2018 Moselle to Luxembourg

I start my trip in Hook of Holland after catching the ferry from Harwich. I have 2 favourite campsite to start my trip with and this one is in Dordrecht south of Rotterdam. The first year I went through Rotterdam I was going around in circles trying to get across rivers, so now I get to the centre of Rotterdam and catch the river taxi. It’s a catamaran which has a large area for bikes, it powers up and hacks along stopping at taxi stops. At the campsite it’s the time to see what you’ve left at home and repack so it’s right.I go over to Venlo and on the way out there is an amazing cafe which is a wildlife centre for children. I then finally go down the Rhine to Koblenz where the Moselle starts. The campsite at Koblenz is very much a city campsite and very busy but the city is nice place to visit. From one side of the Rhine there is a cable car to the top of the hill where you get some great views and photos. Along the River Moselle there are vin yards on all hill faces, even tiny spaces are used to grow vines, even between house in the small villages they hang vines. The weather has always been different being in a valley but make sure you choose the right side of the river as there are few ferries and bridges. Even buying food when you see it as there are just a few places to stop to eat, that includes bakers.I finally make my way to Trier where you turn towards Luxembourg and meet the hills. When I got to Ettelbruck there are some mega hills and I decided to catch the train to Troisvierges, I had cycled the other way and I knew what to expect. The campsite there is good, again I knew there was a heavy storm on the way so I got a room for the night, I was in a dormitory for 4 people by myself where I could cook and eat and it cost me 5€, the train journey cost me 2.5€ and that was for the bike, passengers are free in Luxembourg. How brilliant is that, I have written to my MP asking why we pay so much in UK. I didn’t get a very useful answer.From here you can pick up the Vennbahn which is a disused railway taking you to Aachen. Easy, fast ride. I ended up in Maastricht with a campsite on the water edge. I decide to stay the day and look around, got up rode into town and found nothing was open, and that included cafes until midday. I sat in McDonalds and phoned home for something to do.Just north is Genk, and a little further along is the Limburg area. Her you will find “Cycle through Water at Bokrijk”. This is a cycle track that goes across the lake and in the middle you find you are eye level with the ducks. When I asked why it was built someone just said someone wanted to, so they did. As you cycle through Belgium at each road junction there is a cycle route number. But the number can be repeated so it’s quite difficult to track. I asked again why and it all goes back to when there were mines in the area and someone made a map of the mines and on each junction they numbered it, so in the dark people never got lost. The people liked it so the used it for cyclist. Another question I had was about the number plates as they didn’t seem to relate to any cities or areas. Again I was told they just give cars any number that comes up on the computer, so two new cars in a household could have completely different number plates. Personally I think the whole idea quite appealing.From here I just made my way back to Hook of Holland going through Rotterdam again.