Apeldoorn

They have croissants at breakfast!! Yeees!!

Now all they need to do is sort out their frickin’ coffee machine and its overpouring tendencies.. 🙂

I decide to head out into the surrounding forest. I find a full-on athletic track buried in there and spend some time work on my runnnig form. Not!

There is so much difference in terrain in such a small area! I’m only 10k from the hostel and I’ve seen: Deep, dark, green forests. Arid, cleared areas that remind me of the Mallee. Fields of wheat. Fields of green things – vegetables I think people call them? A farm covered in animals. Tracks of mud, tracks of sand, tracks of tarmac.. everything!

MTB’ing in thongs, with slicks, no tools, a rack with tent and sleeping bag attached and no witnesses to such stupidity is fun and silly and fun and yay for being hyped! It was fun. The map I got off the hostel dude rocked. I could actually follow it. It was called ‘D? fietskaart Veluwe‘.

Found a very undulating track which was heaps of fun to ride fast over, pumping the bike like I was riding on a half-pipe. I called it ‘Wave Road’. How clever of me. Took a flukey shot of a fast moving train, almost on top of me.. bee hives.. remote cabins.. aerials for something.. all kinds of stuff.

I saw a wild deer! It ran across one of the tracks in front of me. No antlers so perhaps a female (according to the dudes at the hostel)? Some rabits as well and always plenty of birds.

Rode to Huug Boorlow and found the place I called ‘RGB’ forest. RGB as in Red, Green, Blue. Red tint of the fallen leaves. Green moss on the tree trunks and green leafy ‘rooftop’. Blue sky. It was a very pretty place. This could be my favourite place in the Netherlands..

Returning to town, I saw 29degC reported on the temperature gauge. Knew it was warm!

Sat in the hostel with a really friendly bunch of Dutch-speaking ‘walkers’ (English speaking too) and watched Le Tour. It was in Dutch so they translated bits for me. Found out they were on a walking tour thing – four days of 40k per day! One guy had a little book of other walks he’d done, with stamps from various walks and stickers and his own comments. Very cool. I finished the pancakes for lunch with some ‘brekkie’ jam I hassled out of the staff and apple stroop. There was also the Man with the Hammer! He was a bit of a character. I want his photo.. he walks around with a big inflatable orange hammer.. hehe.. he was funny..

Found cheaper net cafe 2euro per hour, near the station, on Hoofstraat(?). Open late too. On the way back hit Albert Hein (supermarket) and found… ICED COFFEE!!!!!!! Call the PM! Call the President! Call the Queen! 1.29 per hit of Emmi Cafe Latte Cappucino or Macchiato. The Cappucino wasn’t too bad actually. Quite sweet which is good and with a hint of chocolate (confirmed on checking the ingredients list..). Bought some ‘Deventer’ biscuits which are made near here, in a town called, wait for it, Deventer!

Might stay at the hostel a few more days (they have tour coverage!) and then camp, or maybe, I dunno.. whatever.. It’s pretty cool here.