Givet to Profondeville

June 2, 2024

We have had a wonderful time in Givet, our last stop in France before continuing along the Meuse to Belgium. We have loved staying at the family run hotel, Les Reflets Jaunes. The staff treat their guests like family and give the hotel a happy relaxed vibe. We loved it so much, we stayed a second night.
We also stayed an extra day because, for several days we have been dealing with relentlessly bad weather every day-rainy and cold, and both of us have increasingly been feeling under the weather. Added to that is our awareness and concern that Seavo is on borrowed time. With the unresolved problems that our tandem has, we are wary of Seavo’s potential to successfully make it to Holland. It seems like a good idea for all of us to have a free day.

For our final morning at Les Reflets Jaunes, we treated ourselves to breakfast in the dining room. The selection and quality was amazing. The pastry table was laden with fruit tartes, brioche buns, cakes and various loaves.

Another area with fresh fruit, cheeses, yogurt etc. They also had a station with eggs and bacon, as well as bringing us made to order omelets. There was another area with an assortment of breads and buns…..you get the idea, it was one of the better breakfasts we have had.

When we checked in, the hotel upgraded us to a larger room. We were appreciative but the fellow was very apologetic that one of the electrical outlets needed fixing. No problem for us. We enjoyed the larger room with a seating area plus a huge bathroom.

We love these old hotels with incredible windows and the deep sills. There is such character in these very old stone buildings.

Staying here has given us a memorable time as we will be leaving France tomorrow and proceeding to Belgium. The hotel is situated in the centre of the village and we were able to walk everywhere…to the patisserie, for groceries, sight seeing….

We took a wrong turn and ended up at the Givet Train Station. We liked these bike lockers…don’t think Seavo would fit!

The Meuse route we have been following…as you can see, we are entering Belgium very soon….in a few km.

Today promises to be a spectacular ride. We will be riding through Dînant on the Meuse. It is famous for its spectacular setting on the river with the soaring cliffs of the Ardennes behind.

As you can see on the signage, we have everything we need…upcoming towns with mileage, route names…La Meuse a Velo, also known as Eurovelo 19 and also, because we are entering Belgium, the number 5 refers to the local Belgium system of numbering routes. Oh yes, almost forgot the Dutch stickers! The yellow dots with the red arrow also signify the way to go. One could not get lost unless you wanted to.

What is the expression….an embarrassment of riches? Check out the sign…it covers it all. First: Walkers, bikes and horses welcome on route 8 in Belgium to Mariembourg and Agimont, and Second: Bike route to Givet and finally the Ravel route which takes us along the Meuse and Maas River in Holland.

The train bridge over the trail reminds us of a previous bike trip we did in Belgium years ago.

This rose bush is beautiful and massive, at 8 feet tall and just as wide.

The local church had photos of wildlife on their outside walls.

The translation of this information board explained in brutal detail the negative impact that Canada Geese and the Egyptian Geese are having on the environment, local bird species, and the condition of sidewalks and parks.

We are so in awe of the beauty of these cliffs along the Meuse.

This part of the Meuse River has many locks and hydroelectric plants. A great deal of debris flows into the locks. Special equipment with mechanical teeth pick the debris out of the water.

Image not found :( — We saw this bicycle tourer riding towards us. We had a great visit with Joachim who is from Hamburg, Germany.

Debris waiting to be taken out of the lock….wonder who lost their ball?

Boating along a canal is another form of slow travel.

It is truly beautiful here….we are having a marvellous ride.

The rock cliffs are amazing along the Meuse

We watched a climber scaling one of these rock faces

A beautiful view of the moat around the castle

This couple is explaining to Mary Ellen that because it’s Monday the castle grounds are closed. They are from Germany and are on a cycling tour. It can be a small world when cycling - we continued to see them for the next few days.

From a distance, the opening in this rock formation resembled a yawning mouth or a tunnel.

When the light starts flashing it time to hurry across before the walkway splits in the middle..yikes!

The route said to cross the canal . but when we got to the other side some major construction work was being done

And then we were met with this dilemma. We had to backtrack across the way we had come. We rode a couple of km down the road to a bridge that we were able to cross. A bit frustrating to have detour upon detour.

Canada Geese are everywhere along the Meuse

The Belgian flag is proudly flying atop this cliff.

There are a number of decorative saxophones installed on the bridge in Dinant which crosses the Meuse River. The saxophones are on the bridge to honour Adolf Sax, a musician and the inventor of the “sax”ophone in the 1840’s.

The bridge in Dinant uses saxophones to pay tribute to each of the European countries in the European Union. Installed in 2010, 28 saxophones adorn the Charles de Gaulle bridge. Why saxophones? Well, it was here in Dinant that Adolf Sax, the inventor of the saxophone was born. In 1841, he invented the saxophone.