July 2, 2016
Fighting Torrential Rain to get to the Sweetest Little Campground in Holland
We loved staying at the small Hotel Delinde in Vijian. It is a family run hotel with a lot of charm and wonderfully friendly owners. We had hoped to make it to Maastricht for camping, but the slow exit from Aachen, the weather...and the weather...and the (unexpectedly big) hills convinced us to be more flexible about our plan and stop. We love the unexpected joys that travel can bring and so often it is the unplanned moments that we remember.
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We both really love Holland, its people, countryside and the feeling that it gives us. Perhaps we unconsciously had a slow day so that we could stretch out our time here before moving on to Belgium after Maastricht.
We enjoyed local beer in the lounge and then retreated to our room.
Little did we know that this area is known for hiking - people of all ages are walking the hills with walking sticks and staying in the local hotels - and it is also known as a training area for pro cyclists to ride and prepare for the pro events, such as the Tour de France. They love these hills. We saw peletons of lycra clad, lean cyclists on beautiful racing bikes flying through the countryside. We felt like an overweight tortoise trundling along in comparison.
The tiny village of Vijian has about 7 hotels and they are all full of hikers (and 2 touring cyclists from Canada). The vistas from this hotel stretch across the rolling countryside.
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The extreme and unpredictable weather is affecting every area that we have visited. The owner of the hotel told us that, the previous week, the first level of his hotel flooded within ten minutes of heavy rain. It is surprising as this hotel is perched on high ground.
The ride today to our destination should have been easy. We knew that there would be hills, but 30 km is doable, except that, the weather was crazy. The changes were dramatic from heavy rain that flooded the streets, to briefly clearing hot skies, to heavy rain and wind, to.....You get the picture. We spent the day changing into rain gear and getting out of it again. We took advantage of a few villages and then it was just countryside. So trees became our source of shelter.
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Anyway, we arrived at the camping ground muddy, wet and ready for a break. We opted out of staying at the first campground (Camping Mooi) as it was less than desirable - bad bathrooms, poor neglected facilities and a generally sleazy feeling. Old blocks of flats seemed to be occupied by foreign workers or refugees - we're not sure, but we left (even though we had paid in advance (8 euros). This tells you how much we disliked the place as we thought we might have to ride in to Maastrich instead. However, 400 metres down the road is another campground that we HIGHLY recommend. A family have created a camping oasis on their farm. Not only is the area for camping well looked after with nice views of the area and their farm, the building they have provided is exceptional. It is furnished like a nice home with a kitchen, eating area, fresh fruit and veggies provided free, frig and freezer, nice bathrooms etc.
13 euros gave us a pitch, free showers and free (fast) wifi. We have decided to stay 2 nights and use this as a base to explore Maastricht.
Today's ride: 32 km (20 miles)
Total: 564 km (350 miles)
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