Monday, 30 June 2014
Day 22
Day 22- Oignes to Rocroi- 21kms
Woken by the bleating of sheep. Cool & misty with a light breeze. Breakfast a bit sparse, but no power. Much of today on forest paths, along a trench, lots of new fir trees, green underfoot, sometimes muddy. Signposting generally good. Meet Jean-Pierre a Belgian pilgrim also on his way to Santiago. We walk together. Leave Belgium and enter France. Stay in a lovely new municipal pilgrim refuge in Rocroi. Walk the ramparts, enjoy the visit of a veteran car club, kebab for dinner. Good day.
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Day 21-22
Day 21- Sat 14/6-Niverlee to Oignes 22kms
Breakfast & talk before leaving at 9.30. Go left at the church then right across the fields heading in the direction of Treignes. We soon pick up the scallop shell waymarkers to arrive in the pretty little village of Treignes where we enjoy a coffee. We started in misty drizzle but that had now gone. We take a grassy path between 2 fences across private property, wild flowers purple & white, wild roses, blackberries in flower, the perfume wafts across the path from the flowering privet & honeysuckle. The path is narrow & shady, quiet & peaceful. We hear the steam train whistle. The track passes through woods, beside a stream, beech, birch, oak & fir trees, grand old giants with mossy roots amongst the green lichen covered rocks. Today seems to take a long time as we have really slowed down. After an apple stop in a fur forest we finally get to the village if Oignes en Thierache. Again our host is only expecting 1 pilgrim but Joke makes us both welcome in her partly finished home she is fitting out herself. A warm dinner with a glass of wine & we are ready for bed. €40 ea.
Day 22- Ougnes to Ricroi 21km
We are woken by the bleating of sheep and no electricity. However we have breakfast & are in our way by 8.50. Most of today is through forest on forest paths, some badly affected by recent rains, sometimes in a gully, lots of new fir trees with their bright green tips, green pathways, sometimes muddy. Signposting is generally good but most often missing when it is needed most. At Bruly we stop to rest on a bridge. Here we meet another pilgrim - Jean-Pierre from Belgium. We are now 3 and walk together to Rocroi where he has told us about a new pilgrim refuge provided by the municipality. We pay at the tourist office €15 each. 2 rooms both with bathrooms. 1 room sleeps 4 & the other 2. We get a code for the door & make ourselves at home, hang washing in the sunny courtyard & relax before taking a walk to the ramparts. Dinner is at the Rocroi kebab. We are now in France - Belgium & Holland are already finished.
Breakfast & talk before leaving at 9.30. Go left at the church then right across the fields heading in the direction of Treignes. We soon pick up the scallop shell waymarkers to arrive in the pretty little village of Treignes where we enjoy a coffee. We started in misty drizzle but that had now gone. We take a grassy path between 2 fences across private property, wild flowers purple & white, wild roses, blackberries in flower, the perfume wafts across the path from the flowering privet & honeysuckle. The path is narrow & shady, quiet & peaceful. We hear the steam train whistle. The track passes through woods, beside a stream, beech, birch, oak & fir trees, grand old giants with mossy roots amongst the green lichen covered rocks. Today seems to take a long time as we have really slowed down. After an apple stop in a fur forest we finally get to the village if Oignes en Thierache. Again our host is only expecting 1 pilgrim but Joke makes us both welcome in her partly finished home she is fitting out herself. A warm dinner with a glass of wine & we are ready for bed. €40 ea.
Day 22- Ougnes to Ricroi 21km
We are woken by the bleating of sheep and no electricity. However we have breakfast & are in our way by 8.50. Most of today is through forest on forest paths, some badly affected by recent rains, sometimes in a gully, lots of new fir trees with their bright green tips, green pathways, sometimes muddy. Signposting is generally good but most often missing when it is needed most. At Bruly we stop to rest on a bridge. Here we meet another pilgrim - Jean-Pierre from Belgium. We are now 3 and walk together to Rocroi where he has told us about a new pilgrim refuge provided by the municipality. We pay at the tourist office €15 each. 2 rooms both with bathrooms. 1 room sleeps 4 & the other 2. We get a code for the door & make ourselves at home, hang washing in the sunny courtyard & relax before taking a walk to the ramparts. Dinner is at the Rocroi kebab. We are now in France - Belgium & Holland are already finished.
