Those regular readers of my blog already know to be amazed at the items that the universe places in my path.
This week is vacation week in The Netherlands for most people. The Hubby only has three days off but we decided to escape to one of our favorite camping spots at the Biesbosch. Then I would try to get my hiking feet to pound the kilometers I still have to complete the Floris V Pad hiking trail. Oh, how I digress, this is a Hummm blog. Yes, I found these at our camping and along my route.
This electric panel needs a floppy disk? Hummmm… did I time travel?Hummm… other than the finger that wanted some exposure… this stork nest stand seemed a bit out of place to me. Since there is not a stork using it guessing it thought Hummmm…strange location and looked elsewhere.Hummm… maybe I need to stop and get some water, as I think this is an American Post Box…closer look…sure is…wonder if the Postmaster General really can do anything to me here? But wait… maybe I am in the USA……as I look down the street there are two more! Hummmm… hard to find the large ones in Minnesota with a dent from a snowplow… guess they don’t have that problem here in Dordrecht.Hummm… this is the first hiking sticker I have found on a garbage can on this trail. This last photo sums up my hummm for the last two years and all that is going on right now. Go camping, disconnect, drink and be happy.
I had laugh as I made my first edit, still writing 2021. Maybe by mid January writing 2022 will be natural.
I started my New Year, after getting the first good New Year’s Eve sleep in years, with a nature hike.
Trail markers close to the camp ground.
I have enjoyed these trails on other summer visits to the Weerribben National Park so I was excited to see what I would experience in the winter. There is a fair number of wild animals that call the National Park home but mostly they remain hidden in the thick brush and reeds.
I was prepared for this hike with my new Muck boots. Thanks to my friend Janet in Canada who held onto these beautiful boots for a year and half. Finally, we realized this COVID thing wasn’t going to end anytime soon, she sent them to Minnesota. Yes, it would have been cheaper just to purchase them at a farm store in Minnesota but we didn’t know that a virus was going to delay her plans for coming to Europe. Anyway, thanks Janet, I love these boots for walking muddy Dutch trails.
My Muck boots.
This hiking trail goes through some marsh like woods. I was heading to a location I hadn’t explored before close to number 19 canoe site.
A small bridge goes over the canal and into the woods. I had never explored it much from the canoe site.
Canoe site 19 from the bridge over the canalA panoramic of the woods and trail.
I started seeing signs of wildlife. Trails going across the landscape, feathers hanging on the grasses next to the trail.
Deer tracks in the mud.A feather seemed magically suspended on the grass.
Then my hike was halted by a gate. This trail was not a trail but a path to a private property. Disappointing!
STOP! Do not enter! Private property! Very clear…need to hike somewhere else.
Turning around and heading back to the main trail I continued for a few more kilometers. Hiking along the muddy trail in the isolated quiet of the National Park. The only other people I met were a couple who were trail running. They caught me hugging a tree. I had to laugh as I really thought I was alone in the woods.
That is the thing about the wilderness in The Netherlands you are almost never very far from people.
The interesting art of nature.
Hope that each of our readers gets out to your nearestwildernessin 2022.
I am now more than half way complete with this Floris V Pad hike to my endpoint of Bergen op Zoom. I started this 19 km section from the train station Sliedrecht Baanhoek making it a slightly longer hike. My last hike went into Papendrecht and ended at the former apartment of my in-laws. (here).
The Hubby was my transport to and from this section of my hiking experience. The Hubby deserves a very special accommodation for all the extra out of the way trips he has made for me during this trek to finish the Floris V Pad. Maybe a nice dinner?😊
I am using AllTrails app to track my routes recently.
This hike was one of my personal best for distance as I hiked 15 km. Mostly I am only able to hike 10 km. I also didn’t have many options of trail exit if my body decided to stop my hike early. I know many of my readers think I am endlessly adventurous and that I must be in great shape. The reality is much different. My body has suffered many injuries from my old professional career that can make it a challenge some days to complete my adventures. Yet, I keep pushing on.
