Biking and Beer in Voeren

The idea for this bike trip was inspired by the beer book. We were looking for a nice place to bike one beautiful, Saturday afternoon. Preferably, in Limburg province. Rick, having extensively read the beer book, remembered reading about an interesting place in Limburg. We consulted the book and found that the area was known as the Voeren. To quote the book, "Beyond Limburg's eastern border is an enclave surrounded by Liège province to the south and the Dutch Limburg to the north, known as the Voeren (Fr: Fourons). This curious, pretty little area of undulating hills is said to be the most invaded area of land in the history of the world.

Because of its location, Voeren is a bit linguistically challenged. It is technically part of Limburg, which is Flemish. However, it's sort of cut-off from Limburg. It's like an island of Limburg floating in Liège province, which is French speaking. It is also very close to the Dutch border. I think Maastricht is only 20k away. A dialect of Flemish is the spoken language. However, the landscape, with its rolling hills and cute stone houses, is more representative of Wallonia. The area is also a haven for outdoor enthusiasts as there are many hiking and biking trails as well as a nature preserve.

We used the town of s' Gravenvoeren as our home base. We started with a visit to the tourist information center, where we bought a map of bike trails in the region. A woman who worked there gave us a great recommendation. It was one of my favorite rides in Belgium! Normally, the terrain in Flanders is very flat. However, the beer book's description of undulating hills was pretty accurate. The ride was quite a workout, but it was worth it!

About 3/4 of the way into the ride, we stopped for a drink and a bite to eat at a place called Moeder De Gans (Mother Goose)....also a beer book recommendation. The atmosphere was great and the place was really adorable.

I guess this find proves that the beer book is good for more than just beer!

Again, I apologize for the poor picture quality. We had to use Rick's phone as we are still w/o a camera. We didn't take any pictures on the ride b/c we didn't stop much. Also, this was not just a relaxing ride. It would have been too difficult for Rick to ride and take pictures at the same time. We do have a few pictures of Moeder De Gans though.