Belgium
Day 18-20
Day 18-Namur to Bois-Vallon (Profondeville) 20+kms
Buffet breakfast at the youth hostel then back into town, up through the citadelle - very steep stairs- through the parade ground, up again to the forest. Now we are 3 female pilgrims making our way along the scallop shell way. There are splendid views of Namur from the ramparts of the citadelle. The forest paths are muddy, slippery, lots of puddles & often squelchy thanks to the recent storms. Cool shady forests, long wet grass & much paved road. We watch the talented tradesmen laying the granite cobblestones, piece by piece, just like a jigsaw as they choose each stone to lay side by side. We ask for water from a house where we are directed to backtrack to find our accommodation for the night- Ingrid's B&B. A welcome awaits us. The sun is warm to dry the washing while we relax with a cool drink. Ingrid drives us back to the village for dinner- delicious local fare- salad of goat's cheese wrapped in finely sliced ham, followed by cherry clafoutis & a glass of rose. We walk the 25 mins back to Ingrid's & go early to bed.
Day 19- Profondeville to Dinant - 21km
We make a deviation direct to the Meuse river which we follow all day upstream to Dinant. Carla is having trouble with her knee/hip/back so we take it slowly. Boats come & go through the numerous locks. Some interesting houses but many looking rather delapidated. We cross a small stream rushing and tumbling to join the Meuse. On the hills above the river we see remains/ruins of castles & forts. We cross the Meuse at a lock then walk alongside through fields if canola with red poppies waving in the breeze- an old bike strapped to a tree & a graveyard for old tourist boats. We stay tonight at the Abbey Leffe where accommodation is very basic. We do have beds but - no bedding, no hot water, no shower, communal toilet room where we walk past the urinals to get to the toilets. We are sleeping upstairs and the bathroom facilities are down a very creaky wooden staircase on the ground floor. We share a communal evening meal with monks & other residents/ guests. Dinant had a bridge lined with brightly coloured saxophones, each with the name of a European country on its base. Max arrived just before dinner & will walk with me a few days.
Day 20 - Dinant to Niverlee 33kms - 9 hours
Cross the river at the lock then head up through the forest with muddy paths then later a younger forest of beech & birch. Through fields on paved roads then through another forest with slippery down hill tracks still wet from the recent rains. In Hastiere we enjoy a cold drink & short rest then get some bananas. & water from the supermarket. We criss cross over & under old railway lines whichever become our path. We climb gently for several kms, past the old railway station at Agimont village then cross a main road and find a farm selling glaces artisinale (ice creams). Lovely. The guide book has an error which temporarily puts us off track but Google soon sets us right. Up to the village of Romeree then down & up to Niverlee Here we are staying with Theresa & Philippe. They are only expecting me but there is also room for Max. A lovely evening meal, glass if wine, great company ends an exhausting day.
Day 18-Namur to Bois-Vallon (Profondeville) 20+kms
Buffet breakfast at the youth hostel then back into town, up through the citadelle - very steep stairs- through the parade ground, up again to the forest. Now we are 3 female pilgrims making our way along the scallop shell way. There are splendid views of Namur from the ramparts of the citadelle. The forest paths are muddy, slippery, lots of puddles & often squelchy thanks to the recent storms. Cool shady forests, long wet grass & much paved road. We watch the talented tradesmen laying the granite cobblestones, piece by piece, just like a jigsaw as they choose each stone to lay side by side. We ask for water from a house where we are directed to backtrack to find our accommodation for the night- Ingrid's B&B. A welcome awaits us. The sun is warm to dry the washing while we relax with a cool drink. Ingrid drives us back to the village for dinner- delicious local fare- salad of goat's cheese wrapped in finely sliced ham, followed by cherry clafoutis & a glass of rose. We walk the 25 mins back to Ingrid's & go early to bed.
