Day Four - Rolde to Midlaren

Today we began south in Rolde and made our way north. This was because our host could not pick us up this afternoon. It was the most scenic day yet. 

Tonight we have the bathroom to ourselves. No other guests. Not so last night. At 5 am this morning I emerge from the bathroom at the very same time as a tousled looking man in his underwear comes out of his room. We give each other a sheepish grin. A few hours later we are exchanging small talk around the breakfast table. 

It looked like the weather was going to be terrible when we first got up. However, it was a very nice day . We walked through two gorgeous natural areas filled with sand and purple heather. The Ballooerveld and the Gasterse Duinen. I loved the openness of it. At about noon we came across a pancake place in Gasterse and could not believe our luck that it was open and we could sit outside. 

We are finding the walking a bit tough even though it is flat. We are walking for hours!!! Jeff is a trooper with his sore back. Taking more Advil seems to help. 

Holland may be a small country but it has huge fields, wide open wild spaces and 180 degree skies.

We are also starting to meet up with a few other Pieterpadders! And today we saw a sign for the Jacob's Pad, complete with shell on it.

Third Day - Groningen to Midlaren

We had a tough time this morning getting out of the city. I am the navigator because I can read Dutch. I had us going along the wrong canal in the wrong direction. I felt like crying but I said to myself,"Not now and not yet!" We eventually found the route and saw the familiar white and red signs. After that bad start things went well. Better signage, too.

We are starting to get into beautiful scenery. We passed the lovely towns of Haren and Midlaren where people seem to live an idyllic lifestyle. Lots of gardening, horseback riding, biking and walking. All in lovely surroundings.

We finally reached our B&B which is in the middle of nowhere. We have to share a bathroom with two other couples (which we hate) and we have a round bed. It is also freezing in the room. So lots of clothes on. However, Ineke and Arnold are very nice! We are here two nights and we are not sure why. Maybe to teach us some humility. We were given a ride into town for dinner with the idea to take a taxi back. There are no taxies. So Arnold had to get us. 

Jeff fared a bit better today with his back. He upped the Advil dosage and there are way more benches now to take breaks. 

The whole thing is a big adventure!

Rest Day in Groningen, September 11, 2015

Today we are having a leisurely day in the city. It is market day so we look at all the tasty goods. Then a cappuccino and some people watching. Lots of bikers whizzing by. Off to find a drugstore for some blister products. That does not take long to be needed. Only hotspots right now. Yesterday I walked 30,104 steps which is about 21 km. 

We have a cute room with a small garden attached to it. No steep stairs this time. We do have a bathroom with a light that suddenly goes off. So if you linger in there you have to wave your arms around to get the light on again. Interesting!

We ate lunch in a cozy place with thick carpets on the tables. We had tomato soup plus bitter ballen. Would have had apple tart but could eat no more.

Second Day - On To Groningen, Sept. 10, 2015

After getting a bit lost yesterday we made sure we used the maps and descriptions in the guide book. This worked well for us, especially in the city. It was a long day, almost 20 km and a lot of it through huge farmers' fields. It is very reassuring to see the white and red marking of the Pieterpad because you would not want to backtrack. I could not use my poles because I had the book in my hand the whole time! 

Once we arrived in the city we found a place to sit in the sunshine, have some beer and bitter ballen. Soooo good, with that grainy mustard. Our first since we arrived.

Our place to stay is very quaint with a small garden for our use. It is very near the city centre and tomorrow is market day which will be fun on our rest day.

Again, people here are so kind and helpful, and impressed that we are walking the Pieterpad in one go rather than in bits and pieces like Dutch people do who live here.

First Day- to Winsum. Sept. 9, 2015

We got off to a great start after having breakfast outside in the sunshine. What was supposed to be a short day turned a bit longer because of a detour. Signage is not stellar here. Wishing for yellow arrows! However, we made it to Winsum. At one point we were walking on a bike path in the middle of a huge farmer's field. We just hoped it would get us to where we had to go. People are extremely helpful here. We are in a kind of camp ground/ hotel kind of place and our bed is a very old Dutch bed built into the wall. Jeff is clostrophobic so I will be climbing in first. We will see how this goes in the middle of the night! I have walked 24,218 steps so far today. My Fitbit is smiling!

Tonight's bed

This morning's breakfast, outside.

First Snag

Everything was going really well today until the train from Schiphol to Groningen decides to go no further at Assen. Some incident on the tracks up ahead, apparently. Everybody gets off the train and waits and wonders what to do. We feel irritated by this delay because it throws the next train and bus schedule off. However, after 45 minutes or so another train arrives and we soon get to Groningen. We thwart the temptation to hop into a taxi and are soon on our way again in a very small train, to Winsum. There, bus #68 (really a van) brings us to the Oude Smidse in Westernieland. We feel proud that we did all this with public transit. From Vancouver to here took 17 hours and we are in the backwoods (er, fields) of Holland. We have met some very kind, helpful people already and also saw a big, orange sun sinking behind a distant tree line on the unusually low horizon. We are on the second story of a very old building. To get there we had to climb super narrow and steep steps, with our luggage! 

So far, an awesome day! 

Getting There

It is planes, trains and automobiles for us today to get to the little village of Westernieland in Groningen. We are not there yet but the biggest part is over, the flight from Vancouver to London. Waiting now for the flight to Amsterdam. Then a train ride to the city of Groningen, another train to Winsum and then possibly a taxi to Westernieland. It lies two km from the village of Pieterburen which is the start of the Pieterpad. 

Jeff did well getting off his seat this morning and moved along at a reasonable pace. So we keep our fingers crossed that his back won't totally act up all of a sudden. 

The challenge for today is to stay awake for the next several hours until we get to our destination. Sitting around like we are doing now does not help. Neither does reading a cheesy British newspaper like the Daily Mail. Well, it won't be long before we really get moving.......