My start on a bike path. This path goes over the Beneden Merwede River. Up and over the bridge.Looking back at Papendrecht from the bridge as I cross the Beneden Merwede River
Getting from my start point in Sliedrecht to the Dordrecht start point on the other side of the Wantij River I had to cross a train/bike bridge over the Beneden Merwede River. When I started up this long bike path/train bridge I forgot about the train also shared the bridge. As I was taking the above picture of Papendrecht, my heart rate was accelerated several beats (I am sure those were hearts beats I should be saving) as a train suddenly zoomed by!
After regaining a normal heart rate (this took less time than I thought it would) I continued to hike towards the next bridge. First, I was entertained by the early morning golfing community as the trail skirted a huge golf course. I could hear the chink of golf balls being hit and the collective “ahhh” and “ohhh no!” of the golfers. I kept my eyes peeled for any golf ball that would hit me on my hiking path. Luckily I was saved from such an experience.
I came to the bridge that would finally get me to the start point.
The blue bike bridge over the Wantij River Once again I am amazed by the amount of information at these crossings. Count the number of signs. This is the start point for the Dordrecht Floris V Pad section.
Now I was on a high dike that protects the entire river island of Dordrecht. Actually, there are a series of dikes that protect this area that has maintained a respectful ages old symbiosis with the intersections of the three main rivers that head towards the North Sea. The Oude Maas, Beneden Merwede, and the Nieuwe Merwede.
The landscape inside the Dordrecht dike system from the top of the dike.
Once again on this hike I took a detour (which was longer) as I headed off the dike and into the farmland. The shade of the large trees and the views of the large farms were worth the extra kilometers I walked.
I very welcoming table at a farm along my new route.A local vineyard.
I was almost to the water ferry boat that takes people across the Nieuw Merwede River to the Biesbosch National Park. The sun was starting to heat things up and I was glad to have the nice shade.
Almost to the ferry boat landing. These beautiful trees provided a nice shade for walking.
I stopped at the picnic tables at the ferry boat landing and pulled out my thermos of hot water for coffee. I sat and watched as the crowd of bikes and autos gathered to wait for the ferry. Many of the cyclists were on vacation and were loaded with all their gear and talking to each other about their recent adventures.
The ferry boat heading towards the landing to pick up more autos and cycling vacationers.
One of my fellow bloggers asked me recently if I ever see any other hikers on my hikes. That was a great question! Thanks “B”!
Yes, I often see other people mostly out for a short walk on the trail, but seldom do I see anyone hiking the entire Floris V Pad or hiking it in sections like I am doing. I have only met two people hiking the entire Floris V Pad since I started in 2018. Both have been recently.
I do not take pictures of people hiking as I want to respect their privacy.
On this hike, I met Floris V Pad section hiker, Jan. I passed Jan (Jan is a common male Dutch name) as I started my hike on the dike. I saw he had the tell tale Floris V Pad book in his hands. A great opening for starting a conversation, so I asked if he was hiking it.
“Yes” he answered. He was heading to the 19km end point for this section at the Dordrecht Kilt tunnel.
Not wanting to hold him up or interfere with his hike I wished him luck as I quickly went in my way.
I stopped to make my decision to take a different path and saw that Jan went in the opposite direction, along the dike. As he had told me where his end point goal for the day would be I knew I might meet him again along the way.
As I sat at the ferry launch drinking my coffee, I looked to see if he would pass me. I didn’t see him.
I started my journey once again as the path skirts the river. A huge dike was on my right that was also a sheep pasture.
The Floris V Pad route along the river with the dike/sheep pasture on the right. This ewe came to see if I had a bucket of feed. I admit…I made her think I was a farmer with a feed bucket.
These pasture sheep were not fooled by my calling them to the fence for a treat. The lead ewe informed the others I was just another whacked out hiker.
This part of the trail has several alternative routes into the marshy woods that run along the river. As I stepped off the bike path to take the alternate route I saw that the recent rains had made the path more of a challenge. I wasn’t up for the muddy hiker experience and turned back to the bike trail.
