Two-province route Limburg and Brabant

Your route starts at Pannenkoekenhuis De Perdstal. The liberation of the Netherlands in 1944 was bloody in North Limburg with complete tank battles at Overloon and Venray. In the National War and Resistance Museum in Overloon there is an entire pavilion dedicated to the Battle of Overloon with a lot of war equipment. The Grote Kerk in Venray was a crucial strategic viewpoint and was blown up by the Germans just before their flight. You also cycle into the Ballonzuilbossen. It is named after the Balloon Column, the first aviation monument in the Netherlands. This column commemorates the landing of the hot air balloon 'La poste de Paris' in 1871 on the then heathland of Merselo. In the balloon were three men who had escaped Paris, surrounded by Prussian troops, with their secret post.