Bronkhorst to Winterswijk

April 26, 2019

One of our joys in travelling is not knowing where we might end up at the finish of the day. Regular life can be so structured, and when on the road, we are able to follow our instincts and stop when it feels right, or when the conditions force us to do so.

As in the case of Bronkhorst, it turned out to be a hidden gem that seems to be off the beaten path of foreigners. The place was full of people from Holland and we could see why.

Breakfast was so good - a great selection of meats, cheeses, fruit and veg, hot offerings, etc. Much of the food was locally sourced, including the dairy products from the farm.

The post box for the city of a Bronkhorst.

We have enjoyed our stay here in this hotel and village which seems like a place from another time. The roads are brick and cobbles, and the buildings are all from centuries past and well preserved.

The Bronkhorst Kapelle (Chapel), built by the Lord, dates back to 1344. It survived the fire of 1633 and much of the city was rebuilt. Today we enjoyed seeing the chapel, as well as this art exhibit by Louis Rinck, an artist who lives nearby.

We are really enjoying being back in the Netherlands. Riding here is a joy. Cycle ways are always available no matter where you are, and cars always give a cyclist the right of way. We knew that we wanted to ride about 70 km today and we simply picked some villages on the map to pass through. The network of numbered routes and signs to villages at each turn and intersection make it easy to find your way. Maps are fun to have, but not necessary here, nor a GPS.

The riding is good, but the wind and damp weather is bone chilling. It is hard to keep warm.

We came upon this farm with deer, peacocks, chickens, horses, etc.a place of contentment, we think.

This picture says it all. For us, the Netherlands and its infrastructure offer a warm hug welcoming us to ride and tour here.

This region of Gelderland seems to have a high number of horse farms. Here are a few of our favourites.

Reed roofs are a common feature in this region.

As we rode by, Barry rang our bike bell, and they came running to the fence, eager to have a head scratch.

Such a typical Dutch scene - airing out the bedding and the brick house with a reed roof and well tended garden.

We visited a bakery in Ruurlo and discovered that tomorrow is a special holiday, the King’s birthday. The bakery is preparing countless vanilla slices like this with the orange topping in the King’s honour. Most of the business will be closed in this small town, but the Bakery will stay open to ensure that the community will be able to celebrate with this special traditional sweet.

We also sampled this special dessert made to commemorate the birthday. It had a hard ganache like orange flavoured exterior with cream based filling, also orange. Both were delicious.

This features some of the desserts that the bakery is preparing for the King’s special day. We have noticed that everybody is getting involved. Store windows decorate with orange and the colours,of the Dutch flag: red, blue and white. Streets are decorated with banners of orange, Dutch flags are hung with the addition of an orange banner.

We had planned to ride on today to Vreden in Germany and stay there tonight. We couldn’t find accommodation that suited our budget, so we made the decision not to leave Holland, but to stay in Winterswijk. This suits us as we can join the celebrations of the King’s Day and have an additional day in Holland.

So far, it has been working in our favour to book something in the afternoon as we get really good deals. The Fletcher Hotel sounds good, so that’s where we’ll go. As we are nearly in Germany here, we have not sacrificed our progress by staying here. We’ll simply cut across country when we leave and make up time.

Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 322 km (200 miles)

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Marvin PaxmanOh how I love cycling in Holland. As we had brought our tent last year, we found out how very available camping was in rural holland. And typically on very nice grassy pitches.
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5 years ago

Barry BartlettTo Marvin PaxmanNice to hear from you. We are only in Holland 3 days this trip but we relish any time that we can be here. This is our 3rd trip here and we also usually camp. A number of years ago we found some incredible “small” campgrounds that were outstanding. You can see them on our journal, Following in Barry’s Grandfather’s WW1 .Footsteps
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5 years ago