Day 19- Profondeville to Dinant - 21km
We make a deviation direct to the Meuse river which we follow all day upstream to Dinant. Carla is having trouble with her knee/hip/back so we take it slowly. Boats come & go through the numerous locks. Some interesting houses but many looking rather delapidated. We cross a small stream rushing and tumbling to join the Meuse. On the hills above the river we see remains/ruins of castles & forts. We cross the Meuse at a lock then walk alongside through fields if canola with red poppies waving in the breeze- an old bike strapped to a tree & a graveyard for old tourist boats. We stay tonight at the Abbey Leffe where accommodation is very basic. We do have beds but - no bedding, no hot water, no shower, communal toilet room where we walk past the urinals to get to the toilets. We are sleeping upstairs and the bathroom facilities are down a very creaky wooden staircase on the ground floor. We share a communal evening meal with monks & other residents/ guests. Dinant had a bridge lined with brightly coloured saxophones, each with the name of a European country on its base. Max arrived just before dinner & will walk with me a few days.
Day 20 - Dinant to Niverlee 33kms - 9 hours
Cross the river at the lock then head up through the forest with muddy paths then later a younger forest of beech & birch. Through fields on paved roads then through another forest with slippery down hill tracks still wet from the recent rains. In Hastiere we enjoy a cold drink & short rest then get some bananas. & water from the supermarket. We criss cross over & under old railway lines whichever become our path. We climb gently for several kms, past the old railway station at Agimont village then cross a main road and find a farm selling glaces artisinale (ice creams). Lovely. The guide book has an error which temporarily puts us off track but Google soon sets us right. Up to the village of Romeree then down & up to Niverlee Here we are staying with Theresa & Philippe. They are only expecting me but there is also room for Max. A lovely evening meal, glass if wine, great company ends an exhausting day.
Day 16-17
Day 16-St Severin -Huy 17km
Monday and it's a holiday. Breakfast with Marie-Paul then onward. There were thunderstorms in the night so paths are muddy with many large puddles. But, much of the way is along paved roads and at one stage, where I see a pheasant running towards me, it crosses a new road being built. Very muddy. There are a few shrines/memorials along the way and what appear to be the remains if castles if the past now used as farm houses. For the first time I see fields of Colza (canola) a metre high, rain affected and bent over. Ups and downs, village to village, past electrical substations, fields of grain, horses & cows. The final descent into Huy is very steep past stations of the cross, apparently known in cycling circles as the "wall of Huy". Just past the musee Jacques, the German pilgrim & his children catch up with me. & we walk in to the tourist information office together. Here we can get a stamp for our pilgrim credenciale from a very unhappy, unhelpful, unwelcoming person - a pity considering she is the face of the city. They go to their accommodation and I find my way along the river to Hotel du Fort where I can get a chambre du pelerin - a pilgrim room. Great wifi downstairs although the restaurant is closed tonight. I go out for dinner. Another storm front comes thundering through. Thunder, lightning, high winds & torrential rain. So dark the cars have their lights on at 7pm.
Day 17- 10/6- Huy to Namur 34kms + 1.5km
Haven't been able to book any accommodation closer than Namur so decide to go for it today. It is all alongside the canal on pavement. Flat , barges plying up & down, locks and weirs as the river flows ever onwards. Barges being loaded & unloaded with grain, sand, rocks and what smells like potting mix. Around 1pm I run for shelter when black clouds threaten but they pass by. Slowly the town if Namur appears where I head for the youth hostel. Reception tell me they will put me in a 4 bed room with 2 other ladies "like me". They are 2 lovely Dutchafies Trudue & Carla who are walking in stages and are planning to walk for the next 7 days. We enjoy a meal together before planning for tomorrow when we will walk together. More blessings.
