Hiking in the South of The Netherlands

September 9, 2007

On Sunday, I went for a hike with Ryan, Laura and Ellie from the south of The Netherlands to Belgium. It was unlike any hike that I have ever taken. We started in the south of the Netherlands and made our way into the north of Belgium for lunch and then back home to the Netherlands.

The Hike
Here's a nice map of the region where we hiked. You can see the towns and the border between the two countries, as well as the outlines of the farm fields.

Horse Pasture
Because I am still enamored with horses, I was delighted to walk though two horse pastures. The horses were beautiful Belgians and they were HUGE!

This picture gives you an idea about just how big those horses really are.

Lunch at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere

Just across the border in Belgium, we enjoyed lunch at a fabulous little restaurant. Lunch was wonderful! Together we enjoyed pancakes, Belgian waffles, an omelet, pumpkin soup, and hearty bread. I would highly recommend this restaurant to any of my friends who might make their way over here to the Netherlands. It's definitely a special treat, if you can find it.



Cow Pasture
On our way back after lunch, we took a different path. This path happened to take us right through a cow pasture full of cows and their calves. While Ryan bravely marched right in, Laura and I weren't as sure how we felt about being up close and personnel with so many hefty cows. At one point, one cow starting looking at us funny. (It's amazing, but it is possible to read the look of a cow's face just as you might read the look on a person's face.) We started to wonder whether we should turn around and RUN or if it would be better to just keep going. Fortunately, Ryan led us all away from the "Angry" cow and back to the safety of the other side of the fence. Whew!

By the way... watch out for the cow pies. They're quite fresh.


Green Green Green

It's been raining quite a bit here lately, with showers almost everyday. I guess there is a positive side to the icky weather... it's green every direction you look. Though it was cloudy and the skies looked threatening at times, not a drop fell on us during our hike.