The streets had dried from the overnight rain, but it was a dull grey start as we left the hotel and made our way through the industrial landscape of Duisburg.
Guidebook descriptions compare the region to Venice. To be fair, as it Italy, there were lots of canals and it all seemed to generally be in a state of disrepair, but apart from that, all thing considered, I’d probably recommend a Venice trip over one to Duisburg.
We didn’t feel compelled to deviate too far from the cycle route to explore further, so instead peddled out of town and back into more tranquil surrounding.
Where you’re ready for a break on the tour, you’re generally really ready. After passing through a disappointingly cafe-less village, we decided to deviate off the incredibly bumpy cycle track and head inland on smooth tarmac, where we soon arrived at Baumberg, where the local shop had a tiny bakery attached. We seemed to be a bit of a novelty as extra workers came out to look at us and try out their English skills. It was all very friendly, and boy was I ready for a sit down and some refreshments. This photo sums up my feeings quite well I think.
We enjoyed the break and picked up a few supplies for lunch while we are at it. Classic tour scenes…
Soon after, we stopped again - this time for lunch in the very nice town square at Rhienburg.
We more or less followed the river in the afternoon, enjoying some smooth tracks and safe in the knowledge that we didn’t have too far to go, so could soak up the scenes and stop whenever we fancied it.
We were aiming for a town called Xanten, which turned out to be a real beauty of a town and well worth a visit.
And not just for the ice cream shops…
There’s a whopping Cathedral and plenty of ‘old town’ building to see.
After a good rest enjoying the town square, we checked out some of the local sights the rolled out of town past the old windmill to a nearby campsite.
It’s not cold at all, but the temperatures have dropped sufficiently enough to enjoy a warm shower, which we did soon after arriving. All being well, this time next week, we’ll be fine dining with the gang at Fort Martin, but for now, it was fine dining camp style!
Total Ride: 60km
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