Day 3: 80km / current location: LINK
We picked up our bikes from the underground bicycle parking garage relatively early and got on our way around 9 am out of s'-Hogenbosch. Nothing really impressed us about the town when we walked around after dinner last night. Dinner itself was average at a Greek restaurant. So, I really can't give this town or it's establishments much a favourable rating.
Our streak of good weather had come to an end when a light rain started. Nothing really that would stop us from riding so we donned our jackets and kept moving along the way. We stopped to pick up groceries for breakfast and lunch along the way at a small grocery store. Amazing how many choices of breads, cheeses and hams they had in such a small place.
I forgot to mention that our route pretty much follows the Dutch "Lange Fiets" (long bicycle) routes which are all over Holland. They typically go through the more scenic side, and avoid towns and heavy traffic areas. Of course in order to do so they don't exactly take a straight path between point A and B. It is meant for those (like us) who value the journey more than just getting there as quickly as possible.
The scenery is starting to change as we head more into the southern part of Holland. The landscape and smaller towns remind us more of Belgium which is not that far away. The farms have a wilder look to them vs the more organized ones up in the northern and western part of Holland. The accents of the people is starting to sound more Flemish too, where the "G" sounds softer than the typical Dutch guttural "Ggrrrr". Pretty soon more hills will appear too...
The rain started to get heavier as we crossed over from the province of Brabant into Limburg. I found a small hotel further ahead on the iPhone and plotted a more direct route to it. I was feeling a little more fatigued today with my cold, so Linda did more of the duties leading the way into the wind while I tried to stay close behind to get a draft.
We got to the town of Nederweert around 5pm and didn't have difficulty finding the small hotel in this little town. Nice to take a nice warm shower and get out of our damp riding gear. Found a nice Belgian style restaurant in the town square where we had one of our best meals so far.
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| Had a lot more dirt paths today. Still very nice to ride on. |
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| The sun came out for our breakfast stop. |
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| Pretty windmill along the route. |
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| Walt catching up to Linda |
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| This house had a large selection of wicker animals in the front yard. I didn't see an Arc nearby.. |
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| Beautiful draft horses watching us go by. |
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| One small town looked like it was getting ready for some sort of race today, |
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| The weather was nice on this section of the ride too |
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| Found this memorial near a forest to an American soldier who led the liberation of this part of Holland during WWII |
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| The plaque has more about him. |
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| Walt taking a break along the way.. |
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| Stopped by a farm that had a vending machine outside selling fresh strawberries. Linda was happy. |
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| My dinner of delicious mossels.. |
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| Linda's salmon and pasta. |
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| It wouldn't be a Belgian restaurant without frites, mayo, and a good Trappist beer |
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| Nederweert. Our restaurant was right next to the church. |
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