Niederrhein mit Tante Helen

[Wowbagger]

Frau Wow and I are off to Harwich in a couple of hours for tonight's ferry. Tomorrow morning will involve a gentle potter to The Hague for the train to Venlo. Then we will be spending a week with Auntie Helen pottering about from cake stop to cake stop. There may also be Bier, in the strictly Teutonic sense I hope. Solo machines this time.

We have only really devoted this afternoon to packing. I don't think we have forgotten anything vital.

Clothes
Passports
Euros
Credit/Debit cards
E111-alikes
Camera
Binoculars
Spares and bike bits
Garmin with map of Benelux/Germany
Ipad and charging cables/adaptors
Spare spectacles
Tea bags (Tetley)

Anything else?

[Kim]

Trousers!

[delthebike]

Anything else?

Ancient Mesopotamian and Sumarian to English translation book. I feel that it could come in very handy! 

[Wowbagger]

Trousers!

Got them. I am wearing some and I have a spare pair in my luggage. I could send some to York if there's a need.

Anything else?

Ancient Mesopotamian and Sumarian to English translation book. I feel that it could come in very handy! 

Which edition?

[delthebike]

Ancient Mesopotamian and Sumarian to English translation book. I feel that it could come in very handy! 

Which edition?
[/quote]
Heckler and Warbler A.M.S. to E. 2nd edition ISBN:80110X. 

[Wowbagger]

Ancient Mesopotamian and Sumarian to English translation book. I feel that it could come in very handy! 

Which edition?

Heckler and Warbler A.M.S. to E. 2nd edition ISBN:80110X. 

Yes, got that.

[Auntie Helen]

Funnily enough, Del, I looked at Sumerian and Mesopotamian history as part of my degree so he might not need the translation books.

We have had two days of continuous rain here but it looks like it's brightening up for the time the Wows are here.

We have many cycle rides planned - today I route-checked one for Saturday (that ten of us are riding) and discovered that some of it is a bit off-road so a diversion is being organised for the three recumbent trikers amongst us.

I also tested the cake at the café.

The Wows are going to end up with the impression that all I do is ride my bike and eat cake. Hmmmm.

[delthebike]

Funnily enough, Del, I looked at Sumerian and Mesopotamian history as part of my degree so he might not need the translation books.

We have had two days of continuous rain here but it looks like it's brightening up for the time the Wows are here.

That'll be a relief for Wow then as it is a weighty tome.
Sounds like you'll need Wellington boots though. I recommend forestry variety for visibility.

[Auntie Helen]

Nope, all sunshine forecast now. Hurrah!!!!

[Wowbagger]

Why is it always so early in the Netherlands?

It is very wet and murky-looking outside. The forecast, however, is for this weather front to sweep eastwards and to spend the day crossing England. Hopefully when we disembark in half an hour or so it will have cleared up and will give us s nice dry ride up the coast.

[epa611]

Weather in Cologne is dull and cool, but promises to be better this afternoon 

[Wowbagger]

We are now 20 minutes from Venlo and it is still dry and cool. We had a pretty good ride up the coast, despite me forgetting to load the routhe AH had sent us onto the Garmin, found the station at Den Haag with no difficulty and negotiated the chipkaart machine ok. There are definite signs of it brightening to the south.

[Auntie Helen]

We met at Venlo (I was at the tail end of a long ride with my landlord so have ended up with 93km for the day).

Here we are having a spot of lunch in Venlo



Later we stopped for cake in Grefrath.

The sun is now coming out, hurrah!