Biking to Germany

Since we arrived in Enschede, it has been my plan to take a bike ride to Germany just because it is so close. Since the weather has gotten warmer and the rains have stopped, I've been threatening to go on several occasions now. Today was finally the day and it was a great afternoon of bike riding and exploring.

I started my trip at 1:30 in the afternoon by heading to the city center of Enschede. From there, it was uncharted territory. Thankfully, it's easy to get to Germany from the city center as you just follow Gronausestraat all the way.


Heading east towards Germany.


I appreciate the street name that tells you where you are headed.

The bike ride was very pleasant on the clear afternoon and although it was very sunny, it was not overly hot. After making my way through the small town of Glanerbrug, I crossed the German border and entered the outskirts of Gronau.


Leaving Enschede...


...and entering Glanerbrug, the last Dutch town before crossing the German border.


Leaving Glanerbrug crossing the Glanerbeek stream into Germany.


German speed limits in the cities, outside of the cities and on the motorways (in kph course).


Road sign for the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany.


Entering Gronau in the Borken district of Westmunsterland.


"Welcome to the Borken district."

After a short ride through the outskirts of the town, I arrived in the city center about forty-five minutes after leaving our apartment in Enschede covering a little over 10 miles in that time. I spent the next forty-five minutes exploring the city center and surrounding area before heading back home to Enschede.


Once in Germany, Gronausestraat became Enscheder Strasse.


Tower in the city center.


A picture really is worth a thousand words because without this graphic illustration, I might have been inclined to run over several people in Gronau.


St. Anthony Church


St. Anthony: patron saint of pigs.


Gronau Church


Dinkel River


Old building...


...new climbing wall.


Dragon-Cow or Cow-Dragon?


0.6 km to the Netherlands

Fietsen!

After three months in the Netherlands we have finally acquired the most popular mode of transportation in the nation: fietsen (bicycles). I've been the holdout because of how expensive bikes are here. Since there are more of them than cars in the Netherlands, I guess it stands to reason that they are more expensive than in the States but I've found some of the prices outrageous!

When we had trouble finding a bike for under 300 Euros (almost $400!) a few months ago, I was worried that we might never find bikes within our budget. Granted it's been more than ten years since I entered a cycling shop in College Station, TX and purchased a brand new Trek mountain bike for about $250, but have prices really gone up that much? We started asking around about used bikes and were told that they were scarce this time of year but my frugality (read: cheapness) would not let me buy a bike for more than 100 Euros (our neighbors put that idea in my head). Lo and behold, this afternoon we found two used bikes in decent condition and got them both for 250 Euros, still 50 Euros more than I wanted to spend, but I can live with it because Roxi loves her bike so much.

The ride back from town was wonderful in this delightful springtime weather. And the bike lanes are so well planned out in this city, it's no wonder so many people choose cycles as the primary means of getting around town. After getting home and installing our bike locks and my new bell (!), we took a ride around areas on and off campus that we haven't seen yet. It was a great afternoon and we look forward to more exploring on this long holiday weekend and beyond!








One of many Shetland ponies we saw at a farm just off campus.


A free range chicken farm across the road from the Shetland ponies.