As I did, I saw Jan lumbering down the trail in front of me. Now I put it in my head to hike faster and pass him again. The trail turned slightly to the left and I lost Jan. The trail was empty and my sudden motivation to walk faster now disappeared. It wasn’t long before I found what happened to Jan. He was sitting on a bench off to the side when I finally caught up to him. I stopped and talked to him about his hiking experience. I really enjoyed the short exchange of about on our time on this trail. We also exchanged information about other trails we have hiked or are on our “to do lists”.
The funny thing is, he seemed very happy just relaxing and I wanted to get moving as I knew my body was already close to calling it a day. That was about the 11.5 km point in my hike.
I said my good bye to Jan and started moving towards what my new end point for the day would be. A small restaurant.
The dike now separated me from the river as the trail headed back towards Dordrecht.
The middle of the day heat was starting to break me down as I walked along the now flat and open pasture/farmfield land. I looked behind me and saw that Jan was not far behind on the trail. I put it in my head to keep going and to keep ahead of him.
I got to a good point on the trail close to the restaurant and checked my map. As I looked back to the trail I just walked Jan was just a few feet behind me. He came up alongside and confirmed that the trail went to the left. I admitted that I was going straight to the restaurant along the road to have lunch and get a ride.
I watched as he entered a wooded area and disappeared and wondered if I would see him again and concluded I most likely would not. It was nice to have met another section hiker, but as in life, we pass through sometimes only to be encouraged or to encourage others along our journey and then move on down the trail.
The Hubby came to the restaurant and we had a nice lunch and then headed off to complete the number of other tasks in our personal lives that day.
Section by section I am getting closer to the finish mark of Bergen op Zoom.
Transport to the start point this time was the Hubby. I didn’t have a clear plan on where the trail would lead me. The initial plan was to hike the trail all the way to Dordrecht where the next noted official section of the Floris V Pad starts. The universe and my body had different plans on how this day would ultimately play out.
My route once I completed the hike for the day
The morning was cool and the sky was clear. I started the hike that took me through more farmland of the Alblasserwaard.
The trail start point for the day, just outside of Oud Alblas.
This farmland trail had older windmills (one has been converted into a modern house) with an active water pumping station. I could hear the station pumping as I made my way along the trail.
The brick building is the pumping station.
As I approached the modern (windmill) house I started to notice artwork along my path. Then a gate that opened into a beautiful cottage garden. I took my time finding all the treasures hidden within the garden.
A homemade sign that made it clear the trail direction. The modern windmill house in the distance.This artwork was keeping a close eye on something in the distance.This art was an interesting find in the garden.The garden.
It was time to move on. Out of the garden, through a gate, and into a very long field, with no indicators where the trail existed. I checked the map and walked a straight line through the field. While I was hiking through the field I noticed that the canal water was moving at a good speed, most likely caused by the pumping station.
Looking back on the field I just walked.
Canals never seem to have moving water, but today I was lucky to capture.
I walked a short section through a forest area then crossed a busy road intersection that shuttles traffic between Papendrecht and Schoonhoven. Once across the traffic intersection I was instantly inside the beautiful Alblasserwaard forest.
I still think that trees planted by man all in rows is strange, but large trees are always beautiful.
This trail now took me along tree and shrub lined trails, zig zagging through the forest. Birds singing in the canopy and insects of all sorts busy on flowers.
The trail inside the forest.Some of the insects enjoying the flowers.
Somewhere around this time, I got off track of the actual Floris V Pad. Before I actually realized I was off course, I was almost on the outskirts of Papendrecht. Instead of back tracking, I just changed my plans. I texted the Hubby that I would meet him at the apartment building where he was waiting for a truck to haul off the last of his parents items.
I think this was my wrong turn, but I couldn’t resist the path less travelled.Crossing the busy A15 highway as I hike into Papendrecht.I observed this other kind of “art” as I came across the bridge and into town. Seems a singer from Minnesota might have had influence on these artists.A good spot for a short water break in Papendrecht.
Now I made my own trail as I wandered through the town. Papendrecht is not a small town and you really realize that when you are on foot. I walked through new housing areas and areas where time seemed to have stood still. The changes are reflected in the buildings architecture.
