Day 8: Maastricht to Duren

April 3, 2018

Our way to Aachen did not involve going back through the old portion of Maastricht, so we only got to see suburbs before leaving the area entirely. The suburbs were not quite as dull as Roggel, simply because some houses were white instead of brown. But otherwise, everything seemed very staid and conservative.

Standard brown and flamboyant white suburban houses

Leaving Maastricht we followed a fairly high traffic road, but of course with a protected bike lane. We entered into a region of hills that were actually very long moderate slopes. It was the type of situation where eventually you find yourself wondering just how long this slope is going to be. We were glad of the assist that our bikes afforded. Without assist these hills were enough to have us walking, which of course is not really the idea for a bike ride.

On the downside of the hills we were also glad of the hydraulic Magura brakes. Whereas one usually focuses on the parts that make the bike go, as far as riding fun is concerned, I actually find the smooth progressive action of good brakes as pleasurable as everything else.

The rolling countryside was green and attractive, but there was nothing really zippy to catch the attention. We did pass an American military cemetery and memorial. What was most remarkable was the careful way it was being maintained. The grass in the large parklike setting was immaculate - better than golf course quality - and there were orderly plantings of trees about. It seemed a touching sign of gratitude and respect, whether the site is maintained by the Dutch, the Americans, or both.

Although churches do not figure prominently in northern Europe, we did pass a Benedictine monastery of some interest, and at least one church with attractive two toned brickwork.

A two tone, two tower church at Lemiers, Netherlands

We passed into Germany just outside Aachen. As is now customary there is no fuss when changing countries within the EU. All you normally get is a sign noting the name of the new country.

We had planned to go beyond Aachen, to Duren - which would be a further 35 km. Looking at our batteries and the possibility of further hills, we thought it could be prudent to add a little charge. We had thought out this scenario and for that reason had along a double power (4 amp) charger. Our idea was to find a cafe and to take a one hour break while plugged in. Of course to do this we would need a spot where we could watch the bikes from a window seat, plus a convenient plug and maybe the agreement of the staff for us to use the plug.

At the first cafe we tried they seemed to have no clue about what we wanted and so it was a no go. At the second cafe - actually a doner place - I am not sure they understood English, or German, and so no luck. But a customer pointed out that there was a bike shop around the corner, so we tootled over there.

The people in the bike shop said that they were always glad to help out cyclists and so they stashed our bikes in a back room and plugged us in. That gave us an hour of fun time to both look at the bike shop and also a pastry shop across the road.

It certainly seems as if Germany has taken over as the number one place for the latest and greatest in bikes, displacing France and Italy. Maybe it's the monumental shift toward ebikes, that has affected the European industry so greatly. Well this shop was just stuffed with elegant examples of the genre. Reise Mueller seemed to figure prominently, but the coolest models, I thought, were from Cube. There was one little number with red frame and fenders and even red motor drive and battery. The staff said everyone likes that one!

The red Cube that everyone likes. I think this one is called the Touring Hybrid SL 500. Cost is probably about 2600 euros.

A gaggle of great looking kids bikes from Cube, mostly

Over at the pastry shop we found lots of tables by windows and lots of plugs, so probably we had not needed to bug the bike shop people. But the the pastry shop had another great discovery too. Readers of our past European blogs will know that bakeries figure greatly in the trips. And despite the qualities of French bakery, German shops have them beat. One of the German specialties I have particularly liked is the "Erdberen Schnitte", which is a simple square of strawberries on a cream base and with a gelatin glaze on top. It is harder to make than it looks. I have tried! And you really only find it done right n Germany, as far as bake shops go.

So here in our first German bake shop of the trip was schnitte, this one of mixed berries. Wow. Unfortunately we are a little early for strawberry season or these pastries would be everywhere. We will certainly be on the lookout!

First schnitte of the trip - great. However note that there is no heart or leaf design in the latte. That North Amereican idea may not have reached here yet.

Back at the bike shop the staff was not only helpful - going to fetch our bikes for us, but also were interested in our trip and in talking about trips they had made. They were very enthusiastic and said the business had expanded so that they were using several adjacent buildings as well. And they said it was fun working there. We could certainly see that.

Aachen marked the end of the idyllic and neat Dutch countryside and the start of a more urbanized northern Germany. Aachen itself did have a nice core, with several walking streets, but as we proceeded out the eastern side we found a standard city with miscellaneous retail and lots of traffic. Bike lanes came and went and we often were either riding the sidewalk or mixing it up directly with the cars.

Aachen did have walking streets but mostly it is a big standard city.

Aachen mostly looked like this - just normal city stuff

It was possible to see some slightly nicer city views, but I had to dig for this one. It is near to the river Inde.

Aachen had an Obi. Obi is interesting because it is so similar to Home Depot. Maybe they are affiliated or maybe one just copied the other.

The temperature continued to climb during the day, and at one point hit 22. We stopped to take off some layers, which put us at the side of the road with some clothes on the ground. That was enough to have a man stop his car on the opposite side and come across to see if we were ok. The man turned out to be a cycling enthusiast, and he told us about a trip he had done with his daughter, along the Rhine to Switzerland. He wished us a good trip, and was on his way.

This man stopped his car and crossed the road to talk to us.

Bike lanes came and went, all the way to Duren. In Duren we found the place we had booked easily, since it was directly on our route. Although named the Hotel Hilgers, it is more of a B&B. The door was answered by a very pleasant grandmotherly lady, who seemed very tentative about such matters as how to pay and when would breakfast be. But the actual place was first rate. Our bikes went into a garage and we mounted immaculate marble steps to our room. The room is at least 20x20, with tile floors, desk, fluffy duvets, balcony, and skylights. It couldn't be better, really, except that the wifi is a little slow.

There is even more to this room than seen in the photo - another bed around the corner, and a large washroom.

I walked to a Doner place just down the street and rapidly had to remember what little German I have. "Fur mitnehmen" - ah yes. 10 euros brought two giant chicken sandwiches, with lettuce and tomatoes and cabbage and gooey sauce, plus a large amount of fries. It's good we have the balcony, because we are relying on it to refrigerate one sandwich. There is no way we could each eat a whole one tonight.

Tomorrow we will reach the Rhine, actually completing the first stage of this trip. That will leave just 14 more easy steps to go!

Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 310 km (193 miles)

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