While in Maastricht we decided for the next leg of our trip to follow the Maas north toward where it runs into the Rhine. How far we go will depend on inclination and time.
One of the Eurovelo routes (long distance cycling routes) follows the Maas, so we jumped on it in Maastricht. (The same river is called the Meuse further south and upstream in France.) One of the apps I'd downloaded provides excellent turn by turn navigation on the Maas. We were able to pick up the path less than a kilometer from our hotel and off we went. As it turned out, the route is very well marked so we only had to refer to the app a few times to check that we were on the right path.
We were cycling on a mix of cycle paths and good bike lanes through small towns. Outside the towns we were in open terrain or farm fields: some wheat, a lot of corn and some we couldn't identify. There were many other cyclists out on the paths: fast groups of roadies, folks older than us cruising along, and we even met one couple on a tandem.
Early in the afternoon we stopped at a little cafe for a some cake and a cool drink.
There is a small ferry crossing there and we saw a steady stream of cyclists taking the ferry across (both directions). Occasionally we saw a car on the ferry too.
We'd reserved a room at the Brasserie Lakerhof in the small and sleepy village of Ohé en Laak (48 very flat km for the day). Although the restaurant is supposed to be very good, they are closed on Tuesdays. The nearest restaurant open was in Belgium: about a 1 km walk and a short ferry ride across the river. The ferry was packed with us (on foot) plus eight bikes and riders.
Cows cooling off in the Maas.
With dinner we enjoyed glasses of excellent Grimbergen beer (Hi, John!).
After recrossing the river we had a cone of gelato at this shop near our hotel. Best gelato we've had so far on the whole trip. Yum!
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