Again we ended up biking in 30+ degree weather but today it was closer to 35! We drove into the Netherlands to Hoge Veluwe National Park near Arnhem. The park is about 1300 acres and includes forest, grassland and sand dunes. At the park, they have hundreds of white bikes that you can use for free to explore the park. Despite the heat, we rode through much of the park. The best part was the sand dunes which looked like we'd travelled to another land. We called i...

Our second full day in Gescher found us exploring the area by bicycle. We rode through the town and the farming areas around Gescher. We also visited some interesting cemeteries including a cemetery from WW II where there were graves of both German soldiers and unknown Russian soldiers. After a couple of hours of riding in 30-degree weather, we enjoyed an 'eis' (ice cream) in the centre of town. They don't make ice cream like this at home! For dinner, we drove ...

After a pretty decent sleep, we were treated to an amazing breakfast of pancakes and bacon plus the usual German breakfast of buns, meat, cheese, fruit and coffee. They have the best strawberries I have ever tasted! After breakfast, we drove to the nearby town of Anholt to visit the "water castle", Wasserburg. It was built in the 12th century and is completely surrounded by water which looks more like a lake than a moat. It was heavily damaged just days before t...