Day 16-St Severin -Huy 17km
Monday and it's a holiday. Breakfast with Marie-Paul then onward. There were thunderstorms in the night so paths are muddy with many large puddles. But, much of the way is along paved roads and at one stage, where I see a pheasant running towards me, it crosses a new road being built. Very muddy. There are a few shrines/memorials along the way and what appear to be the remains if castles if the past now used as farm houses. For the first time I see fields of Colza (canola) a metre high, rain affected and bent over. Ups and downs, village to village, past electrical substations, fields of grain, horses & cows. The final descent into Huy is very steep past stations of the cross, apparently known in cycling circles as the "wall of Huy". Just past the musee Jacques, the German pilgrim & his children catch up with me. & we walk in to the tourist information office together. Here we can get a stamp for our pilgrim credenciale from a very unhappy, unhelpful, unwelcoming person - a pity considering she is the face of the city. They go to their accommodation and I find my way along the river to Hotel du Fort where I can get a chambre du pelerin - a pilgrim room. Great wifi downstairs although the restaurant is closed tonight. I go out for dinner. Another storm front comes thundering through. Thunder, lightning, high winds & torrential rain. So dark the cars have their lights on at 7pm.
Day 17- 10/6- Huy to Namur 34kms + 1.5km
Haven't been able to book any accommodation closer than Namur so decide to go for it today. It is all alongside the canal on pavement. Flat , barges plying up & down, locks and weirs as the river flows ever onwards. Barges being loaded & unloaded with grain, sand, rocks and what smells like potting mix. Around 1pm I run for shelter when black clouds threaten but they pass by. Slowly the town if Namur appears where I head for the youth hostel. Reception tell me they will put me in a 4 bed room with 2 other ladies "like me". They are 2 lovely Dutchafies Trudue & Carla who are walking in stages and are planning to walk for the next 7 days. We enjoy a meal together before planning for tomorrow when we will walk together. More blessings.
Day 13-15
Day 13- Maastricht to Vise-16km
Left Max at the hostel where he headed off to the station and I started off upstream along the Maas, first across the bridge then along a path passing under govt buildings. Now with a new guide book - the Via Wallonia - a variation from the Via Mosana. Sometimes red shells on white and other times gold on blue symbols to follow. From here to St Severin the blue & gold are affixed by George Meurs who I later stay with. Today the kms fly by under my feet. There are cherry orchards, corn, maize & wheat. Around the 13km mark I cross into Belgium across an invisible line. Across the bridge in Vise to knock on the door of Pension Au Quai. Claire & Christian welcome me with a long cold drink sitting out in the garden. After dropping my luggage I head back across the bridge to enjoy a cool glass of rose with nibbles overlooking the river. Back at the pension around 5.30 Christian's son Philippe arrives & the refresents commence. Later other guests arrive, friends of the family and we enjoy a most convivial evening with a delicious meal served outside in the walled garden. The evening flows beautifully, with a mixture if Dutch & English. Finally to bed around 10pm in a delightful room with blackout curtains in the window overlooking the river. The only noise that of the geese arguing on the riverbank below. Claire has made a booking for me in Angleur tomorrow night so I can rest easy knowing that is sorted.
Day 14 - Sat 7/6 - Vise to Angleur. 24kms
Eggs, bacon, yoghurt, bread, cheese, juice & coffee for breakfast. Some off road walking mixed with forest paths. A little field mouse sits in the middle of the footpath as I walk by. Up and down through forests & alongside the Julienne Brook for a few kms - very pleasant. Fields on one side, forest on the other. On the outskirts if Liege I see the first brass scallop shell in the footpath- a symbol of the Camino with which I am familiar from Spain. The route takes me along an island in the Meuse (Maas) river- passing under 5 bridges before a footbridge takes me back to the main land. I findy refuge for the night but as I was told not roar rive before 5pm and it is now only 3.15 I take a rest/nap on the church steps waiting for time to pass. George Meurs (82yo)is the warden of the refuge & in fact the owner, builder & inspiration for the refuge here. He has 6 units for students but one is dedicated to pilgrim accommodation. It can sleep 3-4 comfortably but tonight I am the only one. George cooked me dinner in his own home, sent me up the ladder to pick cherries from the tree in his back yard. A most interesting evening.
