The Final Stretch!!!!

Margriet, Frank, Marianne, Kees - the last day!

Wednesday, the last day on the trail, only 12 kms left of the 425 I was going to do this hike.
Not only Margriet joined me for this last hurray, but the friend we were staying with as well as a good friend who drove more than 2 hours from his home early in the morning to join us for the last stretch.
Again beautiful scenery along narrow roads, old limestone farm houses, wineries, fields with cows. We love the history and to see dates like "1678" or "1711" on the facades of farm houses is thrilling. We also walked along the caves of southern Limburg, dug to mine stone for buildings.
Soon we walked into Maastricht, the capital of Limburg. A nice old city along the Maas river with century old city walls, churches and a famous market place: het Vrijthof. Just south of the city was the final destination: the Pietersberg. A bit of a climb and by noon we managed to get to the top of the ‘berg’ (hill). Of course we had to take some pictures, and stopped for pannekoek lunch a km back down the trail. There I also received an official certificate testifying that I had walked the whole trail.
 It had been threatening to rain much of the morning and as soon as we got on the bus back to town it poured but we stayed dry inside the bus. If I had the time I would not mind walking the same trail all the way back to Groningen where I started.  It has been a terrific experience.

All together I have been very lucky with the weather, only on 3 days it rained and not even all day on those days, perfect hiking weather all along. No blisters, no problems with the feet, sure, once and a while I was hurting, but that is part of such an undertaking from time to time. But to be able to do this at 65 years of age I am very thankful.

From the end of the Pieterpad it is possible to keep walking till you get to Rome or Santiago de Compastella in Spain. Only about 2,000 kms separate you from southern France.

Some day I hope to do that too and connect with the beginning of the Camino de Santiago where I started my pilgrimage 12 years ago. 

The Longest Hike

Typical houses in the southern part of Limburg

This day was going to turn into the longest day trip of the entire hike because the next overnight was at a friend's house several km beyond the end point for this day trip. So it turned into about a 27 km hike.
For that reason, Margriet decided to take all the luggage via public transportation to the next overnight place.
We both took the train back to Sittard, a 10 minute, 2 euro ride, and Margriet stayed on the train while I got off and started hiking again. Thanks to having only a day pack it was easy going. I put on my ipod music and marched to the tunes of Shania Twain and Abba up and down numerous hills. 
For 10 minutes it rained, but in spite of the heavy overcast this was it for rain all day. The terrain got more and more hilly the further south I got into Limburg. Some section were really getting steep, but again, without a pack, it was quite doable and my training on the Channel Ridge hills sure paid off.
The scenery was absolutely breathtaking most of the way. After a couple of hours I got to a restaurant in a castle (it is for sale!!) where I had lunch and then kept going for several more hours without stopping.

I reflected on the difference in the content of backpacks between 45 years ago and today. We used to have clothes but also a heavy sleeping bag, an air mattress, a tent, cook stove, food etc. Nowadays the backpack is filled with a Macbook Air, Ipod, headphones, cell phone, electric shaver as well as all the chargers and different plug-ins required to keep the electronics going...

A km before I got to the house of the friends we would be staying with, Margriet met me at the top of the last hill. It was great to catch up that evening with friends we had not seen for a long time. And I can recommend Grimbergers beer!


(Note from Margriet: after the train to Sittard, I went to Valkenburg. But, thanks to the World Cup Cycling many roads were blocked, whole cities inaccessible and even bus routes changed. I couldn't get to Terblijt where I had to take our two big backpacks. Tried different bus options but nothing worked. So, I walked into a fancy hotel and asked if I could leave the packs. No problem. Walked into the centre of town to do my banking, shopping, etc. Back to the hotel and asked for a taxi. The taxi turned out to be a limousine. Fancy and comfortable way to get my packs to Marianne's house! Had a great dinner and visit that night.)

Montfort to Sittard

Monday morning Margriet joined me for the 24 km hike between Montfort and Sittard.  Since the B&B was about a km off the trail it turned into one of the longest hikes for her of those days that she joined me.
The terrain started to become a little more hilly but still mainly forest, corn fields and dairy cows. It is amazing how much corn is being produced in the Netherlands since we left 35 years ago. It used to be that you saw grain fields everywhere. Almost all of those have been replaced with corn fields in the last few decades. Apparently the eastern European countries can grow grain cheaper and the Dutch have changed their agricultural production to corn for cattle feed. 
Since it was Monday we did not expect to find anything open to get a coffee, but we lucked out when we noticed, around 11 AM, a café with an open door. A meeting was taking place and when we asked the owner if we could get a coffee she agreed even though she was officially closed.

