Kidscorner

Tuesday 19 July 2016

A bike tour in Holland



  
The best way to see Holland is by bike. We had a few bike rides and one day we biked 44 km We biked the following route :Wijchen - Ravenstein - Megen - Appeltern - Batenburg - Wijchen This took us a bit over 3 hours including a coffee, a walk and we had to wait for the ferry.



We started not far from the castle of Wijchen which is 14th century. In 1609 Emila, daughter of Prince Willem of Orange bought the castle and another important fact is that in 1991 we married in this castle.



We arrived in Ravenstein and biked alongside this beautiful pond


Ravenstein a little city with an old centre. Ravenstein was founded in 1360. To levy tolls for ships on the Meuse, vassal Walraven Van Valkenburg moved his castle to where Ravenstein is now  in 1355. A settlement grew around the castle of Walraven. Walraven is my maiden name but no I am not related :)


 When we arrived in Megen we came across another biker. A bakers boy with a basket full of bread.. This is the second statue as the first one was stolen.


This is a gate tower build in the 14th century which used to be part of the wall around Megen. It was used as a prison. Nowadays the storks live on top of it. We had a coffee opposite this tower.


We walked through the old town centre. People lived in this area since 2000 BC The celts and later the Romans lived here. Meginum was first mentioned in 721 as the capital of the county Megen.
Megen received town rights in 1357 and a fortress was built. Megen is well known for its two monasteries.
My mum always talked about "het broertje van Megen" or Bruurke of Megen (1868-1950), a brother who became well known because of his simple lifestyle.



Waiting for the ferry to cross the river Meuse


We biked through Batenburg and stopped at the ruin's of Castle Batenburg. This castle is from 527 AC and was destroyed in 1794 by the French troops. It still has its charms though.


This farmhouse is next to the ruin. You can see many beautiful farmhouses in batenburg


For centuries the farmers grounded their corn in the Batenburg mill


There is a pink bike when you come in and leave Batenburg. A bit of a challenge to get on this one. My brother  informed me that  pink bikes are placed everywhere on the route of the Giro d'italia. This is an annual bicycle race held in Italy , which passes through other countries as well.

14 comments:

  1. Hi Marja - love the pink Penny Farthing bike ... what an amazing route - with so many interesting features - let alone your wedding venue - glorious spot. Batenburg - always love that name .. and the cake we have ... it all looks so calm and relaxed - just wonderful .. cheers Hilary

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  2. Wat een geweldig mooie serie foto's en duidelijke onderschriften. Ik woon hier zelf maar vind het prachtig hoe je ons land beschrijft. Je bent het nooit vergeten merk ik :-)

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  3. Inderdaad een hele leuke posting en ik moet zeggen dat het voor mij echt een onbekend stukje nederland is. Dit smaakt naar meer.

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  4. Leuke fietstocht! Wij fietsten vroeger ook altijd van Soest naar Rotterdam en we deden er 4 of 5 uur over. Bedankt voor de mooie foto's!
    Great bike tour! We used to cycle always from Soest to Rotterdam( 75 kms).It took us 4 or 5 hours.
    Thanks for the beautiful photos.
    Wil

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  5. Wat leuk dat jullie in dat kasteel getrouwd zijn!
    Fijne week. Wil

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  6. Leuk dat jullie in het kasteel te Wijchen zijn getrouwd ik ben in die hoek van Nederland vrij onbekend. Dat moet een heerlijke fietstour geweest zijn, de foto´s zijn prachtig en het stukje geschiedenis dat je erbij schrijft maakt deze post nog interessanter.
    Groeten uit een warm Holland,
    Janneke

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  7. What a long bike ride you two must be very fit. Nice to revisit where you were married. Lovely old towns on the way. And you managed to carry a camera too. Well done.

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  8. Interesting route with historical and beautiful sights: castles, old town centers, the gate tower(former prison), the Batenburg mill, farmhouses, etc..
    I particularly love the monument of the baker's boy and the pond of Ravenstein.

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  9. It looks like a wonderful adventure! Beautiful scenes!

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  10. What a marvellous way to see the country. The pink bike is such fun, & I like the sculpture too. In the 1960s I travelled around Holland by motor scooter - not as good as a bike, but the next best thing. It's a beautiful and friendly country.

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  11. Dat was een pittig fietstochtje 45 km, je bent het nog niet verleerd! Mooie omgeving daar om te fietsen.

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  12. Such a beautiful town, love the windmill and penny-farthing bike.. Lovely and flat, just right for riding a bike.. Hoping all is well with you all Marja.. Love and Hugs Sue <3 xxx

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  13. i think biking is one of the the best ways to see and appreciate the scenery.
    thanks for sharing the photos. :)

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Thank you!!