Day 13, September 5, 2012  Breda, The Netherlands to Antwerp, Belgium
47.2 miles, total mileage 385.5
Leaving Breda was easy and in a flash we were crossing a "Wildrooster" and in no time, we knew why.  The cows in this field were not separated from the bicyclists by a fence. No one was phased in the least!

 Talk about a non-event.  This is the marker that tells you where Holland ends and Belgium begins.  If we hadn't been looking for it, we probably would have missed it.  Apparently crossing borders are no big deal.  Belgium still had the same type of bike route markers as in Holland, we just noticed that the drivers are a little more aggressive.

We found the canal crossing a little tight.  While we are certain that our friend Tracy would have pedaled across, we felt safer off the bike.  Except for the bridges, which could all open for passing boats, the other crossings were over working or former locks.

This tree lined lane and farmlands were the theme for the day.  We did very little city pedaling (less than 10 miles total) and with the wind at our backs, it was  a dream.  The only hard part were pedaling past some of the pig farms!

 Sometimes you just have to get off the bike and walk around an obstacle.  The farm lanes were the width of a tractor and while the farmer checked something, we dismounted and walked around.

 The canal that we traveled along was a working, navigable canal.  This canal was barely wide enough for two barges to squeeze by each other.  We pedaled past 6 working sets of locks on this canal.

 Cows, tractors, geese.........you never know what will greet you on the bike path.  This group made a lot of noise as we passed.

At last we made it to Antwerp.  There are a lot of bicyclists in Antwerp, but they have nothing on the Dutch for bike lanes in the city.  Through concentration and determination we managed nicely in spite of the traffic and finally made it to the section of town where our B&B was located.  This statue is in a circular park at the end of the street.

 After climibng up narrows stairs to the third floor of the B&B (4th floor American), we showered , then left to walked the area.  We found the Justice Building which is a modern-Sydney Australia Opera House affair and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts.  Two ends of the spectrum that fit together very nicely.  Then we had dinner at a Turkish restaurant and met this couple.  They were celebrating her first day as a kindergarten teacher.  Good reason to celebrate!

This was the view of the sun setting over the city of Antwerp from our B&B.  It is our first day in Belgium and we had a wonderful time.