Our first full day of the cruise dawned cold but beautiful with a cloudless blue sky. I had only booked one tour for this short cruise as I hoped to spend the rest of the time borrowing bikes from Brabant and cycling through the countryside to villages where we could sit out in the sun while having a well earned drink. This day ticked all the boxes.
After breakfast Emma, Day and I borrowed bicycles from the boat and headed off along a wide path beside the River Rhine. I had no idea where we were going so it was very much a question of just keep pedalling until we stumble across something suitable. Although there was beautiful sunshine the actual air temperature was 9C and at times there was a steely wind that cut through my light coat,
A number of people had told me that Holland was completely flat so I was quite surprised to find I was having to work quite hard to climb up an extended incline. The cycle paths were absolutely brilliant, running separately from the main road and having their own designated set of lights. It made me feel quite safe, although I was a bit perturbed to find that it was also used by motor scooters.
We eventually left Arnhem so I decided it was time to enquire whether the direction I was heading in would actually lead to my intended target. There was a young man walking a Staffordshire Bull Terrier heading towards me so I decided to stop and ask if there was any kind of coffee shop or similar establishment on the way we were going. He was very polite and gave me the welcome news that there was indeed exactly what we wanted in about three kilometres. I thanked him and headed on up the next hill with renewed vigour.
Shortly after we came to the village of Oosterbeek and some way through the town we came upon some kind of garden centre with a delightful cafe in front with tables and chairs placed invitingly in the sunshine.
It was beautiful sitting out in the sun and drinking our different choices of beverage. Emma had a Latte, Day a mint tea with fresh mint in hot water and naturally I had a Blonde Beer!! We were all delighted to find that we had expended 350 calories on the ride so far, obviously the effort cycling uphill had been with it.
Eventually we set off on the return journey as Brabant was sailing over lunchtime and we had to be back on board well before. The good news was that the return leg was mostly downhill and I was enjoying the thrill of speeding when I was overtaken by a lady on a large scooter who gave me a rather disdainful look. Apparently she had been trying to overtake me for some time, but I kept moving in the same direction, thus preventing her manoeuvre. The girls were watching it from behind and thought it was hilarious.
A couple of bridges before we returned to Brabant the girls decided to stop and take some photos of themselves with the graffiti in the background for posting on Instagram. It was a very colourful bridge with the graffiti very tastefully done.
The bridge the closest to where Brabant was moored had been the subject of the famous film” A Bridge Too Far”. We returned the bicycles to Brabant and sat down to some lovely lunch. Later in the afternoon I attended a lecture by John Hughes on bulbs at Keukenhof, which was extremely interesting, particularly as we will be visiting it.
Upon my return to our suite I found Emma in a distressed state. Her hot water bottle had burst and scalded her very badly over quite a wide area. The crew were very helpful with bringing ice and a lady first aider came up to see if she could help. Eventually some Aloe Vera was produced and Emma came down to the Gala Dinner. Prior to this I’d had a Prosecco as part of the Captain’s Cocktail Party, during which we were introduced to senior management of the boat and the Captain, who is from Holland. It was a night for dressing up so I wore a lovely red dress and the girls looked lovely in theirs.
We had a splendid meal with very good wines. For me my Chateaubriand was the peak of the courses. After dinner we went to the upstairs bar where there is live music and further enjoyed an Amaretto Sour for Day and me a Brabant Cocktail for Emma. Apart from poor Emma’s accident it was a very satisfying day on all counts.
How lovely to be with Emma and Day. Hope to see you soon. xxx