As planned, the morning train from Dordrecht to Nijmegen, and then a ride to Emmerich am Rhein. It’s a route we’ve done a few times before – but that was always at the end of a holiday and into a headwind. Today we were at the beginning of the holiday with the hope (fervent on my side) of travelling to unknown places and a tailwind. What more could I want? The call of a cuckoo and the sight of storks were the cherry on the cake.

The Dutch-German border was marked by a tiny stream, and the red bridge of Emmerich was visible for miles. The electricity pylons either side are phenomenally high: is it simply to span the river?