50km away was our next stop Venlo and we were on a pretty good run when we came across a windmill. But it wasn’t the windmill that stopped us, it was the albino emu.
He was part of a petting zoo that was set up underneath with his mate, deer, geese, goats and a whole bunch of others. Giggling at the sight of a little australiana we were trying to get him over to our side but someone else wanted more attention.
Seeing us at the fence a man came out from the windmill and striked up a conversation. He turned out to be one of the volunteer caretakers of the property. They had set up the petting zoo for the village to maintain the windmill which was used four times a year. Once a year they would use the old traditional bakery as well. He was so nice that he invited us inside the windmill and the pet enclosure where eggs were being incubated. And one had hatched!
Saying goodbye and continuing on we began to cross past farms. Our favorite were the miniature pony ones, they were so cute.
Venlo is a small town very close to the border of Germany. A lot of people speak both Dutch and German.
Having ridden in the freezing rain all day we were ready for hot showers and dry clothes. However there was not a single hotel under €70 (over a whole day’s budget and a lot more then any other town) The nearest campsite was 5km out. Taking the comfort route we decided to spoil ourselves at the cheapest one: Station Hotel.
Our bikes were stored in the best place yet – the bowling alley. We sat in the heated sunroom people watching and reading. And the continental breakfast was enormous. So spoiled we decided to stay one more night…
Daily Costs:
Day 1
Hotel: €73
Cafe/Restaurant: €13.15
Groceries: €10.23
Total costs: €96.38/$137.80AU
Day 2
Hotel: €73
Cafe/Restaurant: €4
Groceries: €9.60
Total costs: €86.60/$123.85AU
Days of Light 
That breakfast is so typical of German breakfasts, you can get very used to them
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They’re definitely delicious!
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What ??? That is a hefty breakfast
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you guys are doing it real tough!!!!!!
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Haha yes we’re getting a bit spoilt, probably need some hills to equal it out 🙂
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I am sitting here with grandfather showing him your blog. He said he’s glad you’re not in America – they’ve had a couple of tornadoes over there recently!
Looks like you have had some really tough days with wind and rain … hope it warms up a bit soon. xx Judy
PS happy 1st wedding anniversary!
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Thanks so much Judy 🙂
Those tornadoes sound crazy, glad we’re not part of that! We are getting much better weather atm it’s a sunny 19degrees here in Germany – yay!
Xxx
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I really do wish you had revealed the name of that little petting zoo near Venlo. I’d love to take my grand children while we’re here visiting my sister.
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Hi Beth! Thanks for reading. We’re not actually sure where or what it was, as we didn’t note down anything at the time. Sorry we couldn’t help further!
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