We leave our artsy hotel in Maastricht for a nice uphill ride into Aachen. victor and Nadia decide to take the train instead, as Nadia’s aches are still slowing her roll. Julianna and I encounter heavy traffic along much of the route, but thanks to the excellent bike path, it’s little more than a nuisance. In Aachen we meet back up with our friends and explore this most historic city, the capitol of medieval Europe. then we say goodbye to Victor and Nadia and head out on the Vennbahn, an incredible 125-kilometer rail trail that leads into the heart of the Ardenne region along the German Belgian border. After a steady climb and a gorgeous ride, we reach the enchanting half-timbered village of Monschau, where we stop for the night. An absolutely incredible day!
If you’re interested in checking out our planned route, we’ve included a link below. Bear in mind that we took deviations from time to time which might not be shown here, but this is 99% accurate!
https://www.komoot.com/tour/2712955948?share_token=aeq7TIKLO4dmhXXQ47i1Bsck7K9vnfXHdiU2jdkLysMbJ4oC10&ref=wtd
Music
Ever Forward – Francis Wells
Epidemic Sound
It’s Late – Riverworn
Epidemic Sound
On A Wire – The Eastern Plain
Epidemic Sound
It Really Makes Me Wonder – Loving Caliber
Epidemic Sound
Kyrie, Eleison – Silver Maple
Epidemic Sound
Moonlight – Witchitaw Slim
Epidemic Sound
Worth The While – Kata
Epidemic Sound
I Will fool You – Bothnia
Epidemic Sound
Sunrise – Victor Lundberg
Epidemic Sound
Moon Vision – Chris Haugen
YouTube Audio Library
22 Comments
Wonderful Video! Thank you.
Well done!
Youtuber "The Tim Traveller" has made a fun to watch video explaining the, what he called, "borderline insane" history of the Vennbahn
Les Ardennes (massif montagneux) sont aussi en France et font partie de ma région Champagne-Ardennes.
De grandes forêts avec beaucoup de sangliers et autres animaux des bois.
Nice video again. Too bad you started the day along the most direct and awfull car road between Maastricht and Aachen. As you discovered later you should have gone a little more south: this part of Limburg province is the most beautifull and most popular bicycle territory of the Netherlands. But you did get some of it in the afternoon!
Monschau is one of the most beautiful villages in the world. Nice (brave) drone shots!
I've done the Vennbahn a lot. Every time I try to do something else, but nope, once I'm on it's so easy I just stay on. Don't forget you're going from almost sea level to over 650 meter altitude.
Did you carry camping gear in case hotels are full? A super light emergency kit, tent sleeping bag mattress, would be like 1.5 kilo each. Although last year is was so busy along the Rhine I was send away at 5 campsites and I had to camp wild, which absolutely is not my thing. Especially since I need to charge the batteries on my e-bike. After a 160 km day I had a serious sunstroke too.
Anyhow, good camerawork and editing again. Deserves more views. I guess you didn't had enough crashes as clickbait. You know, the Dutch Fietsersbond, cycling organization, will file a complaint with the authorities if there is a dangerous bollard or something. In theory you can sue the town for negligence if obstacles are not highly visible. Don't expect millions $. We're not America.
Love your new helmet Juliana! We were there a few years ago and biked from Maastricht out to the cemetery, it is a wonderful well maintained cemetery for our veterans. You should had stopped! Looks like an awesome honeymoon! We have friends whose last name is Van Maastricht! We also stayed there it was a really cool walled city!
Another beautiful segment. Every video leads to an even longer “ to see” list for us. Please continue to throw in useful how to info about the routes.
That was SO gorgeous scenery, BOTH natural scenery and historical scenery!
Always love seeing the antique churches too!
Thank you, for taking me with you two!
Thank you so much for these wonderful videos. You express this type of travel so well, both with your videos, as well as your narrative. I’ve been at it for 25 years and cannot get over how excited I still am to begin the next cycle tour. My partner and I do exactly the same type of exploration by bicycle as you.
Thank you for the lovely video!
Belgium has some very weird borders with its neighbouring countries.
Baarle-Nassau is one of them, the Vennbahn is another example.
Although the Vennbahn runs for the most part through Germany, you are in fact on Belgian territory.
Because of the Treaty of Versailles, that railroad was appointed to Belgium.
So if you are cycling on that Vennbahn, you are in Belgium, but if you look to the left or right, that is Germany.
Why did you not visit the American Cemetery? It’s very impressive…
The small village was Margraten
Nice video! We people in the low countries, when tracking our ancestors, desperately try to find at least one connected to Charlemagne! 15:18
Monschau has a French name, Montjoie, like bigger cities of Germany like Aix-la-Chapelle, Munich or Cologne.
Beautiful videography and narration make all of your videos must watch! Happy cycling!
The cycling in much of Europe is amazing. Im jealous
Lovely video. But one thing I noticed is that Julianna's saddle looks to be set too low. Het knees are even bent in an angle of less than 90° at the top of the rotation. Riding like that is bad for your knees and is very tiring for your thigh muscles. Raising the saddle would be a more efficient way of cycling.
Your 'Coast to Coast' ride convinced my wife we could and should do something similar. So it's on our calendar for 2028. From La Push to Cape Cod, 5000 m. at grandmoms and granddads pace. We are gonna love it.
And now I see you cruising almost in our backyard. The ride from Maastricht to the German border could have been more scenic, more quiet (and more hilly). The 'deep south' of the Netherlands provides much of it's most scenic panoramas and is a bikers paradise, all of course relative to our general 'low lands'.
Have fun, enjoy!
So far, this is a very nice account of your trip to Venice. I can't wait for the next part. I live in the far south of the Netherlands myself and I know many of the roads you were cycling on today very well. I agree with you, the Vennbahn is a very special route for cycling.
In August 2020, I ordered some bike parts from what is, maybe, the biggest on-line bike parts supplier in Europe. They are in Aachen. I could have had them ship the order to me, but it seemed more fun to travel from Paris to Aachen, by train, and pick up the order in person. As it was, there were some issues processing my order, and instead of staying one night in Aachen, I ended up staying three nights. In some ways it was frustrating, but it became like the Bill Murray film, "Groundhog Dog". That is to say, by the end, I had fallen in love with Aachen. 🙂
nice, there is so much work inside and outside those church, incredible.