The Ferry landed in Dunkirk, France and right away I was off towards the Belgian border (after picking up a baguette of course). I had booked a hostel there in the first town after the French border. After a much needed shower I enjoyed an evening on the beach and my first taste of Belgian beer.
The next day I biked the coast of Belgium to the Netherlands, camping options were slim in this area but thankfully a Warmshowers host was willing to put up in Zeeland in the Netherlands. Froukja and Paul were very welcoming fellow cycle tourists who had done a year-long tour though the USA not too long ago. It was a pleasure to get to chat with them and meet their neighbors. Before heading out they treated me to a traditional Dutch breakfast, chocolate sprinkles on buttered bread (or as I know them "jimmies"). Later that day I noticed my bike's smaller front sprocket was starting to rattle. I had lost 3/5 screws holding it on and the remaining two were very loose. I tightened the remaining two back down just to hold it in place, though I dared not use it. Luckily the Netherlands is flat enough that it wasn't needed for quite a while. I suspect the majority of the loosening had happened back during the last two days in the UK which were exceptionally bumpy and hilly.
The cycling infrastructure in Holland is really quite something, and it is cool to see so many people out cycling even outside of the cities. I enjoyed a few days of easy cruising through the flat countryside. The numerous lift bridges and small ferries for river and canal crossing were a treat every time. The smaller family run campgrounds were nice for getting away from the loud caravan parks and I enjoyed trying the local beer as well as more of the more well known Belgian beers. I had been wanting to try the Chouffe Cherry for some time after seeing it in Total Wine at home and it was not disappointing, especially after many days cycling in a row.
Eventually I made it to Germany where my original plan had been to follow the coastline towards Flensburg and into Denmark. This changed when I saw the ferries you could take from the Lubeck area and instead I cut across through Hamburg and Lubeck to the opposite side of the continent. Upon reaching Lubeck I finally took a rest day after 11 consecutive days of cycling (since leaving Oxford) to recuperate and plan the next leg of the trip.
