Posts Tagged ‘Netherlands’

Walking on Vlieland

Posted: September 9, 2012 in Hiking
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Vlieland is my favourite place in the Netherlands. An island of sand in the far north of the country, it offers peace and tranquility. There, I am at one, alone, with the elements.

The road to the west stops half way down the island. That is where the expanse of sand starts, and where the people stop. An amazing wide, white beach, punctuated by sandhills in the interior, rising from the sand expanse, covered with reedy grass and home to huge colonies of birds.

The vast sandy expanse

The vast sandy expanse

The expanse is a military area that is open to all on the weekends. A military tower, checkered in yellow and black, watches over the entrance to the sandy plains. Behind the tower, hidden behind the first sandhills are dilapidated tanks: they are now little more than a brittle cocoon of rust. Dotted over the plains are watch towers and little wooden huts that are military targets.

Rusty tank

Rusty tank

At the far end of the island is the ‘reddingshuis’: a white hut perched on high stilts, fenced off by logs and buoys and anything that has been washed up in the tide. Around it are  vast plains of sandy nothingness. On the opposite side of the sand flat, at the end of the island, is a wooden jetty, extending across the sand, and three metres above it, out to the sea.

Reddingshuis in the distance

Reddingshuis in the distance

Reddingshuis

Reddingshuis

The jetty at the end of Vlieland

The jetty at the end of Vlieland

On the sand flat I feel alone. It is peaceful, it is vast, it is beautiful, and I am there in the middle of it. Noone comes here. Noone walks more than 500m from the road. The tide comes in and the tide goes out. Parts can be boggy or firm. It can be still or there can be a howling wind. Nicest is the weather like today. A clear sky, and the sands lit by the golden orb in the sky. You can see for miles. And all you see is sand. A dot on the horizon is a target. Another dot on the horizon is the hut. Another is a watch tower. But they are all far away. In between is sand. Silence. And noone.

The distance

The distance

Footprints in the sand

Footprints in the sand

Not watching TV

Not watching TV

Military tower

Military tower

The morning light makes everything different. On my morning run, I saw the sun rise behind the sand dunes. The air is crisp with a hint of moisture and dew. Vlieland is beautiful whenever you look at it.

The morning light

The morning light

The morning light

The morning light

Maaien

Maaien

The heart of Vlieland

The heart of Vlieland

Vlieland

Vlieland

Eindhoven – Maastricht – Aachen. 145km

Posted: July 1, 2012 in Cycling
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My last training trip before the big, exciting trip in Norway next week. It was a perfect day for cycling. The weather forecast was for 25C and partly cloudy. I got up before the crack of dawn to be able to cycle in the cool stillness of the early morning. A serene time of the day.

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It was cool and hardly a breath of wind as I passed through fields, sleeping villages and green green forests. The Malpie marshy nature reserve was alive with birds squawking as they circled over the water looking for fish. And then I joined my favourite canal in Belgium: the one I run along when I run to Weert. This time I was to follow it all the way to Maastricht.

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The sun rose in the sky, but I stayed in the beautiful shade under the leafy trees that lined the side of the canal. A head wind picked up but was nothing compared to my slog along the coast in Belgium a month ago.
I arrived at Maastricht at 11:30 and had a nice lunch on the main square in the sun.

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It was time to rest in the hottest part of the day, and I made it to a swimming spot on the Maas and lay there and read, going for periodic swims until 15:30. The last part of the trip was going to be hilly, and I didn’t want to do it at the hottest time of day.

I made my way to Aachen along the lovely scenic but very up and down route that hugs the border with Belgium. Holland does have some steep hills and some cute little villages tucked in cosy valleys. Epe and Slenaken are like this, and are very pretty.
I stopped at the famous huge ice cream place in Epe. They were busy, a hoard of cyclists having just arrived.

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I got the third size of ice cream from a total of 7. They have 1, 2 scoops, giant, mega, giga, ultra, and super ultra.

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Some dark clouds crossed the sky, for which I was grateful. I could climb my way up to the Vaals ‘mountain’ – the highest mountain in the Netherlands – in shade. It is at the point where the borders with Belgium and Germany meet. From there it was all downhill (as I know a route that is like this) all the way to Cristina’s place, situated at the lowest point in Aachen.
The whole family will cycle a bit tomorrow. A pleasant day excursion.

Ascension Day Long Weekend Bike Trip

Posted: May 21, 2012 in Cycling
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Eindhoven – Dover – Oostende

Hi all. Here is my complete trip on the ascension day long weekend bike trip. It looks more impressive I think with each day’s trip concatenated together.. 🙂

 

Day 1. Eindhoven – Waterloo. 167km

Posted: May 17, 2012 in Belgium, Cycling, Netherlands
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Eindhoven – Waterloo

I left mounting the front wheel pannier carriers until the last evening. This was a bad idea. I couldn’t get them mounted. I needed to be able to make a screw shorter by sawing it off. I gave up, and left with only the rear wheel bags. My test of packing the bike with all the equipment for Norway will have to wait until next time.

I was excited to leave and was awake super early. I was on the road by 5:30. It was cold and overcast. I cycled with long cycle pants and 2 layers on my torso. I made a note that for Norway I will buy warm and sturdy (and waterproof) shoes for cycling. And, I noted to bring warm gloves next time.

There was low hanging mist suspended over all the lakes. In the early morning it was a beautiful light with the sun hanging low. The birds were tweeting and the world was still sleeping. It was just me to see this glorious morning.

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The world slowly started rising. I passed (or actually was passed) by lots of packs of cyclists as I cycled along the canal, lined with rich green trees. I turned south and followed the long distance cycle route southwards. I passed along canals, then cute farmer villages and finally along a straight stretch of bike path that used to be a train track. I passed Tienen and then some beautiful forests.

I expected the hills to increase as I got further south. This was true in general. The hills came in patches. And some were tough. One just out of Tessenderlo and one just out of Tienen. In between it was flat and easy going, made a bit more difficult with a slight head wind.

I was getting hungry, and my iPhone was running out of juice. At 16:30 I pulled up in Overijse and had a tasty lunch/dinner. The only camping ground within reach was in Overijse itself. It turned out to be closed. I decided to stay in a hotel. I am now in the rather ugly Waterloo, just south of Brussels.

Luyksgestel – Weert. 35km run along the canal

Posted: May 12, 2012 in Running
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Luyksgestel – Weert

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The second time round for the run from Luyksgestel to Weert. A pleasant bus ride through the green countryside with the sun shining and the blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. A train trip back from Weert with the dark looming clouds threatening overhead. In between 35 km along beautiful canals in Belgium. Tree-lined paths, fishermen whiling away the hours in the peaceful greenery, joggers and cyclists plying the paths.

I left the canal and made the dash to Weert. Having learnt from last time, I crossed over to the right hand side of the canal before the Dutch-Belgian border. This way I didn’t have to run along a main road with no bike or footpath. I increased my speed and was thrilled that I could maintain a pace of 5:20 per kilometre. I averaged just a tick under 10km/h. Not bad for 35km.

This is an experimental blog post from my iPhone. This is how I will have to post on my bike trip.. I hope it works out.. 🙂

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