A nice day beckoned and I was determined to enjoy it. Pity I needed a sleep in, after watching too much Ted Lasso last night. I’d also misplaced a riding glove in the scramble to unpack in the middle of yesterday’s rain. There is a Decathlon store in Aachen, only a few kms out of my way, so I went there at 10am (opening time).
I like Decathlon. They make durable gear, so I use them for things I that I use every day – such as my light merino top that I ride in, shorts, gloves (obviously), sunnies (let’s see how these ones go), light long trousers etc. They are everywhere – in Aus, major cities in Asia, and of course all over Europe. That sounded like an ad, but it just means that they are convenient for me. It also means that I don’t have to find out what local brands are the ones I want to use. Sounds lazy, but as always,I’m more focussed on looking around than shopping.
So I bought a pair of gloves. Sorry for the detour.
I followed the Vennbahn trail which is a rail trail from Aachen through the Eifel Naturpark area (which I intend to spend a few days in, on my way to Koblenz on the Rhein.
The morning was a bit stop-start but the Vennbahn was a nice path to ride. There were a few high, old stone bridges along the way. Unfortunately, they would be more impressive from another angle because from on top, they just look like a bike path. But I can still imagine…
After about 40 or so kms, I saw the old town of Monschau below me, and just had to visit. It looked fantastic and was completely unexpected thanks to my exhaustive research. Ahem.
It’s definitely an old town, but it’s definitely the first week or so after school holidays. It’s very quiet and full of people older than me. I suspect that the place will be empty by 7:30pm
I found the campground, and set up my tent. I only broke one tent peg while setting up on the rocky tent area. What were they thinking ? It’s beautiful though. It’s in a narrow valley with a small flat area a metre and a half above the fast flowing stream. I got cleaned up then walked into town and had a nice pasta meal before walking home and sitting outside my tent for a while.
I did all of this without checking the weather forecast. It’s horrendous. Torrential rain is expected, starting early in the morning. The only thing I could think of, was images of European villages being devastated as massive floodwaters made their way down the valley. I decided to get up early to miss the worst of the rain and play the rest of the day by ear.
