On T-shirts of this Travelling Summer University (TSU) we put bullets on the back which say: 1 summer, 5 cities, 25 bikes, 150 km of cycling and unlimited fun. Most of these turned out accurate, especially the fun part, but apparently we have cycled more than 200 km and saw dozens of additional villages and small towns in the South Netherlands. It was possibly a welcomed extra since instead of complaints, there was a lot of happiness. The ultimate plan was to cycle through Tilburg, Eindhoven, Roermond and Maastricht. This was the longest cycling route among the three editions of Below the Rivers, Above Sea Level.
An Unusual Dutch Summer in Tilburg
The sleeping place in Tilburg was a student church of the Tilburg University, which created a rather “unique” atmosphere during the first part. Also, the weather was clearly confused since we had five days of sun without a single drop of rain. Call it luck if you will.
This part was a solid introduction to the TSU with its packed program. First big item was Roze Maandag (Pink Monday) held in the biggest fun fair of Netherlands. Tuesday was a beach and live music day. During the concert, we, AEGEE people, even fired up the sleepy audience of the Boogie Boy and sometimes attracted more attention than the artist!
On Wednesday, there was the Pimp My Bike challenge with lots of spray paint and
creativity. Later, a private concert at the church by the artist Mr. Sick Speck followed. He had
quite catchy songs. Everyone still sings: “In Germany, in Germany…”
The only non-cycling trip in the program was a day-trip to Amsterdam. City tour in Amsterdam was slightly ironic since the guide was the only organiser who is not Dutch. After
the touristic route, a group picture was made in front of the “I Amsterdam” sign. Free time, boat trip on the canals, a restaurant stop and Red Light District walk completed all the Amsterdam cliches. It was then time to prepare for the first cycling challenge.
Road to Eindhoven: First Long Distance Challenge
It was quite surprising, no, amazing in the morning. Everybody was prepared for the road on time,
and many of them had sports clothing, even cycling gloves, while organising team (who cycle every day) do not even own such things. Journey was free of complaints and problems. Midway, in Oirschot, a long lunch break followed by a brief town tour made us sleepy, but the motivation of the participants kept the party going. When we reached Eindhoven, the rain (finally) greeted us. It was quite welcomed on the sunburned skins, though.
A Little Competition in Eindhoven
This part was planned as a large tournament, first step as the pub quiz after arrival dinner. A game tournament and special city rally called Crazy 88 with 88 crazy tasks (obviously) followed the next day. All the cycling and super fast tempo had apparently failed to make the participants tired. So, they were awarded with a pub crawl, including few free drinks.
There was still no sign of tiredness, but they were let sleep late anyway. All charged up took part in
a cute tour in an eco-farm and visited the Historic Open-air Museum with actual residents
chopping wood, making swords and baking breads, which balanced our rhythm a little. This day
ended with the European Night, which not many of us have vivid memories of. However, we
did try to recall things the following day in a swimming centre, while either riding the slides or
just sitting in the hot tub. As the grand finale of Eindhoven part, our last night was “Typical Dutch
Night,” as named by the participants. That was probably the night that coined one of the most
popular phrases of the TSU: “Typical Dutch.”
Roermond: Introduction to Limburg Culture
This time, there were 60 km ahead, as opposed to 40 during the previous one. The weather was also “Typical Dutch,” except the missing rain. Although there was a clear decrease in the motivation, the scouting in Roermond, our sleeping place, had quite the view next to the Maas (Meuse), which turned the exhaustion to a peaceful calmness. Program started fast with a traditional Cantus, which involves a lot of singing and even more beer drinking. Next evening another private concert by Loek Tonnaer’s band Dageraad followed, for the occasion of Limburgish Night. Having a hardcore, solid introduction to the Limburg way of living, TSU was ready for the capital of the province: Maastricht.
Crossing the River in Maastricht
After the last and the hardest ride, last destination was reached.This time everybody easily
admitted that they were exhausted. But there is no exhaustion a four hour sleep would not solve, is
there? Next day, we had the most extensive city tour within our TSU, including a visit to provincial
government building (where the Maastricht Treaty was signed). Maastricht did not have a hard time
making an impression. Same can be said concerning the ten KM ride back to the sleeping place
after the pub crawl. Damn, the only province-with-hills of this flat country!
On the last day, we visited the limestone caves of Limburg, but the ones in Valkenburg.
Dark and cold caves were a really good break to the sun and for the exhaustion of two weeks. As
tradition, the day ended with voting, an award ceremony and a goodbye party.
And the Curtain is closed
This was a first for this series in terms of biking distance, and crossing one of the rivers that we
had been previously below (on the map, of course). Program started fast and kept the tempo untill
the end. This was our secret for a “long, aimless waiting” free TSU.
Content-wise, seeing different cultures even in a small country was the strongest
aspect. ”Typical Dutch” was a humorous phrase but they knew there is more in culture than
meets the eye, as they cycled through this two southern provinces. If you see how people,
culture and even landscape change even as you bike, it gets easier to realise the same on a
much larger region.
Considering most of the participants were not very familiar with AEGEE yet, this TSU
showed them that they need to keep exploring and observing the world and people around. And
while doing those, you can have genuine (in our case “unlimited”) fun. So join us next year in
the new chapter of the adventure book!
Written by Haluk Can Yasan, AEGEE-Eindhoven.
Thank you to Marina Roche Arroyos, Eero Vegmann, Balázs Kovács, Elena Martino & Marina Roche Arroyos for contributing with photos!