Arrival at B&B in Undeloh
Barn where Tosca slept
Restaurant in Undeloh where we had a drink
Noel and me at restaurant in Undeloh
Riding a sheep: mehh! Pas de mais!
Lueneburgerheidschnucke, an old and primitive breed of sheep
The boys went to sleep at 9 pm. Real veterans as they are, already having biked from Holland to Santiago in one run (2000km?) and from home non stop to Rome (another 2000 km), to mention just a few, so really profies as they are, they thought it necessary to go early in the “puce”. My first night in this new lightweight, single tent. Yesterday evening I first worked until 10 pm. at my blog, caring for the dog, infrastructuring, sms, telephone etc. And at 10. I was ready for the night.
Noel blew the reveille at 6:30. A thousand times damn. Man, are you retarded? If we now start we’ll be in Undeloh at 1 p.m. already and then? The experienced long-distance cyclists did not sleep a wink. From the cold. Wimps! “Ouwe leim!” (Oldies).
We took a shower in the sanitary block. There was a stove upon which we hung out our wet gear in order to dry, until we noticed after 20 min., the entire bathhouse was filled with “zjwaam” (smoke). We reorganized the stove and stuff, and soon everything was fix und fertig again.
Dirty, cold weather, something between mist and drizzle. According to the veteran bikers Kit Bush weather (whatever that may be. Who the fu .. is Kate Bush, I wondered?). But I understood that that meant shit. The Lüneburgerheide impressed me by its beauty: beautiful heather landscapes, barns with Heidschnucke (moorland sheep) many wooden farm houses and barns with thatched roofs.
Furthermore, we saw many disurbed dolmen remains. And quite a few burial mounds from the ancient Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC.), The same as in our Vijlenerbos-wood home. Again many juniper thickets, that in our Limburg region no longer rejuvenate, so are getting rare . In various forms: hanging shrub, upright cipres shape and everything in between. Henk Ms. Hilligers since 2 weeks late, biologist, who got a phd in sheep grazing, in history of sheepherding and effects of the herdwick, has successfully tackled the conservation / restoration of the Mergelland sheep breed that I keep, and among others was occupied with redistributing juniper thickets. I learned a lot from him, had a lot of laughs with him and now, here on the moor, I have many associations with him.
Noël and Lee booked a room in a farmhouse. The farmer and his wife, both 80 plus, milked 22 cows, drove a tractor Deutz from 1968. Their five carriage horses they had just sold. Dad came in with the chainsaw in his hand. Holy sh.., pretty cool, isn’t it.. Lei and Noël checked whether there was a gap between thei r2 mattrasses, otherwiser there was a risk that they both would roll to the middle. I got a single room just for me: a bed with a ceiling right above it. Whether that was a problem for me? Oh no, as long as the ceiling doesn’t fall down. As a student I lived so for years, I reassured her. I had a shower for me alone. Too bad, I’m not getting gepoekeld (miner’s term for washing each other’s back). Noël and Lee appear not to need a shower. They simply tap the sweat from their bodies. Nutterts! (Dirty old men).
Noël Lee insisted to film me sitting on a sheep. O.K., if I can make you happy that way. Was a French sheep. While sitting on it that sheep says meeeehhh. I answered: pas de mais.
