Lena Maria Day 3

As promised, I will go over the cast of characters on our barge. Starred names are members of our biking group:

• Mary M. - who put all of this together for which we are all so grateful*
• Lucy M. - good friend and rider but prone to traveling accidents*
• Kathy M - Lucy's friend from work
• Margot Rainey - another Lucy friend from work
• Lorna W - was G's kids phys-ed teacher & Deidre's field hockey coach*
• John C. - another token male*
• Carol C. -wife of said male
• Sue P. - great gal fairly new to bike club*
• Sue M.- graciously has hosted all of our meetings *
• Karen S. - daughter of Sue M.from CA
• Cindy  M- another daughter of Sue M
• Roz L. - member of the "tribe" and officially the "dirty" girl of the group*
• Barbara M - Roz' cousin
• Joan H. - been together on several trips*
• Betty Be - another good traveler*
• Betty Br - Joan's friend
• Maureen S - Ski club member
• Joan W. - Ski club member
• Lucille B - Lorna's neighbor*
• Andrew L - my nephew

There you have it. Some of these folks were on our barge the last time we went to Brugge. I will do my best to get decent pix of everyone. We were having some technical issues with the camera -lots of fuzzzy shots..

OK - moving on. The girls were up late last night. I had to get some rest so couldn't stay up and play. Maybe I'll have more energy tonight - managed to get a decent night's sleep. Today's ride should be somewhat easier than yesterday. Some folks had a tough time pumping up the last long hill. I have to admit it was a hump especially with these bikes that weigh a ton! The weather could not be better. It is going to be even warmer today. Glad I brought all those turtle necks and sweathers, not to mention all that rain gear schlepped with us. Well there is Scotland, York, London, and Reykajvik to go.

more later...
We sailed for a while in the morning and then we were off right after

breakfast.This bicycle tour is called the Hanseatic Tour named after the Hanseatic League. Which was a trading belt between cities - mainly German and Scandanavia. Our first stop this morning was Bronkhurst, which was part of this league. A very quiet hamlet that looked like a film set. Time for a cup of coffiee and a walk around town. Back on the bikes we had a lovely ride through the countryside. Warm sun and cool breezes guided us into Zutphen where we had our lunch in the town square. More meandering around town - ice cream and peeking in shops.

Thomas explained that we would be crossing the river two times by ferry.

Stopped at a strawberry stand to pick up something to munch during our crossing. Managed to all squeeze on the tiny ferry. Of course there was a bar at the end of the road from the ferry. It was a great time for a beer stop right before the short ride back. 3 miles later we were entering Deventer where we will spend the night.

Our after dinner stroll around town took us past a  famous bakery known for some sort of breakfast pastry. More interesting than that was Holland's oldest building. And of course, lots of churches. These churches have had the all the statutes (icons) gone as well as the stained glass during the Calvinist era when the Protestants came to town.

There is a women's sewing circle outside on the deck and Andrew is playing cards with Cindy and Kathy, who keeps changing the rules. Sunset was gorgeous and we are all looking forward to yet another beautiful day tomorrow.

Next time ...Kempen