I can't avoid all the sheep poop.

Bad planning to have a flat tire only 5 minutes after leaving the sheep behind (St. Agatha).

Ferry #2 heading our way.

This means we are entering another province (like a state).

This is a good example of how many of the streets and bike paths in the small towns are "paved".

This is quite the garden. The owner is mowing the lawn which is the simplest part of this yard.

This time we are crossing the river by bridge. We get this whole thing to ourselves, except for an occasional tour bus.

Marigolds by the acres. It was our smell of the day.

The windmill looks sort of sad without its wings.

This young man gave us directions to the closest campground then made sure we made the right turn.

They told us to camp in any open spot since the tent area was so far from the bathrooms. We  accepted the offer and were very glad we did. Once again there was a late night, very noisy group down by the tent area.

Day 69 - Saturday - August 20
Our sound of the day came early. The geese were busy honking just after sunrise.  And there are no clouds!!!

A huge rose nursery. We saw acres of roses today.

Looks like breakfast to me! Good place to pick up sandwich supplies too. It was one of the busiest bakeries we've been in lately...........and we've been in a lot of them. Our campground host had recommended this bakery located in Lottam.

Waiting patiently for his owner to visit the bakery too.

Our first ferry of the day. Note the empty ferry.

Lunch time found us in Steyl, a monastic village that is the headquarters for the Steyl missionaries. Almost every visitor that arrived while we were there came by bike. 

Ferry #2...just a little busier.

Ferry #3. Doug revved his engine for the benefit of the motorcycle riders. They got the joke despite language differences. We barely made it on this ferry as it was so full of bicycles and motorcycles.

Finally a windmill that is moving!

Leon offered to give us a tour as they were just getting ready to grind some grain in this mill built in 1604.

It originally operated as a lumber mill to provide ship-building lumber for a trading company. He said the need was great because they were losing ships faster than they could build them.

Our second sound of the day was the giant wooden gears meshing above our heads while the windmill's sails whirred by the window.

The millstone is about 5 feet in diameter. They adjusted the grind using a big leather strap, definitely more art than science.

The ground grain will become cattle feed.

Leon's partner...we didn't get his name. It took teamwork to get it all working right and they were both justifiably proud of the mill and their work there. We think they had a lot to do with its restoration as well.

We really appreciated their kindness and hospitality. It is definitely one of the highlights of our whole trip.

The Maas River widens into several lakes and multiple channels in the area of Maasbracht. Good thing for the bike routes because navigating on land would be really challenging otherwise.

Hanging out in the beer garden again. This was a very popular place on one the few warm, dry Saturday nights they've had this summer. It was really hopping when we retired at 10:00. Despite that, the tiny campground behind the building was one of the quietest and more enjoyable places we've camped.