The Lower Rhine around Kalkar and Kleve is wide, flat country: green polders, willows along drainage ditches, brick farmhouses and church spires visible for miles. Till is a small village here, part of Bedburg-Hau, just off the Rhine embankments between Kalkar and Kleve, with Emmerich across the river. It lies close to the line of the Roman frontier, the Lower German Limes, which followed the Rhine to the North Sea.
The Romans built a chain of forts and watchposts along the Rhine, and traces of them have been found all along this stretch. The frontier is now part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire site, but there is little to see above ground here; the story is mostly told in museums, such as the Archaeological Park at Xanten, about twenty-five kilometres upstream, where a Roman town has been partly reconstructed.
Nearby, the Schloss Moyland, a moated castle rebuilt in neo-Gothic style, houses a museum of modern art with a large collection of works by Joseph Beuys, who grew up in Kleve. Kalkar has a lovely medieval market square and a church famous for its carved wooden altars. It is also known for the Wunderland Kalkar, an amusement park built in the shell of a nuclear power plant that never went into operation, which is about as odd as tourism gets.
The riding here is flat and relaxed. The roads along the dykes and through the villages are narrow, with lots of farm traffic and cyclists, and they suit a gentle pace. Wind is the main hazard, as there is nothing to stop it. For more interesting riding, cross the Rhine over the long suspension bridge at Emmerich and head into the hills of the Reichswald forest or across the border into the Netherlands. The light here, with big skies and long horizons, has drawn painters for centuries.
Kalkar, about six kilometres away, and Kleve have fuel and everything else. Local food leans toward hearty fare, with asparagus in spring a particular treat; the sandy soils of the Lower Rhine grow excellent white asparagus. Autumn brings huge flocks of wild geese that spend the winter in the meadows along the river.