Day 15- Angleur to St Severin - 25kms
It's Sunday (Pinkster) & after a cooked breakfast Geirge sends me off pointing me towards the via Mosana. But, that is too long (at more than 30kms ) so I take the path along the river, through the industrial area. After 5kms it starts to rain, gently at first but then the heavens open & I am just a a roundabout where I have to change direction. I spy a flapping door and run towards it. A construction site toilet where I shelter as the thunder rolls, lightning flashes and I waitfor the 20 mins it takes for the storm cell to pass. Not only that but there is plenty of paper to dry myself off. Soon the sun comes out like there never was a storm. At one stage the trail takes me on a very overgrown path with blackberries, tall grass & nettles before reaching a muddy path alongside a filthy waterway. Uggghh!!
Uphill, steep, leaf littered ground, off road bikes, oak & beech trees, on road again up past the castle of St Hubert to the village of Neuville en Condroz. Across the meadows, down past another castle to arrive at the round pond in front of the 12C (Romanesque) church of St Severin. There is a message in English on the door of the refuge inviting arriving pilgrims to make themselves at home & that at 7.30 the lady in the farmhouse next door will get us for dinner. I had not booked here as George had made a phone call in the morning before I left but got now answer. I assumed he had tried & got through later but that turned out not to be so. I made myself at home upstairs in the building attached to the church & hung my washing out to dry on the scaffolding at the end if the building. Later a German man with his son & daughter arrive & confirm they are the expected pilgrims. Nevertheless we all go over to the farmhouse at 7.30. Would you believe it. The table is set for 5. 3 other pilgrims, our hostess, Marie-Paul and me - the unexpected guest. We are treated to a delicious meal of home grown, home made vegetable soup, stuffed peppers, baby boiled potatoes followed by home grown rhubarb stewed with vanilla. All accompanied by elderberry spritzer. Blessed.
Day 13- Maastricht to Vise-16km
Left Max at the hostel where he headed off to the station and I started off upstream along the Maas, first across the bridge then along a path passing under govt buildings. Now with a new guide book - the Via Wallonia - a variation from the Via Mosana. Sometimes red shells on white and other times gold on blue symbols to follow. From here to St Severin the blue & gold are affixed by George Meurs who I later stay with. Today the kms fly by under my feet. There are cherry orchards, corn, maize & wheat. Around the 13km mark I cross into Belgium across an invisible line. Across the bridge in Vise to knock on the door of Pension Au Quai. Claire & Christian welcome me with a long cold drink sitting out in the garden. After dropping my luggage I head back across the bridge to enjoy a cool glass of rose with nibbles overlooking the river. Back at the pension around 5.30 Christian's son Philippe arrives & the refresents commence. Later other guests arrive, friends of the family and we enjoy a most convivial evening with a delicious meal served outside in the walled garden. The evening flows beautifully, with a mixture if Dutch & English. Finally to bed around 10pm in a delightful room with blackout curtains in the window overlooking the river. The only noise that of the geese arguing on the riverbank below. Claire has made a booking for me in Angleur tomorrow night so I can rest easy knowing that is sorted.
Day 14 - Sat 7/6 - Vise to Angleur. 24kms
Eggs, bacon, yoghurt, bread, cheese, juice & coffee for breakfast. Some off road walking mixed with forest paths. A little field mouse sits in the middle of the footpath as I walk by. Up and down through forests & alongside the Julienne Brook for a few kms - very pleasant. Fields on one side, forest on the other. On the outskirts if Liege I see the first brass scallop shell in the footpath- a symbol of the Camino with which I am familiar from Spain. The route takes me along an island in the Meuse (Maas) river- passing under 5 bridges before a footbridge takes me back to the main land. I findy refuge for the night but as I was told not roar rive before 5pm and it is now only 3.15 I take a rest/nap on the church steps waiting for time to pass. George Meurs (82yo)is the warden of the refuge & in fact the owner, builder & inspiration for the refuge here. He has 6 units for students but one is dedicated to pilgrim accommodation. It can sleep 3-4 comfortably but tonight I am the only one. George cooked me dinner in his own home, sent me up the ladder to pick cherries from the tree in his back yard. A most interesting evening.
