Senden

Here are a few pictures from the ride Ryan and I took today. In Utah I would never even consider going the distance I did today, regardless of where I ended up because the route would, more than likely, not be enjoyable. Either because of traffic or terrain (I am a big wimp when it comes to hills). Our trip was somewhere around 50-55 km roundtrip, not too shabby. The route took us along the Dortmund-Ems Canal on a foot and bike path. Following the water was lovely as we passed by fields, farms, forests and industrial areas. Occasionally we would see a yacht or barge pass by. At one point we crossed over to the other side and lost the trail therefore bushwhacking our way through. Ryan payed the price later with an awful and painful rash (below). When arriving to the small town of Senden we had to find a drugstore and hook him up just so he could actually enjoy his time.

After taking a break for hydrocortizone and some lunch we made our way to the Wasserschloß (Moated Castle) just on the outskirt of the town. Just as I stopped to ask a couple how to get there they pointed and said, more or less, that's it. We were looking at the back of it. Hmm. It should be noted that the area surrounding Münster, called Münsterland (magical eh?), is known also as the land of 100 Moated Castles. This makes me quite happy because it means there can be many more of these excursions out of the city throughout the summer. Hooray.
Initially I was disappointed. I had seen pictures and thought that it was kept up and open to the public. Wrong. Currently it is empty and on the market which means the closest we could get was the bridge crossing the moat. In the end it was nice that there were really no other people around. The weather, too, was a bit overcast and gray. Very good abandoned castle weather if you ask me.

Of course Ryan, being the rule breaker he is went into the courtyard! PAST THE SIGN! Naughty Ryan.

In the end it was my ass that got tired before my legs. After all that riding we were in for a treat when we got back in the city. Two scoops lemon for Ryan and an iced coffee for me (more like and iced coffee float with chocolate covered coffee beans and coffee syrup to top it all off). Yum.

For more photos and a few other comments visit here.