Monday July 13th, 2015. The Village of Neer

The weather continued to be cloudy with light rain, a welcome relief after the previous days of hot weather. You can tell that this area like ours needed the rain because the grass is brown in many areas.

After spending a frustrating morning trying to negotiate the French railway system, we decided to take a drive to a local strip mall and buy the electric adapter we needed and then continued on to Neer. There are clearly marked hiking paths and cycling paths all through the Netherlands. George had found a short walk through the village, farmland, forest and beside the Maas river. Even with the wet weather it was a beautiful walk. 

Sometimes it is finding the out of the way places like this give you a much better taste of the culture and lifestyle than visiting the larger cities. We are grateful that Marja and George are such knowledgable tour guides.

The map showing the hikes and walks. ( Not very clear....sorry.)

The walk through the countryside and beside the river.

Everything is well marked, even in the smaller villages.

Many of the buildings are made of brick. The rounded doors, colourfully painted are common architecture.

Tony on path near Neer the Netherlands.

The "Shooting Brothership" of Saint Martinis. The have been shooting birds since the 1500s.

Marja, George and Tony checking out the map.

A roadside chapel. This part of the country is very Roman Catholic.

Farm buildings are everywhere.

The Maypole at the front of the church.

A statue of a bull in front of the village church.

We had dinner at George and Marja's later that evening. It was great to dring beer and wine and share memories of previous camping trips with each other. Tomorrow we visit the town of Thorn or the white village as well as aware through the countryside. The weather forecast is for cloudy but a gradual improvement. 

Tot sienz!