Tuesday June 14, Neukirchen, Germany

 

A beautiful morning on the Maas River

Ian got the bikes out last night and this morning we set off about 9 to do a loop ride across the Maas on a little ferry and then returning further downstream with another ferry. Conny had shown me a really good app called Kamoot which you can use to create cycle routes. We paid the full price so we could use it all over Europe. It is just what we have been looking for so we can work out where we can go and the distance, and it guides you as you are cycling. And even more Conny showed me how to hook my phone up to the battery on my bike. Brilliant, there is always so much to learn.

We set off following the route and after about 10 minutes I realised I didn’t have my wallet to pay for the ferry. I lost a lot of “brownie points” when Ian went back to the van to get it!!!

The Maas is quite a busy river and we spotted a number of barges as well as many private leisure boats.  It was just a short trip across the river and then up the other side. But soon realised that my electric bike had no power!! We took the battery off and checked the connections as well as the computer, put them back on and still no joy. Decided to continue on, although it is much harder riding an electric bike without power than an ordinary bike.  A bit further on, a new road was being built and the bike path was closed, so decided to turn around and head home. I kept trying the battery but no luck, and by this stage my thighs were really getting sore and I had to push my bike up a few hills. We were about 200 metres from the camp when finally my battery started working again…grrrr!

Packed up the van, had a quick lunch and then off to Conny and Hitten’s house in Neukirchen, on the outskirts of Dusseldorf. Filled up with Diesel on the way, our first time in Europe, and it was €2.13 where we stopped in Holland. Previously we had seen it at the motorway service stations for over €2.35. We got to Germany and it was around €2.00/litre, but it still makes it more expensive than in NZ taking in the exchange rate at the moment.

This is our seventh time staying with Conny and Hitten and it really feels like coming home. They make us so welcome and really spoil us. Parked Ruakiwi in the street and moved into “our” bedroom, where we are staying until Saturday.

Their garden is looking so colourful at the moment, a really nice spot to sit in the shade and relax, especially when we were given a glass of bubbles full of sweet strawberries! Conny had brought fresh white asparagus from the local grower, this is such a favourite of ours and we had it for dinner with prawns and new potatoes. What a welcome.

Ian and Hitten worked on my bike, cleaning all the points but it was still intermittently stopping. His bike has the same battery and when he used that it was perfect, so found out where the problem is. We are going to keep testing it out over the next few days to see if it improves, although Hitten found that by pushing the button on the battery he could get it going again. Guess we will sort it out as certainly don’t want to be buying a new battery.

A bit of a play with my camera and the wild
flowers while Ian returned to get my wallet!!

Ferry across the Maas

The campsite where we would have liked to stay!

Just for you Sarah Gordon!

We know we are in Holland

Perfect reflections at the Marina.