It was clear but cold weather so we took our bikes, packed in warm clothes, a tent, warm sleeping bags, and we drove our bikes through a small piece of Germany and back to Holland to the small town called Diffelen. This is the only place for us nearby were it's possible to go (legal) camping in wintertime.
The campsite itself was surprisingly busy with small campers and little tents.
Unfortunately there was just one mobile sauna on the campsite which was, of course already taken. Fortunately there were also mobile wood stoves, good enough to stay warm in front of our tent.
At night our sleeping bags weren't as warm as we had hoped. So had to do our best to keep each other warm 😉
The next day, on our way back home we took a part of the Vechtdal Route, with lots of water around. Despite the rain now and than it was worth well.
Om onze volgers thuis of op vakantie makkelijk op de hoogte te kunnen houden van hoe ver we zijn met onze fietstocht hebben we hieronder een kaart geplaatst waar de punten op komen te staan waar we hebben ingecheckt.
Dit zullen niet alleen de overnachtingsplekken zijn maar ook leuke of interessante dingen die we onderweg tegenkomen. Er kan op de punten geklikt worden om de bijbehorende verhalen en foto’s te zien. Ook de gps data zoals hoogtes e.d. en de weersomstandigheden zullen te zien zijn. Uiteraard kan de kaart in en uitgezoomd worden om meerdere punten tegelijk te kunnen bekijken of juist voor meer details.
Met nog een maand voor vertrek richting Basel te gaan zijn de voorbereidingen in volle gang. De nieuwe fiets voor Kim is bijna klaar en wacht nog op de laatste onderdelen en de route is nauwkeurig uitgestippeld. De fiets van Arjan heeft ook nog wat aandacht nodig maar dat staat nog op de planning.
Mocht je benieuwd zijn naar de samenstelling van Kim’s nieuwe fiets of naar de route en hoogteprofielen scroll dan even door naar beneden 😉
As the summer is slowly coming up we started making new plans. Another bicycle trip is already in our minds. The plan for so far; Catch a plane to Basel in Switzerland, pickup one of the Europe’s famous long-distance cycle routes and hit south via the Splugenpass to Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy to finally end up in Roma.
Since Kim’s long-distance bicycle is sold some time ago, the first challenge is to find or actually build her a new bike. The idea in this is to build up a new Surly LHT bike ourself so she will have an 100% customized steel horse on two wheels. Will be continued…
“Country of flowers, windmills and bicycles” This is how foreigners often think about our homecountry. It’s also well known that half of Holland is under sea level and we have loads of dams & dikes to hold the water out.
This is a story about a cycle trip through Zeeland, the part of Holland famous because nearly everything describes above.
The whole world knows New Zealand. It’s discovered in 1642 bij the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. It was Tasman who gave it it’s name, named after Zeeland.
It’s early in the morning, the car is packed with two bicycles and camping stuff for a few weeks. Our route this morning is south-west, down to Zeeland.
We parked the car near a campsite to be picked up in a few weeks.
Cycling with a 7 year old girl is totally different as an usual cycling trip. You have to stop more often for a break, you can not make as many kilometers as you should like and kids need to play with other kids so once in a while so you have to stay on campsites for more then one night so now and than. But it definitely also has it’s positive side. I like ice cream as well, if travelling slower you see more in less km’s and as travelling with just the two of us you get to know each other even more better then you did before…
We did many, many dams & dikes.
Had many great views.
Had some fights once in a while.
Wandered around in Mini Mundi.
Took some boats.
And we finally reached Zierikzee again, the place the car was parked a few weeks ago.
Traveling with kids… just go with the flow, it’s not harder then travelling without them but you should just take more time for everything and don’t go as fast as you want. A little more regularity in the days is also recommended 😉
A Road trip through France, Andorra and Spain. Through Belgium and France.
On our way to Southern Europe we normally take the highway through the Netherlands, Belgium and France, this time we decide to do it different and drive the smaller country roads just because they’re more fun to ride. This idea takes us to some nice places, but we also discover that Northern France is boring and monotonous to drive through. And even more important, it takes too much time. We agree with family in Spain to visit, so we have to keep in mind a bit of a schedule. After a two day drive we still didn’t pass Paris. Things have to change if we want to be in Spain on time.
