Easy hikes and city walks in Holland
This is a despatch from the Central European lowlands where winter is neither the season when snowmen freeze to death – as they currently do in North America – nor the right time to sit outside in some balmy sunshine. This, after all, is not the Mediterranean. Not that you would be in danger of…
Hiking in Holland The Handelsweg from Oldenzaal to Hengelo The Marskramerpad (or Handelsweg) stage from Oldenzaal to Hengelo was our first ever hike in the Netherlands – we had been to Holland before, but, to be honest, our walks there had been urban promenades rather than “proper” hikes. This time, however, we were fully kitted…
Hiking in Holland Hiking in Holland on the Traders’ Trail The Handelsweg – the “traders’ trail” – leads you across a distance of 230 km from Osnabrück (in Germany) to Deventer (in the Netherlands) through northern Westphalia and the two Dutch provinces of Twente and Salland. It is essentially a combination of two older trails,…
Holidays in the Netherlands Biking or Hiking At the end of our visit to the Netherlands, I finally had to concede defeat. We were leaving the country in the sad realization that the Dutch will never take to hiking in a major way. Never will hiking be the preferred choice of the Dutch for moving about…
Walks in the Netherlands And now, for something completely different. A Vertical Hike in Utrecht Part three in our short series of “Walks in the Netherlands” provides a stark contrast both to the forested lake and windmills of Kralingen and to our delightful urban promenade along the canals of Utrecht. In the first two walks,…
Walks in the Netherlands A Pleasant Urban Promenade in Utrect The modern world was born in the Netherlands: this small country at the edge of Europe, forever at risk of sliding into the Atlantic Ocean, was the first that was run for and on behalf of its citizens. Today, we take this form of government…
Holidays in Holland Eating in Utrecht by Mrs. Easy Hiker One of the best things of any walking trip is the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the local cuisine – not least because that is something you can enjoy even if the weather refuses to cooperate with your plans. A good meal is a good…
Walks in Holland A Walk in Rotterdam Rotterdam city centre, as I told you in my last post, is not conventionally pretty. You may admire the city’s ebullience and its youthful elan, but there is little that the average visitor will find charming. Kralingse Bos in the Rotterdam suburb of Kralingen, however, more than makes…
It’s SPRING in Utrecht Before we get to the serious business of walking in Holland (there will be three easy hikes in the days to come), first, an urgent note about something that we have come across on our recent trip to the Netherlands. Urgent because, unlike the walks, it will not be there for…
Rotterdam in 300 Words Those among you who read a lot of travel blogs will have seen quite a few posts recently about the Dutch city of Rotterdam. If you do not have the time to read them all, here is a brief précis of what you are missing. Rotterdam – one of the busiest…