THURSDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER 2011 (Beware of Catweazle's...)

We've been told that we can't collect Brunhilda till next Wednesday. We now have a week to fill in.

We didn't want to stay in Germany so after some thought we hired a car from NEUSS and decided to go to the UK.

We weren't far from the borders of Holland, Belgium and France so away we went, with map in hand, for Calais.

It was easy to know we'd crossed into Holland, the land is flat as a shit-carters hat. The odd windmill was also a dead give-away.

We stopped at a small village called MAARHEEZE for a late lunch. We found a groovy cafe where the 'happen, tappen, stappen' thing happens. It was exactly what we needed - a pleasant place to sit, relax and begin to forget about our woes back in Germany.

Back on the road we were still making our way to Calais when I checked the map to see where we were. "Hey, we're not that far from Catweazle's place."


The decision to head north instead of west took half a nanno second and before we could blink we were on the road to Ijsselstein.

How we navigated the Dutch highway system we'll never know but we ended up at John and Mia's place.

This was the best move as a night with Catweazle & Mia is the best way to forget about motorbike troubles.
Although, with Catweazle having TWO Russian bikes, trouble was often mentioned throughout the course of the evening, followed by much nodding and laughter.

John cooked up a storm. We enjoyed the most delicious Thai curry before jumping in his car and having a tour through the neighboring areas. Even though the light was dimming we could see enough to appreciate how beautiful the area is. With the canals, trees and buildings passing by we learnt where the bike roads were. BIKE ROADS ... we couldn't quite come to grips with what we were being shown. They were STRAIGHT. Just goes to show we can have fun with whatever we have at our disposal (hhmmm, how can we have fun with a basket full of broken Zundapp pieces?)

We ended up at a village called OUDEWATER, with, of course, a great canal system running through the old parts of town. Many of the buildings dated back to the early 1600's. They are as solid as can be despite the crookedness and wonkiness of the walls. A great place...made even better by finding the Cafe Catweazle ... which even surprised OUR Catweazle! He reckons he never knew it was there ... yeah right! He did seem genuinely surprised though.

Back home the boys had to sample the local brew 'BOOMSMA', Pure Graanjenever. Smooth as silk it was and slipped down easily.

Thanks Catweazle & Mia for the great food, tour, music and Genever.
Hope we get to do it again one day.

See you in Tassie in a month.