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.
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.
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?
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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!
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 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
Total to date- 134.5 km
Total to complete – 110 km
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