Bikepacking Eifel

A 3 days bikepacking trip from the Netherlands, to the Eifel National Park in Germany, and back to the Netherlands. 3 days of nature and hills to climb, mostly on tarmac but with beautiful gravel paths. A fairly testing loop, given the 4000 m of elevation gain over the 3 days, but absolutely manageable with some patience and proper fueling.For a look at what the experience can look like, here is a playlist:
Day 1 - just to warm up, a leisurely ride from Eindhoven in the Netherlands to the Belgian countryside next to Maastricht. A long, peaceful, green tunnel to ride and enjoy. 110 km to get ready for a hard day of climbing.
It is also the first time that I use Welcome to my Garden to find a place to sleep and I must say it was a wonderful experience.
Day 2 - The second day of the trip brings me up and down the hills on the Dutch and Belgian border, reaching the highest point of the Netherlands to then follow the Belgian and German border. By far the hardest day of riding, going uphill for more than 2000 meters with the loaded bike and covering more than 120 km. These are the kind of testing days that actually give you more energy than they take!
Day 3 - This is the last day of the trip, riding from the gravel around a lake to the hills surrounding it. A long rolling ride back to the Netherlands where an old enemy awaits me: the Cauberg climb. Short and punchy, it forced me to push my bike in the past.