Trans Euro Trail – Netherlands

The Trans Euro Trail (TET) is a volunteer community that originated to promote the use of legal off-road riding throughout Europe. It had been some time since we rode our motorcycles on dirt roads so we were very excited to begin a trip through Netherlands 🇳🇱 and Belgium 🇧🇪!

We downloaded the routes from http://www.transeurotrail.org, packed our mules, and were on our way!

Getting to the Start of the NL TET
🗓: 30 Mar | 🌍: Geilenkirchen to Sögel, Germany

Map of Day 1: Windmills, Roman Temples, and Tanks?! We covered about 300 km of riding today as we made our way north to the beginning of the Netherland Trans Euro Trail (TET).

Along the way we saw this WWII memorial which seemed to translate “To the memory of the legacy”.

A unique sign of a potato of a fork that is about 10 feet tall! Although this is one big tater, Chantil, an Idahoan native, said it doesn’t compare to Idaho taters!!

Xanten, Germany

The town of Xanten (which sounds like a name for a planet in some other solar system) has an interesting history due to it’s closeness to the Rhine River and Roman trade routes.

I love the textures of patterned doors and bricks.

The Klevar Gates, built in 1393, are all that remains of the medieval city.

Uniquely painted window shutters.

Near the Klevar Gates was this unique dragon decorated with brightly colored tiles.

APX Archaeological Park

Just down the road is the APX Archaeological Park. Although I knew that Roman influence covered most of Europe, I had no idea that such a large park and museum existed in Germany.

Who needs to go to Rome to see ancient Roman Temples?

This is the Harbor Temple and was recreated to show just a portion of the grandness of the original one that stood here during the Roman era.

Many Roman artifacts contained within the museum were found among these rocks.

Although it was still early spring and many of the trees were not sprouting, it was still a beautiful day.

A map showing the extended influence and power of the Roman Empire which extended we’ll north into Great Britain.

The museum covers much of the Roman bathhouse areas and is very large with exhibits on multiple floors.

The exhibits are very interactive and meant to be enjoyed by everyone – especially the children.

Brightly colored Roman shields can be used by kids to get an idea of what it was like to be a Roman soldier.

A Roman sculpture from nearly 2000 years ago!

Roman coins! I find the history of money to be quite interesting and enjoy visiting different countries and exploring the coins and bills.

The Capital Temple would have been the central building of the city.

There was also a nice display that showed the boat and barge building process used by the Romans.

There is a game room where people can learn about the board games Romans played.

The statue of the Emperor of Rome greets visitors to the Gladiator Coliseum.

A small museum, inside the Coliseum, describes the battles that took place here for entertainment. Often animals were used like bears.

Overall, it was an interesting experience and a great way to spend a couple hours.

Sögel Tank Cemetery

We heard about this place from the website Atlas Obscura. The site mentioned that it’s a military operating area and access was limited…

“Stop! Firing range. Danger of death.” What could go wrong?!?

We saw a truck and some teenagers in the ‘cemetery’ so we decided that if the military really wanted us out they would not leave to gate open – right?

Lucky us! We got to explore the 24 tanks just sitting in an open field.

Apparently this is still a military operation area used by helicopter pilots.

The website says these are Leopard I and M47 Patton tanks.

It would be interesting to know more about the history of these tanks but not much is published.

One of my favorites places and memories for sure!

Check out DAY 2 as we officially start the NL TET!