June 28 – Today is a planned zero mile rest day. The pretty little town of Gennep deserves to be seen in great detail.
The toy store sells a wooden jigsaw puzzle featuring the town, with customized puzzle pieces. If Icould fit this in my backpack, I would buy one.Good looking dogsLots of bikes, as throughout the Netherlands, but this is the first tricycle-built-for-two that we’ve seenThe town hall has a carillon of 25 bells that tinkle sweetly several times an hour – selections range from Ode to Joy to the Yellow Rose of Texas, with a lullaby the last song of the eveningA nice shopping streetWe learned as much of the town history as we could figure out out without English signageThis is the original water spigot that the townspeople used to draw their water, for a feeThe Protestant church was open – very plain inside. The man we spoke to said the church is of the Calvinist tradition, but not especially strictMosaics in the square commemorate the 22 Jews who “left” during WWII and never came homeThis tower is all that remains of the Roman Catholic Church that was bombed during WWII. We climbed to the top to see the viewThere are murals painted inside the tower – see the Pieterpad hiker?The murals were done by the same artist who painted the overpass on our way into town. I recognize the badger!The top of the tower didn’t provide a view, but a reminder of the American pilot who died here in WWII. He thought he had crossed the border into Germany and dropped his bombs too soon, then was shot down and died in the crash.This wall contains insets of some historical buildingsThe River Meuse runs along the old city wallThe Good Samaritan A lovely day in a pretty town – tomorrow, we walk!
Taking Our Time 