Tuesday, September 15, 2020
This morning, the first day of my short holiday, I got up at about seven
in the morning.
Yesterday I loaded all lugage on the bike in the garage so I was ready
to go, so when Erika arrived home, we kissed goodbye and I got on my bike
for my holiday trip.
The start of my holiday
My plan was to avoid freeways but because I started a little later then I
had planned, I decided to use the freeway until I was a few kilometer
passed Breda.
On the boring (but fast) freeway
At the exit Wagenberg I left the freeway and coontinued my trip on more
interesting roads.
A lot nicer then the freeway
The first river crossiong was Capelse Veer. It is a free ferry because
some farmers had their land on both sides of the river and now everybody
can use the ferry for free.
Capelse Veer from Sprang- Capelle to Dussen
More nice country roads
A wooden shoe shop
After a while, I arrived at the walls of the fortified village Woudichem and
the tomtom showed me a road into the village
Woudrichem
I followed the directions the tomtom gave and came on a gravel road and
the road it showed me was up some stairs onto the city wall. That is a little
to much, even for me and my BMW so I returned and left the village to find a
better route.
Gravel road
Soon I was riding nice country roads again but I had lost some time in
Woudrichem so I set the Tomtom to 'fasted route but no freeway'
Near Woudrichem
After half an hour riding, I saw the first sign 'Slot Loevestein' and on
a nice road along the river Waal, I arrived at the castle.
A nice road along the river Waal
Nice in time, I parked my bike in front of the main entrance of the castle
and walked over the bridge to the gate.
Slot (castle) Loevestein
Inside the first gate at the ticket office
A nice maquette of the castle
The armour the knights used to wear
This castle is famous because Hugo the Groot a famous Dutch politician
escaped from his prison in the castle in 1621, hidden in a chest for books.
This castle guide told the story of Hugo de Groot
The dinner table
Slot Loevestein, inside the outer walls
After sightseing in the castle and around it I was getting hungry so I
went to the restaurant and ordered a nice lunch.
My bread and meatball lunch
After the lunch and a chat with a couple who also like motorcycle
travel, I got on my bike again to ride to Amersfoort, to
Motor Saloon, a big Harley shop.
The outer defence walls of the castle
The road along the river Waal
The second ferry across a the river today was The ferry
Loevestein - Fort Vuren.
The ferry Loevestein - Fort Vuren
A Survey vessel on the river, near the ferry
A churchtower in the distance
These roads are so nice to ride
An abandoned and dilapidated farm
The next and last ferry for today was the ferry over the
River lek at Beusichem near Wijk bij Duurstede.
Ferry over the river Lek
Nice road along the river Lek
At almost half past three, I arrived at Motor Saloon in
Amersfoort. It is a giant Harley dealer and I think they
have about a hundred Harley Davidsons in stock.
Motor Saloon in Amersfoort
I had a coffee and looked around in the shop. There were
some nice bikes but much to expensive.
From Amersfoort it is only a few kilometers to Soest. In Soest
I have a room in Stayokey. It is mainly a hostel but they have
seperate rooms with a shower and toilet too and it is not expensive.
Stayokay in Soest
I think there are almost a hundred young children running around
around the hostel, probably some kind of summer camp. I don't know.
A big group of school children singing songs in the yard
at Stayokay
I locked the bike with two locks and the steering lock and took
the panniers to my room and took a nice shower. It had been a hot
day and a little warm in my leather motorcycle clothes so I could
use a nice shower.
My bike at Stayokay
The plan was to have dinner at six o'clock PM but because of a
technical problem in the kitchen that was not possible. Fortunately
a nice lady at the service desk offered to call me, when dinner was
ready.
Finaly, at a few minutes past seven, I got the phonecall that dinner
was ready and I went to the dining hall.
A nice dinner at Stayokay
Tomorrow, after breakfast, I will visit the Militairy museum in Soest,
just a few kilometers from here.
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