One of the older buildings along my route.
As I got closer to my destination I was suddenly rewarded with a new visual treat.
This small guy was waving from his balcony!
He had an entire tree community!
All of this made me smile and was well worth the trail diversion.
As I walked down the street, I found another tree community. This time there were two damsels waving at me from their perch. I am guessing they are huge Formula 1 fans, from the banner they sported from the balcony.
Max Verstappen fans.
Soon another balcony came into view. The Hubby waited and waved to me as I made my way along the road.
The Hubby waiting for me on the fourth floor.A lone hiker (on the left – me) making her way along the Noord River in Papendrecht. photo credit Hubby
This route of the Floris V Pad in sections is getting harder for me to remain motivated. The path is getting further away from the house and the areas are a bit of a challenge to reach via public transport. But, I keep going and I am encouraged and even inspired by some of my blog readers who have commented how much they enjoy reading about these hikes, so thank you!
On this section of the Floris V Pad, I almost skipped since I have visited the Kinderdijk enough times over the years. Hiking my way through tons of tourist is just not my thing even in normal times. In the last year I have become even more paranoid about crowds. You can read about our other adventures pre COVID time at Kinderdijk here and here.
This time I decided since the Hubby was working night shift for four straight days, I would head out on my bike for my first solo adventure since the start of the 2020 pandemic. The last time I was alone on a vacation was January 2020 when I travelled to Georgia, read about that here.
Taking public transport has gotten to be more of a hassle since the pandemic. Not only must you wear a mask at all times while on public transport here in The Netherlands, this summer you must also register your bike on the exact train schedule you plan on taking. That cramps my style and flexibility so for me it was a hassle to be set into a time slot on the train.
My plan was to “camp” out for a few days at my in-laws empty apartment. I didn’t need a ton of gear but still I had to plan like I was camping. Load my bike with all the gear and head off to the train station.
Transport by train to Dordrecht.
Train to Dordrecht via Rotterdam → Water bus to Papenrecht.
I had a luxury empty apartment for “camping.” A wonderful view of the Dordrecht church tower and the three major river routes that pass close to the apartment. Plus, I didn’t have to contend with a tent, other campers, or a silent virus creeping up on me in the night.
Camping? Best camping conditions I have ever experienced!Cooking with a view of the Dordrecht church tower in the distance.
The next morning it was time to get serious about knocking out this section of the Floris V, but to get there, I first had to get to the public transport in Papendrecht. Can I add those kilometers to my total?
Green is my route via bike from Dordrecht train station, Orange is my route in the morning of my hike via a walk to the public transport in Papendrecht, Yellow is my hiking route through Kinderdijk and the Albasserwaard. The last orange arrowed line is the hike back to Oud Alblas and then the bus back to Papendrecht.
As I made my way through the towns of Papendrecht and then Alblasserdam, I looked at the cloud cover and wondered if I was going to be hiking in the rain today.
Once I stepped off the bus at the Kinderdijk entrance, I was surprised and a bit shocked to see I had the entire place to myself. Granted it was 08:00 in the morning, but still on a normal summer day it would be filled with foreign tourists. It felt strange to have the entire place to myself. The only other soul was a Dutch women who had camped in her camper in the parking lot overnight. She was busy sorting through her camping items and getting ready to move to her next location.
The water pumps at Kinderdijk moving water from Alblasserwaard to the Lek River
The first thing I noticed at the entrance was that there was a huge construction project. The pumping station that pumps water out of the polder and up into the Lek River is being upgraded. Another change is that the Kinderdijk visitor center and gift shop had been updated with a new building. The visitor center now has a huge observation deck on the roof. These are changes that have occurred in the last four years, the time of my last visit here.
One of the changes that I think most people welcome at this World UNESCO site. No Drones…
There were also changes in walking paths along the canal and I think it must help with the over crowing of this site during a normal tourist year. I enjoyed the quiet as hiked this familiar area with no tourists to interfere with my enjoyment.
