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Today's Route
Route So far
Travelogue
Today was overcast almost all day. Dark clouds that threatened rain but never quite delivered beyond a few (possibly imaginary) drops.
We cycled through and around towns, sometimes along the banks of the Rhine and occasionally through nature reserves, areas of green land adjacent to the river. There was always a backdrop of industry. Chimneys, cooling towers, chemical plants and other nameless industrial facilities. Lorries. Always lorries.
It was never pretty and never inspiring. Cycling felt like a chore. Get this over with. Get to our destination.
There were fragments of natural beauty here and there though. Bees on purple wild flowers. White Storks. Grey Herons. Rooks.
Coffee and pastries helped keep us going. One cafe had a bowl of sweets on the table for you to help yourself to. M1 wanted to tip all of them into his bag and enjoy them at his leisure. M2 explained that this sort of behaviour would be "frowned upon" and so the mission was abandoned.
About 20 km from our destination it felt as though we'd left the industry behind and were finally in some pleasant countryside. The sun even broke through the clouds.
In Xanten we bought groceries for tonight and proceeded to the centre of the town, looking for lunch. The town turned out to be lovely, centred around a large square with attractive buildings and a church.
We had filled baguettes and drinks at a cafe, sat outside.
The final 10 km were through more countryside. We arrived at the "5 star" campsite expecting noise, a swimming pool and hundreds of RVs packed together as this is so often what 5 stars means. But it's a nice campsite and we're on our own in a large grassy space just for tents, shaded by trees.
The sun's well and truly shining now. Solar energy is being generated. Bread, cheese and tomatoes are being eaten. C'est la vie or whatever the German equivalent is.
Tonight will be our last night in Germany. Netherlands here we come!
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