We decide to do it differently and in the end we find ourselves taking the highway cruising south, down to Royan where we can take the boat to the province of Aquitaine. With its capital Bordeaux, the city worldwide known for its fine wines.
However, we’re not here for the good wines, but for the beautiful weather and good surf on the Atlantic waves of the Bay of Biscay. 200% chill mode is definitely on 🙂
Driving The Pyrenees
Motor driving in the Pyrenees, not a single kilometer of the road goes straight ahead. Check the winding roads in our rollercoaster video below.
Our route through the Pyrenees runs from the Atlantic coast in the west to Barcelona in the east. I just give you a few catch-words for an impression what it is like: Camp illegal in the wild, cross beautiful Andorra, visit remote authentic villages, find cows on winding mountain roads and count millions of stars at night.
Sightseeing Barcelona
Founded as a Roman city in the Middle Ages now a days the city of Barcelona is home to nearly two million inhabitants. Located on the Mediterranean, with the Costa Brava in the north and in the Costa del Garraf in the south, Barcelona is a popular city to visit and to live in. We cross the city at high speed with our two wheel freedom machine and continue on foot for this beautifull city. We eventually end up on the beach…
We go on family visits, near Barcelona, for socializing and a nice glass of wine and of course to bake legendary Dutch pancakes, despite that it was a challenge to find the right ingredients.
Colorful Barcelona Market
Mercat de Sant Josep/ La Boqueria, La Rambla.
Probably Barcelona’s best-known market, ideally situated just off La Rambla, makes this market a can’t miss must see. This market is an assault on your olfactory organ with odors from fish to fruit. The sold food items ranging from ready- made salads of fresh fruit for the weary tourist to still moving crabs and lobsters that are literally right out of the water (maybe you want a whole sheep’s head !?). Not to forget the candy colored stalls that work like a magnet for any child (or adult!).
Sightseeing Paris
Just like all the other nice things this road trip to Southern Europe comes to an end. Holland is calling again and we have to head north, but we have one nice last thing planned for our way back. Paris…
Au revoir Paris.
Last easter weekend we visited some old friends who started their own 4x4 off-roadpark on an ex-military terrain in Germany. "http://www.fpmammut.de"
The Campsite.
Due to the cold weather the big campsite wasn't even half filled. We were the only ones driving on two wheels, the rest was driving in big four or even six wheels.
Campsite Pics:
The Cold Nights.
It was freezing cold at night. In our tent it was warm and cozy. When we woke up, ice glistered on our tent...
Cold Nights Pics:
The Mud.
This is what you normally come for if going to Mammut... Playing with mud.
Muddy Pics:
The Easter Bonfire.
On Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday in rare occasions also on Easter Monday, large fires are lit at dusk in sections of Northwestern Europe. These regions include Denmark, parts of Sweden as well as Finland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
Burning Pics:
The cold weather, the big hot bonfire and the warming whisky did make us sleep well.
In the summer we took the bus to Northern Italy to cycle across the country. Things didn't go as planned...
The road to Venice:
The waterways of Venice
Down the Italian east-coast
The hot mountains to Florence
Center of the Italian Renaissance, Florence
Train to Verona
As Romeo and Juliet in Verona
At last: Dangerous roads to Lake Garda
Kim had a very hard conversation with the road just before Lake Garda. Her arm showed deep wounds and at first they thought it was broken. It took nearly five months to heal 🙁
If you have to wait a weekend because the boat on which you would like to sail is not going, what can you do? Exactly, you make a party! In northern Thailand, where we would like to take the boat on one of the longest rivers in the world to Laos, we came across a party which was slightly different than what we had set ourselves in mind.
