August 25, 2012
We do it by numbers and ride through Arnhem
We had a lovely meal in the old centre of Zudphen. For a tiny appetizer we were given little patties which had apricots in them said to be from a recipe from the first known Dutch Cookbook. I then had some of the nicest fish I have ever tasted which was served with a sauce containing cinnamon and raisins. Ken was completely unsure what he was eating but thought it contained beef. We had a pickled salad, rhubarb and chips to accompany our meal and share.
The B and B has been very good and this morning at breakfast I was able to post yesterday’s photos where the Wifi was much stronger. No matter how nice a B and B is however we always feel more comfortable when we are staying in a hotel – may be it is because we don’t feel so bad when we do what seems inevitable with a large collection of bags – that is make an unholy mess in the room.
Today we started off in the country and went from one numbered cycle route to another like the professionals we are not. We were travelling beside the Ijssl River and at times we would have to cross it. There would always be a ferry waiting. If it was on the other side it would see us and come across to get us. These particular ferries were vehicular ferries as well and go only when they have passengers which seems to be nearly all the time. It usually cost about 1Euro each for us and our bikes. The last one we crossed before Armen had been operating according to the ferryman since 1260. I do love ferries.
Arnhem has a population of about 100,000 but seems a big city to navigate into. We were very proud of ourselves as we did not get lost once or have to ask anyone, we rewarded ourselves with coffee and a delicious apple pastry. Armen had been somewhere we had wanted to visit as Ken has a particular interest in history and wanted to see the places where the disastrous 1944 Arnhem Airborne Raid occurred. The landing actually occurred near Oosterbeeck about 8 miles down river from Arnhem. There, at the top of a very rare hill, is a an Airborne Museum commemorating the event and it gave someone ignorant like me a good understanding of what had happened, we could see from there the landing areas and the bridges they had been attempting to control. Outside the museum is a very touching memorial erected by the British apologizing for the misery the operation caused the people of Arnhem and the surrounding area.
Then a speedy ride down the hill to a cute little solar powered ferry across the Neder Run that took only bikes and passengers. The woman we met was a teacher. Now she has an electric bike she rides it from Elst to her job as a teacher which is up the hill in Oosterbeek. She says it is much better than using the car and only takes about 10 minutes longer. She doesn’t ride when it is snowing! She was lovely and suggested that we ride with her to Elst which was around 10 km away. She wanted to practice English and learnt three new words; dormitory suburb, awning and tertiary education and we were saved from getting lost and bombarded her with questions about all the things we wanted to know about ordinary Dutch life. Reaching Elst we found a supermarket then started on our way again but we saw a hotel and the ease of stopping here was too much for us and we stopped. Tomorrow is Saturday which at this time of the year is always a bit tight for somewhere to stay so I got on the internet and have booked a place at Venray – there will be no way we can opt out before we get there!
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Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 1,231 km (764 miles)
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