This section of the trail took us into Germany and immediately the language and architecture was different from just a few km back.  We entered the city of Sittard (one of the largest cities in Limburg) via a nice creek valley and ended up on the market in the center of town almost without having to content with the outskirts of the city. The market place was surrounded by nice cafes with seating outside and we thoroughly enjoyed the beer and food that could be had there.
Later in the afternoon we were picked up by the owner of the B&B we stayed at that night and taken back to Montfort for the night.

Saturday (Sept 15), we had stayed with friends in Someren (40 kms from the trail). Had a great visit, and they were nice enough to drop us off back on the trail that morning.
As a matter of fact they did us a huge favor and dropped off our packs at the B&B where we would be staying that night. Made a big difference not to have to haul our luggage all that way!
We left Venlo and within an hour were back in the forest. I seemed the entire day was nothing but forests. Along the Dutch/German border through Germany itself, very well maintained forests and paths. At one point we stood on a burial hill from before the beginning of the first century (800 BC).
We walked along roads that had been developed many centuries ago. We also stood on the market place in villages where most, if not all, of the buildings around us used to be hundreds of years old, but had been destroyed in the fighting of WWII and now had been rebuild in the last 75 years. Most steeples of churches along the Maas had been blown up by the Germans in their retreat so the Allied forces could not use those as viewing towers. Everything had to be rebuild around here. Many cemeteries also remind you of the war of only a few decades ago.
After about 22-23 km we arrived in Swalmen, a small village where we were picked up by the owner of a B&B called the Pelgrims' House and where we would be staying for 3 nights. Had a great supper and evening there.
Sunday morning the B&B owners dropped us back at the spot where we stopped the day before and continued to Montfoort, another 24 km. This time we skirted the city of Roermond, probably a nice city but not part of the route. For a few km we traveled on a 2,000 year old road build by the Romans, just imagine that you are walking on the same ground the Roman armies traveled over, mind boggling.
After today only 3 more day hikes to go. (about 60 kms). Margriet asked me if I had accomplished what I set out to do this hike. Well, when I do finish it I will have accomplished what I promised my brother before he died and that was that I would walk it for the two of us. I had a chance to think about a lot of things however the big question: when to retire? is still unanswered. I also met up with some good friends along the trail, Lies, Wim, Maurice, and the last day Frank will join me. I look forward to that.

The Last Province!

Swolgen - Venlo (21 kms)

Not much to report today. Lots of forests, unpaved roads and trails. After an hour I started to look for a place to have coffee, but that did not show up until after about two and a half hours and I was tired by then.
Had two coffees at Grubbenvorst, just to have an excuse to sit down for a while longer. Took a small ferry across the river Maas and ended up in the province of Limburg. The last day and a half I had been hiking through the province of Noord Brabant. The trail followed the river for quite a while and finally ended up in Venlo, one of the largest cities in Limburg, not particular pretty. Sat down in a park for lunch and called Margriet for a ride to our friends' place that is 25 kms off the trail. I'll have a day of rest there and then there are only five more days to go, it promises to be relatively heavy though because now the hill country is starting in earnest.

(Margriet: I enjoy the variety of walking a day here, then spending a day there. I enjoyed staying in the different places, so far, and now housesat for friends. It's fun to ride my bike into town and blend in with the locals - shopping at the bakery, the butcher, the green grocer. I've so enjoyed spending time with my sister and her family, with friends, with a cousin. I find groceries quit cheap compared to Canada. But that's also because the portions are so much smaller. In restaurants you get a tiny cup of coffee, a small glass of pop. Everything is small here. Or have we been supersized?!)

Yesterday was election day in Holland. Over the last few days I had been following the debates on TV and the discussions in the newspapers. Last night I fell asleep in front of the TV watching the returns. Dutch elections are interesting because there are about a dozen political parties trying for one of the 150 seats in parliament. A couple of large parties (one right of center and one left of center won the election and will likely make up a coalition government in the next few weeks. But there are many small parties: one for the 'protection of animals' !! (it got 2 seats) and one for people over 50 (it got 2 seats, too). The party which was against the Netherlands being part of the European Union and against immigration by peoples from countries with other religions lost big time. Very interesting to see a parliamentary system at work that is so totally different from the Canadian and US systems. Frankly I like it better because it forces politicians to work together much more than what is happening with the North American system, much more democratic then the 2 party system in my mind. Anyway, it was an interesting last few days to be following it.

September 11 + 12

Sept 11 /12 (Gennep – Vierlingsbeek - Swolgen)
Last night I had no internet so I’ll report on the last two days.