Day 15- Angleur to St Severin - 25kms
It's Sunday (Pinkster) & after a cooked breakfast Geirge sends me off pointing me towards the via Mosana. But, that is too long (at more than 30kms ) so I take the path along the river, through the industrial area. After 5kms it starts to rain, gently at first but then the heavens open & I am just a a roundabout where I have to change direction. I spy a flapping door and run towards it. A construction site toilet where I shelter as the thunder rolls, lightning flashes and I waitfor the 20 mins it takes for the storm cell to pass. Not only that but there is plenty of paper to dry myself off. Soon the sun comes out like there never was a storm. At one stage the trail takes me on a very overgrown path with blackberries, tall grass & nettles before reaching a muddy path alongside a filthy waterway. Uggghh!!
Uphill, steep, leaf littered ground, off road bikes, oak & beech trees, on road again up past the castle of St Hubert to the village of Neuville en Condroz. Across the meadows, down past another castle to arrive at the round pond in front of the 12C (Romanesque) church of St Severin. There is a message in English on the door of the refuge inviting arriving pilgrims to make themselves at home & that at 7.30 the lady in the farmhouse next door will get us for dinner. I had not booked here as George had made a phone call in the morning before I left but got now answer. I assumed he had tried & got through later but that turned out not to be so. I made myself at home upstairs in the building attached to the church & hung my washing out to dry on the scaffolding at the end if the building. Later a German man with his son & daughter arrive & confirm they are the expected pilgrims. Nevertheless we all go over to the farmhouse at 7.30. Would you believe it. The table is set for 5. 3 other pilgrims, our hostess, Marie-Paul and me - the unexpected guest. We are treated to a delicious meal of home grown, home made vegetable soup, stuffed peppers, baby boiled potatoes followed by home grown rhubarb stewed with vanilla. All accompanied by elderberry spritzer. Blessed.
Monday, 9 June 2014
Days 8-12
Will have to keep this short as the internet wants to drop out.
Day 8 Ophoven - Sittard 26km
Walking along side the Maas. A gaggle of geese swimming in the river, cows grazing in the meadows, brightly coloured Lycra clad cyclists whizzing by in packs, social cyclists meandering along on their Sunday ride, walkers in groups and also alone, gardens abloom with Summer flowers, horses in the fields with foals on their spindly legs. There are beets growing in the fields, beautiful bloemen (flowers), birds, butterflies, bumble bees & bright blue beetles beetling along. Limbricht with its castle & adjacent church with beautiful frescoes ( Salviuskerkje). Overnight in Hotel de Prins in Sittard. Tonight dinner at the Australian Down Under restaurant.
Day 9- Sittard -Heerlen 27.3km +
First climb the Kollenburg hill past stations of the cross. Sunny right from the start. Through fields if barley, wheat, beets & maize. Mostly forest paths and a few ups and downs. Finished with the flat lands. Lots of wrought iron crosses along the wayside. Cute little wood sculptures appear surreptitiously in the forest. A talented local artist making his mark. I drop my glasses unknowingly and have to retrace my steps for 800m or so. I finally make it into Heerlen where the accommodation is 1.8km off the trail. Looks like a grand mansion from the front but accommodation is tucked out the back with shared bathroom, at the end of the passage & I have to use my own sheet, pillowcase & towel. Only 2 other guests for dinner. They don't get many Australians in this part if the world.
Day 10- Heerlen - Schin op Geul 19.3km
Across the fields to Ubachsberg. The fields are filled with flowering grasses waving pink in the breeze. The path is so overgrown I have to walk in the adjoining field. Into the forest with picturesque landscapes visible thru windows in the trees. I see a group if motorcyclists passing on the road below. Soft oak leaf litter underfoot, turn the corner and on my right is the magnificently restored Molen op de Vrouwheide, which a family enjoy as their modern home. (It's a windmill). Through more fields and past black lambs Here there are turnstiles rather than gates between fields. The houses have bright glossy paintwork. Across farmland then steep steps to the shady beech forest with its quirky tree trunks. Then, would you believe I am handed a tract from. Jehovah's Witness!!! I pass a couple of senior gentlemen out for a walk then pass the Kasteel (Castle) Cartils which is undergoing extensive renovation. A huge task. Up the very steep and long Dodermanweg then turn right thru the fields to arrive at B&B Keutenberg. A real treasure. The end if a wonderful, wonderful day. I feel truly blessed.