Because there were elections in Laos we were stuck over the weekend in a small town, close to the Mekong River. Well getting stuck is not that bad if you have the time, and we had. The first day was just chilling and enjoying being there. In the afternoon, a neighbour came knocking at the hostel where we were staying and told about a big party that night, everyone was invited. Without further ask what kind of party it was exactly we went to the party after dinner. When we arrived at the party everyone was already in a big party atmosphere, everyone was nicely dressed, there was music and traditional Thai dancing. In the middle of a large square was something big. Slowly became clear to us at what kind of party we landed. There was a coffin and during the party it was beautifully decorated with flags and rows of little lights. One of the partygoers told us that the neighbour was deceased and that’s why there was a big farewell party today. We celebrated with them that night until the wee hours. The next morning we slept until late in the morning and woke up from a speech that echoed from a big sound system. The speech was given by a Buddhist priest and we clearly heard the laughter of many bystanders. Curious about what this would be we dressed up quickly to hasten toward the noise. We arrived at the ceremony just in time to hear the very last part of the speech. After the speech was finished long ropes where hooked to the coffin. The coffin was then taken in tow by a number of strong men. A long row of onlookers followed. A big Mercedes pulled up beside us and a classy looking lady offered us a ride. All sitting in luxury we followed the long procession. The lady told us about her empire and the largest hotel in the region, which she owned. On a large plaza arrived, the coffin was dragged on a big pile of wood. The lady told us that we were dealing with a bonfire. On the coffin a long piece of steel cable was taut and the coffin and stake were doused with gasoline. At the other end of the steel cable a large flare was confirmed, and ignited. With breakneck speed the flare rushed toward the coffin, which caught fire immediately. Soon it was one hell of a fire, the bystanders shouted and danced till late… Our party weekend was almost over and we got ready for the long boat trip …
Finally on the boat to Laos.
———- Dutch Below ———-
Als je een weekend moet wachten omdat de boot waarop je graag mee wil niet vaart, wat doe je dan? Juist, je maakt er een feestje van. In het noorden van Thailand, waar we graag met de boot via één van de langste rivieren ter wereld Laos in wilden varen zag het feestje er toch iets anders uit dan wat wij ons er van voor hadden gesteld. Omdat er verkiezingen waren in Laos zaten we een weekend vast in een klein plaatsje, vlak aan de Mekong Rivier. Nou is het nooit zo heel erg om ergens om vast te zitten als je de tijd heb, en dat hadden we. De eerste dag was het chillen en gewoon genieten van het er zijn. In de middag kwam er een buurman aankloppen bij het hostel waar we verbleven en vertelde over een groot feest die avond, waarbij iedereen uitgenodigd was. Zonder verder te vragen om wat voor een feest het precies ging maakten we ons na het eten op voor een leuk feest. Op het feest aangekomen was iedereen al in een flinke feeststemming, iedereen was mooi gekleed, er was muziek en er werd traditioneel gedanst, zoals Thai kunnen dansen. Midden op een groot plein stond iets groots en langzaam werd ons duidelijk op wat voor een feest we beland waren. Er stond een grafkist en deze werd tijdens het feest mooi versierd. Vlaggetje en rijen kleine lampjes gingen over de kist. Eén van de feestgangers vertelde ons dat de buurman was overleden en dat er daarom vandaag een groot afscheidsfeest was. We feesten die avond flink mee tot in de late uurtjes. De volgende morgen werden we pas weer laat in de ochtend wakker van een toespraak welke galmde over een grote geluidsinstallatie. De toespraak werd gegeven door een boeddhistische priester en we hoorden duidelijk weer het vele gelach van de omstanders. Nieuwsgierig over hoe dit verder zou lopen kleedden we ons snel aan en spoeden ons richting het geluid. Op de ceremonie aangekomen maakten we nog net het einde van de toespraak mee waarna er lange touwen aan de kist werden gemaakt. De kist werd door een aantal sterke mannen vervolgens op sleep genomen. Een lange rij van omstanders volgden. Een dikke Mercedes kwam naast ons rijden en een chique uitziende dame bood ons een lift aan. Al zittend in luxe volgden we de lange stoet. De dame vertelde over haar imperium en over het grootste hotel van de regio welke zij bezat. Op een groot plein aangekomen werd de kist op een grote stapel hout gesleept, de dame vertelde ons dat het hier om een brandstapel ging. Naar de kist toe werd een lang stuk staaldraad strak gespannen en de kist en brandstapel werden overgoten met benzine. Aan het andere uiteinde van de lange staalkabel werd nu een grote vuurpijl bevestigd en aangestoken. Met een noodgang snelde de vuurpijl zich in de richting van de kist welke vervolgens met geweld in brand vloog. Al snel was het één grote zee van vuur en er werd door nog lang door de omstanders gejuicht, geschreeuwd en gedanst. Ons partyweekend zat er bijna op en wij maakten ons klaar voor de lange boottrip…
