Stories of our Journey East 2025
Travels by Motorhome and Bicycle on the Mainland of Europe
England-Netherlands-Germany-
Margaret Williamson
April 2025
See also the associated Images of our Journey East 2025
In early April, Schengen endowed us with another 90 days of her less than munificent time. Here is an account of some of the uses to which we put this gift while we may: the next 90 day release will not become available until the beginning of October!
April 2025
See also the associated Images of our Journey East 2025
In early April, Schengen endowed us with another 90 days of her less than munificent time. Here is an account of some of the uses to which we put this gift while we may: the next 90 day release will not become available until the beginning of October!
Arriving yet again at the Hook of Holland on the Stena Ferry from Harwich on 7th April, we drove straight to the peaceful campsite of Beek en Hei in Otterlo, our eleventh visit since we first discovered the site in 2016. On learning of my anniversary, Marc came round with a bottle of good French wine, a beautiful handwritten card and a promise that a platter of Chinese dumplings would appear at our door in the late afternoon, hand-made by his wife Lili and daughter Charlem! And so they did: a first for us, dumplings stuffed with chopped pork & vegetables, flavoured with the special herbs that Lili grows in her kitchen garden. We were really touched with the care they took and the results were delicious.
Earlier that day we cycled the Fietspads (cycle paths) to the small town of Barnefeld and enjoyed coffee with ham & cheese croissants and cakes at the bakery, sitting out at the pavement cafe. It was one of five rides (average 40 km each) over the week since arriving. Otterlo is at the heart of the Hoge Veluwe national park, our favourite part of the Netherlands, with gently rolling paths through woods and across heathery moorland, though ‘High Veluwe’ is a slight exaggeration! At least it’s above sea level, with a landscape distinct from the usual canals, tulip fields and windmills. Barry is working on a YouTube video of cycling in the area, along with photos for our website.
Now we have moved on, across the open border to Germany, and cycled around the town of Xanten in North Rhine Westphalia. It is known for its Archaeological Park (APX), which has grown into one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the world, covering the site of the Roman settlement Colonia Ulpia Traiana founded on the Roman frontier by the Emperor Trajan. Of course you know it has special memories for me, as one of a team of students working on the early excavation of the site in the summer of 1969, under the direction of Herr Professor Dr Dr Binding of Cologne University. If you get two doctorates, you get two titles in Germany! All the other students there were German, from Binding’s department, and male, so I was made very welcome! Excavations still continue every summer, 56 years since I was there at the very start of the work. The adjacent modern town of Xanten on the Rhine is also interesting, with medieval walls, a working flour mill/shop/cafe and a large cathedral (much restored since the bombing in WW2). It is supposed to commemorate the site where three early Christian martyrs - Roman soldiers - were put to death for their beliefs. Tomorrow we travel on, towards Dresden and its more famous cathedral. Xanten is a hidden gem, with far less tourists. I could definitely live here.
Earlier that day we cycled the Fietspads (cycle paths) to the small town of Barnefeld and enjoyed coffee with ham & cheese croissants and cakes at the bakery, sitting out at the pavement cafe. It was one of five rides (average 40 km each) over the week since arriving. Otterlo is at the heart of the Hoge Veluwe national park, our favourite part of the Netherlands, with gently rolling paths through woods and across heathery moorland, though ‘High Veluwe’ is a slight exaggeration! At least it’s above sea level, with a landscape distinct from the usual canals, tulip fields and windmills. Barry is working on a YouTube video of cycling in the area, along with photos for our website.
Now we have moved on, across the open border to Germany, and cycled around the town of Xanten in North Rhine Westphalia. It is known for its Archaeological Park (APX), which has grown into one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the world, covering the site of the Roman settlement Colonia Ulpia Traiana founded on the Roman frontier by the Emperor Trajan. Of course you know it has special memories for me, as one of a team of students working on the early excavation of the site in the summer of 1969, under the direction of Herr Professor Dr Dr Binding of Cologne University. If you get two doctorates, you get two titles in Germany! All the other students there were German, from Binding’s department, and male, so I was made very welcome! Excavations still continue every summer, 56 years since I was there at the very start of the work. The adjacent modern town of Xanten on the Rhine is also interesting, with medieval walls, a working flour mill/shop/cafe and a large cathedral (much restored since the bombing in WW2). It is supposed to commemorate the site where three early Christian martyrs - Roman soldiers - were put to death for their beliefs. Tomorrow we travel on, towards Dresden and its more famous cathedral. Xanten is a hidden gem, with far less tourists. I could definitely live here.