Day 11- Schin op Geul - Maastricht 16km
Today I make the decision to follow the Google route as heavy rain is forecast. Rain jacket in and off a few times during the walk but nothing serious. Through fields if blue/green wheat, potatoes, beets and barley turning gold, horses with foals at door, through small villages of Valkenburg, Ijzeren, Sibbe & Bermelen and on into Maastricht. Some steep hills, mostly on unpaved roads.
I meet up with Max at the Youth Hostel where we are staying for 2 nights. We tour the town and take it easy.
Day 12 In Maastricht - rest day 2 km
We take a boat ride upstream to St Pietersberg where we take a guided tour of the man made caves from where limestone was carved centuries ago. Here also the people if Maastricht took refuge from bombing during the WW 2.
Will have to keep this short as the internet wants to drop out.
Day 8 Ophoven - Sittard 26km
Walking along side the Maas. A gaggle of geese swimming in the river, cows grazing in the meadows, brightly coloured Lycra clad cyclists whizzing by in packs, social cyclists meandering along on their Sunday ride, walkers in groups and also alone, gardens abloom with Summer flowers, horses in the fields with foals on their spindly legs. There are beets growing in the fields, beautiful bloemen (flowers), birds, butterflies, bumble bees & bright blue beetles beetling along. Limbricht with its castle & adjacent church with beautiful frescoes ( Salviuskerkje). Overnight in Hotel de Prins in Sittard. Tonight dinner at the Australian Down Under restaurant.
Day 9- Sittard -Heerlen 27.3km +
First climb the Kollenburg hill past stations of the cross. Sunny right from the start. Through fields if barley, wheat, beets & maize. Mostly forest paths and a few ups and downs. Finished with the flat lands. Lots of wrought iron crosses along the wayside. Cute little wood sculptures appear surreptitiously in the forest. A talented local artist making his mark. I drop my glasses unknowingly and have to retrace my steps for 800m or so. I finally make it into Heerlen where the accommodation is 1.8km off the trail. Looks like a grand mansion from the front but accommodation is tucked out the back with shared bathroom, at the end of the passage & I have to use my own sheet, pillowcase & towel. Only 2 other guests for dinner. They don't get many Australians in this part if the world.
Day 10- Heerlen - Schin op Geul 19.3km
Across the fields to Ubachsberg. The fields are filled with flowering grasses waving pink in the breeze. The path is so overgrown I have to walk in the adjoining field. Into the forest with picturesque landscapes visible thru windows in the trees. I see a group if motorcyclists passing on the road below. Soft oak leaf litter underfoot, turn the corner and on my right is the magnificently restored Molen op de Vrouwheide, which a family enjoy as their modern home. (It's a windmill). Through more fields and past black lambs Here there are turnstiles rather than gates between fields. The houses have bright glossy paintwork. Across farmland then steep steps to the shady beech forest with its quirky tree trunks. Then, would you believe I am handed a tract from. Jehovah's Witness!!! I pass a couple of senior gentlemen out for a walk then pass the Kasteel (Castle) Cartils which is undergoing extensive renovation. A huge task. Up the very steep and long Dodermanweg then turn right thru the fields to arrive at B&B Keutenberg. A real treasure. The end if a wonderful, wonderful day. I feel truly blessed.
Day 11- Schin op Geul - Maastricht 16km
Today I make the decision to follow the Google route as heavy rain is forecast. Rain jacket in and off a few times during the walk but nothing serious. Through fields if blue/green wheat, potatoes, beets and barley turning gold, horses with foals at door, through small villages of Valkenburg, Ijzeren, Sibbe & Bermelen and on into Maastricht. Some steep hills, mostly on unpaved roads.
I meet up with Max at the Youth Hostel where we are staying for 2 nights. We tour the town and take it easy.
Day 12 In Maastricht - rest day 2 km
We take a boat ride upstream to St Pietersberg where we take a guided tour of the man made caves from where limestone was carved centuries ago. Here also the people if Maastricht took refuge from bombing during the WW 2.
