Radtour Radurlaub entlang der Maas

Rain all day long, at times quite heavy, så we got very wet! Modest temperatures for the time of year of about 17 to 18°C. But only light winds, and these even mostly tailwind.

First a steep climb up worn-down city roads in Liège suburbs. Then a superb disused railway track, perfectly signposted (for the last 25 km directly to Aachen), which we followed for about 45 km until just before Vaalserberg. Up to this a normal road led, but with very little traffic. Across the border into Germany on a bike path, then residential streets, a trail through a park and city roads in Aachen, mostly with bike lanes.

The huge amounts of rain, we experienced today, were the reason for heavy floodings in Western parts of Germany and eastern parts of Belgium, including places, where we had been. E.g. the lower situated parts of Liège, including the Outremeuse neighbourhood, where the youth hostel, we had stayed at, were evacuated. Only two days after our visit!

And our train trip home the day after the last stage would not have been possible just one day later due to floodings in e.g. Wuppertal and Duesseldorf! Not to mention that the trail along the Meuse would have been flooded. So we were very lucky. Oppostie to many inhabitants in the narrow valleys along rivers like Ahr and Ourthe, who had their houses flooded and cars and much other property washed away by the wild floods, in worst case even houses were carried away! The disaster cost nearly 180 people's lives in Germany, Belgium and to a lesser degree the Netherlands! It felt very strange to have been that close!