Sept. 11: We stayed in a ‘garden shed’, nice but build for dwarfs and since I am 6’4” I bumped my head and other body parts numerous times.
 (http://www.bedandbreakfastvijverzicht.nl/)
 We had breakfast with 4 ladies who had stayed in the same B&B and who were going to the ‘Floriade’, the largest horticulture exposition in Europe which is held every 10 years in Holland.
Most B & B's are fairly inexpensive, around 20 to 30 euros p.p. per night.
We are also member of Vrienden op de Fiets (Friends on Bikes), a country wide organization offering accommodations in people's home: a room and breakfast for 19 - 21 euros p.p. See: http://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/index.php/en/

Before setting out, we waited for a bus to bring a friend who was going to join me for a day of hiking while Margriet would take a bus to Someren to spend 3 days at a house of friends who are on holidays. The friend, Lies, arrived on time, we said goodbye to Margriet and left town heading south. It would be a short day of 17 kms. However, the first hour the skies were threatening, the second hour it started to rain a little and the third and fourth hour it poured. It sure did put a damper on the day’s fun. But in spite of the rain we had a great time catching up on 40 years of memories. It also helped that we saw some of the most gorgeous landscape I had been going through until now. Beautiful hilly terrain with moors, forests, wild goats and not a soul around.  Lies was scared of the goats, so I had lots of fun teasing her about the (non-existing) dangers of goats, and she ran.
We got to Vierlingsbeek soaked to the bone. Found a café were she changed to dry clothes and we had something to eat. By early evening she caught a bus back to the railroad station and home in Rotterdam.

Sept 12:
Back on the road by 8:30 AM this morning. Now it was a 21 km hike. Again the skies threatened all day, but luckily not a drop all day. First several kms along secondary roads, and canals until I came to the ‘Boschhuizer Bergen”, not really mountains, just sand dunes, but absolutely some of the finest landscape Holland has to offer. The last 10 kms was again along more forest paths, secondary roads and cycling paths. Holland is absolutely the best country to go cycling, everywhere you’ll find the best possible routes for cycling. Plus signage, maps along the routes and a network of routes throughout the country.

By 3 PM I made it to the night’s stop: Swolgen. A small village I had never heard of. Found a great B & B in an old school building: http://www.bedandbreakfast.nl/bed-and-breakfast/swolgen/bb-schoolstraat-8-vof/4737Six more hiking days and I’ll have eaten the entire elephant.

Into The Woods We Go

Another day, another mile.
Up and away early. I like to get 10 or 12 kms under my belt before it gets hot before the middle of the day. (we are lucky with September weather in Holland right now!) However it also can have its issues. Today the first 5-6 kms took me through a section of trail adjacent to meadows. The farmer had not mowed the trail, as a result the wet grass was knee deep and by the time I had hiked through it I was soaking wet from the knees down. In addition I was wearing shorts and there were lots of thistles and nettles so my bare legs were hurting pretty good.

More fields and farms to get through as well as a few small villages. This time the official trail did go through a section of Germany. (I was not lost for once). I kept on going for 12 kms without stopping or resting because I was going to meet a Canadian friend in Beek. Maurice Verkaar, a fellow hiker who last year did the Camino de Santiago, so we had lots to talk about. Maurice was born in Holland, but only 1 year when his parents emigrated to Canada. He decided a few months ago to go and live in Holland for a year and experience live over here. I met him at a restaurant and to our surprise Margriet showed up on her bike from Groesbeek (8kms down the road). We had lunch and a beer together. After we said goodby to Maurice we hiked another 8 kms to Groesbeek where Margriet had arranged to rent a cottage in the forest. Here I will take a day off from hiking and we plan on visiting the Canadian war cemetery here nearby. After we left Maurice we again had a bit of a surprise because we encountered a steep hill while leaving town. Holland may not be as flat as I always thought or was lead to believe.

Today for the first time I used my iPod to listen to music while walking. It helped me to walk to a beat sometimes or just to hum along. Funny to be listening to Kashtin singing in their Inuit language while walking through flat farmland with cows.
I am using the hiking poles religiously these days. Until a month ago I never used them, since I hiked primarily on relatively flat ground. However the week before I left on this trip I went for a 3 hours hike with an 80 year old friend whom I had not seen for 14-15 years. I decided to take my poles just to try them out. I liked it and decided to take them with me on this long distance hike. They sure are working out fine. They help me keep my balance on uneven ground which I encounter frequently and it provides an upper body workout, especially walking with a 20 K pack. Last but not least it releases some of the pressure on the feet when you lean on the poles at every step. I have become so used to them that when I got up from a rest earlier today I noticed within 5 steps that I forgot my poles under the picnic table.
And so, on we trot!