After Otterlo (see previous blog) I moved to a tiny little village by the name of Acquoy in the western part of a region called De Betuwe, known for its fruit trees.
I camped in a lovely place, only 100 meters from the dike bordering the river Linge. I wanted to go there because the street I live in in Tilburg is called Lingeand I wanted to see how that river looked. It looked stunningly beautiful….
The camp site in Acquoy was owned by a nice couple. The guy drove around in a golf cart, even if the place was rather small (I try to look for the smaller camp sites), but of course there may be a reason for that. He knew all our names by heart, and came to see if you were okay every day. The caravans and campers were put in a circle around a field bordered by trees and bushes, I was there as well, it created a nice sense of intimacy. Some others were on the other side of the trees and bushes around our field, facing endless fields of some crops (could not figure out what it was).
But being there was because of the river, so I did cycle on the dikes bordering the river, and I loved it. At times it was a bit tricky, either because of the wind (it felt sometimes like the wind could blow me off the dike into the river) or the cars, the dike was very narrow and trying to go to the side to let the cars pass sometimes caused a feeling of ouaaaaaa, keep your balance….. One of the nice things was that at some point I had to cross the river on a very small ferry carrying only bicycles and pedestrians to the other side. The lady running the ferry also ran a café, she had lived at that very spot her whole life. But it was also really nice to discover the beautiful little villages of Acquoy (where almost everybody greeted me when I was walking around there), Rhenoy, Beesd, Heukelom, and Asperen, and even the city of Leerdam, famous for its high quality glass industry. I visited the glass museum, thus finding out interesting stuff about the making of class objects but also about some famous designs and designers. It is a pleasure to discover beautiful places in my own country!
After being at home for about two weeks, and enjoying being there as well, I drove to Epen in the most southern part of the Netherlands (province of Limburg). You would not think you are in the Netherlands, it a quite hilly, whilst the rest of the country is totally flat, or should I say mostly flat? Now cycling in the hills with a normal bike is not easy, I could not make it up all the hills and had to walk, but going down the hills at high speed and the wind in my hair was phenomenal, you feel invincible, and as you know every time you have to climb a hill there is a way down the hill…… The small camp site was at a farm, a dairy farm, the cows were in the field next to us, I could hear them graze. It was on a hill and the views were lovely. The light just before sunset is soft and beautiful and it was a feast for the eyes to go for a stroll around the camp site after dinner. What I like about the hills is that you can look away, good views and lots of space everywhere. Walking there was great, I did that as well, but the trails were not really marked and sometimes covered with freshly cut grass so you cannot really see where you are supposed to go, and reading the available maps is a skill in itself, which I do not fully master (yet). I got lost, I have to admit, but I loved the trails before I got lost!
Going to the supermarket was going down the hill, cross two meadows, walk past a very nice café and terrace with great views, walk through a small forest and there it was. The weather was really good for the whole week, no rain, no wind, and lots of sunshine. And the last day I helped somebody who lived very near the campsite picking cherries, it almost felt like being ‘a local’, which was fun!!!
I am currently at home planning for my next trip to Belgium and France. The planning bit is against the principle of ‘freedom’ which is supposed to be the basis of my travels, but anyway….. it could proof to be useful.