The windmills on the right of the canal as I hikedThe windmills on the left side as I hiked through Kinderdijk.
The overcast skies still looked threatening but I knew I had keep moving. After a short break at a park bench for a quick snack, I started hiking on a real foot path through the polder along the Kinderdijk canal.
Over the fence and continue on the foot pathThis foot path feels isolated but is not far from the tourist area of Kinderdijk.
On my hike two sections ago, here, I talked about walking through the field of cow manure, now It was a footpath (sheep path) of sheep manure. I have to admit that the backdrop of the Alblas windmill was breathtaking.
Foot path or sheep path? Both!
I climbed over two more fences and crossed over a bridge. Across a road and then back to a foot path that made me feel like I was the only person who had been on this trail in a very long time. The trail was lined with willow trees with a small canal on either side giving it a very isolated feel as I hiked along.
This path now looks like this for several kilometers.
I came to a junction in the trail where I encountered a women with two rather large German Shepherd dogs. We had a short chat and then I sat for short rest. I was joined by a butterfly who stayed still enough for me to capture it with my camera.
The path between the canals ended in a farm field with almost no indication where the trail continued. A quick check of my map, I found I hadn’t lost my way. Soon I found a gate with a marker that eased my fears of being lost. But, the gate was locked! Now, I had to figure out how to get around the gate without falling into the canal. I tested the support beam to make sure it was stable and swung around the end of the gate. I get the feeling that the undefined trail and the gate lock was a friendly reminder to those hiking the trail that we are only visitors on this trail.
The locked gate. Climbing over this one didn’t seem like much of a option. Swinging around the edge worked.
The trail now became a very long dirt driveway heading to a blacktop road. The wind started to pick up and I started to think that the rain would come at any minute.
Once I got to the blacktop road, I was now hiking on a road I had biked several times in the year we camped at Oud Alblas, I noted the changes big and small to the houses as I hiked.
Then it was a turn to my left, back into the flat farmland, another small footpath. Now, I could see the Oud Alblas church tower in the distance and knew I was almost at the end of this hike for the day. Would I make it to the end before the rain? My feet moved a bit faster through the long grassy trail.
The point in the trail just outside Oud Alblas that first inspired me to hike this trail four years ago. Now, this point marks more than half way point to Bergan op Zoom where I will finish this hike.
Making it to the point outside Oud Alblas where I was first inspired to hike the Floris V Pad four years ago felt like a huge achievement. Now, more than half way to my end point in Bergan op Zoom I wanted to celebrate! Saddly, this spot is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I checked the bus schedule and saw that I had a bit of walk to get to the bus stop in Oud Alblas. Maybe I would have time for a coffee celebration at a local restaurant.
I made my way into town and saw that fours years had also brought changes to this small town. My favorite pastier was now gone (out of business I am sure due to COVID). I waited at the bus stop and the very small village bus, run by a volunteer, picked me up heading in the opposite way from Papendrecht. She invited me to ride the entire route with her but I had other ideas, a stop at one of my favorite restaurants for a coffee. She dropped me off at the restruant and told me she would be back on this route in an hour heading into Papendrecht. All I needed to do was flagged her with my arms and she would stop for me. Perfect!
The view from my outdoor seating at De Kom restaurant.
Feeling guilty of my coffee indulgence, I started walking back to Oud Alblas. The rain still threaten to fall but now the wind started to make the trees sing a warning. I stopped, got my rain jacket out of the backpack, and on just as the sky opened up, dumping buckets of water. When I made it to the bus stop in Oud Alblas, I was soaked.
The rain I had been lucky enough to dodge all morning finally caught me!
The bus appeared and the driver was happy to see me again although she noted that the weather had changed a little bit. When I got to Papendrecht I still had about 2 km walk to the apartment in my soaked gear. I think the universe knew I needed encouragement as I found two painted rocks along my route.
Happy to be back at the “camping” apartment, I ended the day with air drying all my gear.
Floris V Pad STATS:
This hike from Kinderdijk to Oud Alblas- 10 km
The prior hike from Streefkerk to Kinderdijk -10 km
The Cedar Journal 