Leipzig to Venlo

Sunday 6^th May

Today was literally a day of rest with a seven and a half hour train trip from Leipzig to Venlo, just over the border in Holland.  Leaving the train in Venlo and walking outside we were greeted with a temperature of 6C, rather a shock. 

It was an easy walk to the hotel and we were in our room by 6:30 but had to brave the cold to find somewhere to eat and chose an Irish Pub and had the biggest bowl of Cottage Pie we have ever been served.

After such a big meal we had trouble staying awake but in the middle of the night the bedside alarm “went off” obviously set by a previous resident.  The alarm sounded like a fire siren which gave us quite a shock and we couldn’t turn it off, so had to pull the lead out of the power point.

Monday 7^th May.

After breakfast we ventured out and were greeted with a warmer day but needed gloves and a scarf with our windcheater.  In Venlo on Monday many shops don’t open or open after 12:00, so we wandered around until the tourist information centre opened.  In a park we found a monument which we later learned was the Liberation Monument celebrating Venlo’s liberation on March 1^st 1945.  The monument was surrounded by several wreaths, laid at the weekend to commemorate the end of the War in Europe.

Documents from the 9th century mention Venlo as a trade post; it developed into one of the more important ones in the Meuse-Rhine area, receiving city rights in 1343.  On November 9, 1939, two British Intelligence Service agents were kidnapped in what became known as the Venlo incident. The incident was used by the Nazis to link Great Britain to a failed assassination of Hitler two days before and to justify their later invasion of the Netherlands, a neutral country, on 10 May 1940.

Returning to the tourist information office we purchased a Walking Guide and set out to walk around the town which has many winding streets and lanes and like many towns in Holland the bike is the principal means of transport which is quite dangerous for pedestrian as you don’t hear them coming and they ride on the footpaths, bike lanes and streets and travel at a fast speed.

Our first stop was at an old Dominican Nunnery which being a Monday was closed, though the metal picket fence running alongside the building is unique, every picket is topped with typical characters of Venlo citizens, very amusing.  The streets of Venlo have many statues along them and with all the old buildings provide an entertaining walk.

In a park we found a World Peace Flame Monument erected in 2005.   At the edge of the park is the Museum Van Bommel-Van Dam which houses a private art collection donated to the City and an exhibition of photographs taken in an old Japanese Park, this exhibition opened yesterday.  Being Monday the museum was closed but we spoke to the Curator and she took us inside for a brief view.

Our walk took us through narrow lanes and streets past many old buildings from the 15 and 1600s and to St Matinus Church, built between 1410 and 1610.  Part of the church was destroyed during the war but was completely restored in 1953 and it still has its valuable art treasures.

In the Market Square stands the Town Hall, built between 1597 and 1600, this building remained undamaged throughout the war.

In another lane we found three small statues of town characters, the first a Chinese who during and after the war sold peanuts and candy around the town.  The second lived in the local dumpsite and every now and then liked to dress up and come into town for a drink.  The third born in 1887 and travelled throughout Europe, nailing medals and coins from different countries on his walking stick.  This walking tour took us throughout the old town and along the river where a modern development is being constructed together with what appears to be a small marina a most interesting town of contrasts.