Days 5-7
Day 5 and Janny was still with me. We walked across the moorlands with heather and grasses, Scottish highland cattle grazing, cool and overcast. There have been fires here, I think last summer, so much clearing of burnt trees has gone on & the trail has changed somewhat. It is another day of opening & closing gates. There are many small birds flittering and tweeting, robins, finches and what looks like a tree creeper. The Douglas Fir trees have bright green tips. The mosses in the forest are deep, thick and spongey. Tonight I stay at Pension Boerenkamp, near Someren Heide, where Janny and I have dinner before she goes home with her sister Venna. A lovely 3 days of walking together. The farm I am staying at won the award for most productive dairy farm in the EU for 2014. Around 125 cows, living in a barn, milked 3 times a day and everything automated. Amazing
Day 6 Someren - Weert 23km+ 3.5
The cooing doves wake me for a breakfast of omelette and fresh strawberries, bread, cheese & coffee. The path is quiet today, muddy sandy paths but warm sunshine. The frogs are really kicking up a chorus as I walk thru marshland and beside waterways. I see a buzzard fly out of the forest ahead of me. Lots of little birds & the silence of the forest is broken only by their song. I see a deer ahead of me on the path but do not get close before it bounds away into the long grass in the forest. Entering Weert I cross Sluis 16, before taking the 3.5km detour to my accommodation with the Bridgettine Sisters in the town centre. I am the only pilgrim and only 1 other guest.
Day 7 Weert - Ophoven 3.5 + 33.5km
It is a long and arduous day, mostly on paved roads but also shady which is great compensation. Saturday in the Netherlands and there are many groups of runners, cyclists, walkers all going fast. The Nordic walking group has the poles click clacking as they pass by. At one stage a Rottweiler gets too friendly and knocks my sunglasses off. He is not on a leash & his owner can't control him. I pass through several small villages but nothing is open. In the town of Thorn everything is open. A small village with white painted buildings. Between Thorn & the next village of Kessenich I cross the border into Belgium but by days end I am back in Holland where I stay at the Sail Centre in Ophoven. The marina on one side and the Maas river on the other.
Day 5 and Janny was still with me. We walked across the moorlands with heather and grasses, Scottish highland cattle grazing, cool and overcast. There have been fires here, I think last summer, so much clearing of burnt trees has gone on & the trail has changed somewhat. It is another day of opening & closing gates. There are many small birds flittering and tweeting, robins, finches and what looks like a tree creeper. The Douglas Fir trees have bright green tips. The mosses in the forest are deep, thick and spongey. Tonight I stay at Pension Boerenkamp, near Someren Heide, where Janny and I have dinner before she goes home with her sister Venna. A lovely 3 days of walking together. The farm I am staying at won the award for most productive dairy farm in the EU for 2014. Around 125 cows, living in a barn, milked 3 times a day and everything automated. Amazing
Day 6 Someren - Weert 23km+ 3.5
The cooing doves wake me for a breakfast of omelette and fresh strawberries, bread, cheese & coffee. The path is quiet today, muddy sandy paths but warm sunshine. The frogs are really kicking up a chorus as I walk thru marshland and beside waterways. I see a buzzard fly out of the forest ahead of me. Lots of little birds & the silence of the forest is broken only by their song. I see a deer ahead of me on the path but do not get close before it bounds away into the long grass in the forest. Entering Weert I cross Sluis 16, before taking the 3.5km detour to my accommodation with the Bridgettine Sisters in the town centre. I am the only pilgrim and only 1 other guest.
Day 7 Weert - Ophoven 3.5 + 33.5km
It is a long and arduous day, mostly on paved roads but also shady which is great compensation. Saturday in the Netherlands and there are many groups of runners, cyclists, walkers all going fast. The Nordic walking group has the poles click clacking as they pass by. At one stage a Rottweiler gets too friendly and knocks my sunglasses off. He is not on a leash & his owner can't control him. I pass through several small villages but nothing is open. In the town of Thorn everything is open. A small village with white painted buildings. Between Thorn & the next village of Kessenich I cross the border into Belgium but by days end I am back in Holland where I stay at the Sail Centre in Ophoven. The marina on one side and the Maas river on the other.
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