It's not all about images

Traveling with the guide of Paul Benjaminse means avoiding the main cities and traffic. He set out a route for cyclists from Maastricht in the deep south of the Netherlands to Basel in the north west of Switzerland. (onbegrensd fietsen - Maastricht-Basel).
Of course there are many ways to go to Basel. The guide was a sort of roadmap how I could get to Basel.
Look at my IPOT for the statistics of this trip.

In my past holiday I crossed many beautiful villages.
Crossing beautiful places starting in Thorn, never seen such an un-Dutch village in the Netherlands.
Later I passed the Ardennes in Belgium.
In the guide stood something about a river I had to cross. There was no bridge, only a place to wade through the river. Well, that river appeared to be only a meter wide. I was a bit confused, was it the right way? Especially because I already made some extra kilometers in the hilly Ardennes trying to find the route to Sourbrodt.

After reaching Schoenberg I had a cold night. The camping site was situated in a valley with only one entrance. There weren't many people. It was a desolated place with a number of uninhabited caravans. It was beside a camping site also a trout farm. The season lasts only for 6 weeks the owner told, then the majority of the camping visitors leave. It was a typical Belgium site.

After the Ardennes I went to Luxemburg. After Schoenberg I had to climb to the German side of the Our river. This was one short climb. The heaviest so far.
After reaching the top I stopped at a guesthouse along the road to have my cup of coffee in the morning. The innkeeper was curious if I was riding the road to Rome. I gave him my roadmap and showed him that he was on the map too.
Then he told me a story he probably told every visitor who comes by bike on his way to Rome (or Basel as a part of it).
Some years back a guy called Paul Benjaminse came to him and asked the innkeeper if he was interested to be listed on a map as being a suitable inn or cafe and small hotel.
This would cost him 400 Euro he was told.
After hard thinking the man wasn't interested.
But showing the map the innkeeper laughed out loudly.
Later I heard the same story of other travelers I encountered.

Other images

I just passed a branch of the Hill, a river in the Ardennes, not knowing if it was the right path to Sourbrodt.

All the way to Luxemburg, hills, hills and hills

But finally (via Germany) I reached Vianden in Luxemburg.

25 Years ago my brother and I dammed a river in a similar way, until a farmer said we should let the river flow.

First images

The first town I stayed. Thorn, in the south of the Netherlands, is a beautiful town on the Maas (river) and the border with Belgium.

On my way to the Hautes Feignes in Belgium. Windy and time for a tea.

Hurrah

My three weeks long vacation has started. Tomorrow I'll be off blogging for several weeks. Or maybe I blog in when checking my email some where along the road to Basel (Swiss) or back.
Adios.

Croatia- Portugal

Croatia 15 Portugal 30.
No this is not a result of a Rugby match.
These are the temperatures. My mother in Croatia and my brother in Lisboa, Portugal.
The day after tomorrow, when I leave, temperatures will be mild too, but no hard rain like Croatia.

I'm going to sleep, bye all.

72 hours

The Netherlands played their eight match to qualify for the Worldchampionschips football in Germany. A 0-4 win over and in Finland.

Yesterday I tried to pack my bike but it appeared that I had a too short rope to fix the package.
For the vacation I still have to do a lot. I seems that the temperatures go down in the weekend, thats negative. Positive is that the wind is possibly Northwest and the rainchance is low.
Tomorrow so colleagues and I will be off duty all day or a part of the day. We'll be on a strike. I have to do some shopping. I still need 2 pair of cyclingsocks, new water bottles, a waterbelt (PET waterbottles might work too) an insurance, etcetera.

Co worker problems

My co worker has a serious injury to his shoulder. It started back last year. He joined us in the volleyball team and from that time it got worse.
Physiotherapy doesn't seem to work. The only thing is to keep absolutely rest. That he doesn't take. With the manager he agreed to stay home for a week to take the necessary rest. My co worker needs some more time. That seems to be no problem.
This is a small world we're living in here in Holland.

