Friday, May 17, 2024
Today was another beautiful day. It started out humid after the rain last night, but it became more comfortable through the day. Fewer kms today, which is nice to think about. It always takes a few moments to get our stiff and achy muscles and feet going in the morning… But go we must and go we do.

1. Our room in the castle is unique, though dangerous at night for tall people. We did find the cost of breakfast a bit royal, so we decide to eat at the Albert Heijn (grocery store) for breakfast. We find a stone fence along the road to eat, and watch the children bike by to school. We look at them, and they look at us…
2. It takes a bit to orient ourselves onto the path, we start up a few wrong roads, but thankfully the GPS on the phone shows us going in the wrong direction. For most of the morning we are on paths between roads, highways and some factories. Not as pretty or as quiet, but we still see beauty along the way – poppies, sheep grazing, blue sky.
3. We are surrounded by the new windmills (turbines). They serve a purpose, but they lack the appeal of the older, traditional windmills the Netherlands is known for. We still point and say, ‘look, a windmill’, when we see the old ones. They just feel right.
4. In the middle of nowhere we find stones piled on each other – the Drenthse Poort. No one would find this, except a few wanderers like us. I guess it is a good reminder that we were here!
5. We finally had our first cappuccino and appeltaart. We’ve been looking forward to it, but didn’t get to it until Gramsbergen. What a cute town. Two friendly ladies were so excited to see us, and to let us know that this was the prettiest town on the way. Even the wooden gates are stylish!
6. We finally arrive in Hardenberg around 2pm, though we still have an hour to get to our BnB. We find the last hour is the hardest: we’re sore, we feel our blisters, we just want to shower and rest. Unfortunately there is a traffic jam on the bridge, and we have to wait for the livestock vehicles to cross the bridge.
7. Our BnB is not what we expected, but nice enough. We share the apartment with the hosts, and other guests. Yet it is surprisingly roomy. There is a nice backyard getaway that we enjoy a quiet evening in. The host lets us use his washing machine, an answer to prayer. Much easier than doing it in the sink.
8. We dine at the SPAR Pierik. Not as fancy as it sounds, it is another grocery store. I get microwave bourenkool met worst, and Val gets andijv met gehakbal. And of course Chocomel. Heerlijk.
9. Although the route is 19k, we walk 22k. The extra kms are along the Pieterpad, so that will make our trip tomorrow shorter! Another good day!

Castle room

Albert Heijn breakfast

The older windmills

In the middle of nowhere

First Appeltaart!

Impressive gate!

Arriving in Hardenberg

Traffic jam

Not what we expected

Backyard getaway!