Two castles - Kleve, Germany

The Hotel Rheinpromenade 8 in Emmerich is really very nice. And the breakfast was amazing. I sat outside on the terrace with a view of the Rhein River.

At my table, I was served coffee, this selection of meat, cheese and vegetables and a basket of bread. The buffet was laden with fruit salad, yogurt, boiled eggs, and different types of jam. There was also a fuzzy fruit that looked like a peach but was dark inside. There were only four on the fruit tray, and I’m a little embarrassed to say I ate 2, and thoroughly enjoyed them! The fruit tray also contained green plums like we had in Turkey, but smaller. I ate a good number of those and took a handful to eat later. 

After I ate enough, I set out for Kleve, Germany, across the river from Emmerich. 

Along the way, I stopped for a peek inside one of the churches

 

Along the Rhein -- there were cows grazing here, but you can't really see them in this photo.

The bridge is quite large, and they were doing construction on one side, so the bike lane was closed. No problem; there was plenty of room to ride on the other side.

Immediately after crossing the bridge, I saw a church tower off to the side and a sign saying, "Warbeyen 1 km", so I took a little detour. The town name sign consists of chicken wire letter forms filled with gravel. 

 

The city of Kleve, home to Anne of Cleves, is about 11 km from Emmerich, and Schloss Schwanenberg (the Swan Castle) is a pretty visible landmark, with a swan on the top. However, once again Google Maps led me astray. I could see the castle itself, but the route was not easy to see, so I followed the map on my phone. I think Google maps defaults to the fastest route, and it told me to go to the back entrance, which consisted of several sets of stairs. The first flight of stairs had a ramp for the bike, so I struggled to push the bike up. The next set had wider steps so I was able to lift the bike up, one step at a time. The last set of stairs were not navigable by bicycle, so I just locked up the bike and walked up. When I arrived at the top, I realized that I had come up the back way, but of course by then I was already there! 

The first door I tried to enter the castle museum turned out to be the courthouse, so after going through a metal detector to a desk, I was politely turned away and told to go to the proper entrance.

The view from the castle tower.

One of the sets of stairs I lugged the bike up!

When I left Schwanenberg, I decided I wanted to ride over to the church I had glimpsed from the tower. I knew the general direction, but once again, Google maps was not working very well. In  the crowded city, it seems to have trouble keeping up with a cyclist, so it lags behind, which makes it hard to use effectively. I rode over this little bridge and turned the wrong way, ending up on a path beside this canal or creek where swans were plentiful. It was beautifl, so I rode alongside for awhile before turning back to find the correct route.

Next, it was time to leave Kleve and ride to Schloss (castle) Moyland. The bike path was on a nice shady road which passed fields and some charming country residences. 

Even so, I was starting to feel the heat and the inefficiency of the bike. I had a liter of water with me and I drank a good portion of it en route to the castle; I also ate my green plums from breakfast. I was not at all sorry when I saw the castle peeking out from the trees!

The castle building itself is closed on Mondays, so I couldn't go inside, but I walked around the gardens and had a mineral water on the terrace of the cafe. 

The building and grounds are quite beautiful

My original plan for this ride was to make a loop, returning on a path that runs right along the river, but it was 33 degrees by this time, and I was pretty fed up with the bike, so I decided to return the same way I had come. I knew the path was shady and I knew where I was going, so I didn't have to worry about possibly taking a wrong turn (something I seem prone to doing!) 

Even so, I still managed to take a wrong turn. I saw a sign that said "Emmerich 12", and there seemed to be a bike path running along the motorway, so I thought, "Why not?"  Well, I soon found out why not, as the path took a sharp turn away from Emmerich, and I had to turn around and go back to the other path. I did get this rather marvelous view of Kleve, however, so maybe it was not all bad.

When I got back to the hotel, I enjoyed a refreshing mineral water on the hotel terrace before dropping off the bike and walking to the train station where I got on the train to Arnhem.

When I stay in a new place, I always like to have a landmark near my hotel. In Arnhem, the Holiday Inn is right across from this freaky statue, apparently of an aardvark! I saw this when I visited Arnhem in 2016, and it is still just as baffling to me now! It is definitely an unmistakable landmark, though. An Albert Heijn is right next door as well, which is very handy for someone who likes picnic-style suppers!