Another colleague has brestcancer. Now she has had the final radiation last Monday.
They warned her that pneumonia was most likely to occur. And yes she started to cough. But now it worsened. It seems that she has an irritant fluid behind her lungs.
She has had a punction and it seems negative cancer cell were in it.
Never fear the final consequence of life. But if it is so close what should you do?

Some colleagues say that she should go for an second opinion to a specialized hospital. Much to late, however I can understand the reaction.



After work I shortened the -to do- list. This evening I going to pack my bicycle much like I do when I go Saturday.

package list

Tonight I have been working on the list what I need and don't need on my tour to Suisse.
I'm not ready; there are many things on the list I got to buy.

My bank was so clever to send my new creditcard after they sent the code to activate it. I didn't know that after the activation I had to wait a week or so for the pincode to make the creditcard work optimal. I almost cut the old card into half when it came up into my mind to read the full text.

So yes after a hard day's work I had to do a lot of homework. uhh, I'm going to bed!

Almost blogging for a year

On 5 June 2004 I set up my first blog. It's so easy I said.
In fact it is. But to make a daily blog, to continue that blog for years that is something different. That's why I admire Sarah Ackerman. Everyday she writes her blog. And what to think about Hnk? She can't blog all the time, due to energy shortage and the deal with her sister and family to use the computer every second day. She put a photo of herself on the web when she was 16 months. Now she is 16 and a girl who has to study very hard.

Well about studying, not to think about momentarily. Next week I am cycling to Switzerland and back. Wonder where I decide to return.
Will I reach Basel? Of course! How will I return? I don't know. It's a small adventure.
Have a nice weekend!

Work

Work is a place where you can become yourself.
This work week is ended fairly good. (this is not common english I believe)
After a good start a weak Wednesday, a problemful Thursday morning, the Thursday afternoon where some problems to be solved. Different work. But the Friday had also something. The problems are solved. We know the cause.

Last Wednesday when I rode with the Nightingale team I heard that a photo of the start of The Ledig Erf team on Sunday April 24 was published in a Dutch montly magazine. 5 teammembers and me where prominently on the page, no not on the cover, as an illustration of a test about cycle helmets.

I was never informed, and they never asked me if I agreed with publication. In fact this guide should explain that. I could ask for a fee using my portrait or a free photo. Nobody is safe in the streetin this way.
What if I have said to my insurance I can't cycle on a racingbike due to an accident. The photo proves I can.
The guide is known as -de consumentengids-, a consumer guide with tests of products.

The Shocked Politicians

Did we ever see so many hypocrite politicians on the left and right side of the P. Spectrum?

No we didn't!
Politicians everywhere now state that the will of the nation will be respected and that the gap between politics of people has get smaller. There will be more referendums to make our choice. Referendums might be constitutionalised. The whole EU constitution has been an enormous breakthrough in our thinking towards the EU.
50 Years politicians said what we wanted. The peoples influence was minimal. Now we could say what we thought and that was shocking for most politicians. Where have they been? Arrogance of power? Or are they just hypocrite and cashing money from mother EU.

We never heard anybody arguing the existence of the EU, not even the right wing of one person party of Geert Wilders. He only left the political right wing party because of seeing danger in growing foreign influence in the Netherlands, the growth of the EU, the echoing of Turkey over the valley of Europe and above all the weak performance of political parties in common.

The Euro is depreciated much in the last weeks. Most likely the market sees the changes that are to come. It means a more expensive dollar, increasing export, leading to a more flourishing economy. That's what Holland needs, a stable, not to expensive Euro.

The Netherlands voted NO

Voting YES for the treaty for a EU-Constitution.

Now the results are clear, the loosers (that's me aswell) lick their wounds and say that their loss will be a chance for the future; The Netherlands might be stronger in the long term.
Any negativeness can be explained positively. That also counts for France.