We'd ridden only 180 metres this morning when we were stopped by a barrier across the road which was being raised to allow a barge to go through the canal, only.....there was no barge so we, and the dozen motorists who also waited ten or so minutes for no apparent reason, were totally mystified!
Why were we waiting??
Once we were able to proceed, we did a short sight seeing bike tour of the inner harbour canal, home to several restaurants and bars (none of which was open) before setting off to continue our journey.
It is quite possibly an unfair opinion of Duisberg as we were there for less than 24 hours, but we both found it to be a grimy and dreary city and were not tempted to stay longer. The city lays claim to be the largest inland port in the world and we glimpsed evidence to back up this claim as we left, crossing five or six entrances to the docks on our way back to the Rhine.
Once we were out in open country again with the cycle path closely following the river, we began to relax and enjoy the ride and the scenery, stopping along the way to rest on a bench and watch the river traffic go by.
After that little sojourn, we struck a 2km stretch of bone shaking rough path before we reached a bitumen road which led us inland to a smoother path through fields of wheat, corn and cabbages to the neat town of Orsoy. Here we stopped at a bakery where we each had coffee and cake for the princely sum of €5,50!
Expecting to reach and follow the river again, we were disappointed to find that the path goes across country.
This would have been okay if we hadn't encountered a strong headwind which was not a lot of fun, and by the time we reached Ossenburg and saw the lovely, big, shady tree inviting us into the grounds of the Schloss, we rode right on in, not realising we were actually trespassing.
When the lady of the house saw us she came over and politely told us that we were on private property and should leave, but before we did so we began chatting, and she told us some of the history of the house which she inherited and lives in with her husband and children. We were privileged to be shown by Karen, the owner, some of the extensive restoration work carried out in the house, including the four large, beautifully furnished double rooms, each with its own bathroom and available for guests. Anyone looking for a little bit of quiet luxury in the Niederrhein area, near Rheinberg, could do well to check out the website www.schloss-ossenburg.de for further information. We're not in the habit of trespassing but are pleased that we did on this occasion and met such a delightful lady.
We then left the schloss and prompty got lost. We rode about 3 kms before realising that we were going in the wrong direction and had to retrace our steps. (We're not lost, we just don't know where we are!)
There was more cross country riding in store for us and more strong winds to contend with before we reached the bridge across the Rhine to Wesel,
our overnight stopping place. After showers and a rest in the hotel, we managed to make our way downstairs to the restaurant for a meal, neither of us feeling energetic enough to venture any further.
WESEL
Saturday 7th July, 2018.
After breakfast this morning we decided to have a day off, were able to check in for a second night so have spent a relaxing day in Wesel, strolling around the town,
doing some shopping and being tourists. It's not a tourist town but very clean and friendly and we have enjoyed spending our day off here.
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