All blog posts in a row.
It is now the end of May (2021) and once again I am going bird watching on the Migration birds trail in the Netherlands. In this part, I hike from the Gaasperzoom park in Amsterdam to Weesp, then I continue to the edge of the Naardermeer nature reserve.
In this blog post, I describe three hikes in one. In other words Under the spell of the blossom part 1, 2 and 3. This is because I have done the same hike three times on the Great rivers trail: from Beesd to Tricht, from Tricht to Beesd and again from Beesd to Tricht and then on to Buren. This is in the Betuwe region of the Netherlands. All sorts of things went wrong with my blossom mania, hence three times the same hike.
It is April 12 (2021) and it is my birthday. What could be more fun than going for a hike on your birthday! This time, I am going to continue my way along the Great rivers trail in the Netherlands. I have now arrived in Leerdam and today, I will mostly walk along the Linge river until the town of Beesd. I will pass through several picturesque villages in the Betuwe region. And will I finally have the chance to see blossoms in the fruit trees?
The Great rivers trail is calling me. I do another checkup to see if the blossoms are already starting to bloom. This time, I am hiking from Vianen to Leerdam and, on the way, I pass through the Bolgerijse grienden woodlands nature reserve and along a number of high-rise tree orchards.
It is time again for the Migration birds trail, this time I hike from parking lot Zeeburg, Amsterdam to Gaasperzoom park and metro stop Gein also in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. This part of the trail visits several parks in and just outside Amsterdam. These parks are not completely unknown to me, in the Diemer woods and Gaasper park I have been before.
After three times hiking on the Migration birds trail in a row, it is now the turn of the Great rivers trail again. The last time, I ended in Ameide. That is therefore my starting point for today. I walk along the river Lek, through the Zouweboezem nature reserve and via Lexmond through the polder to a suburb of Vianen. I pass several fruit orchards and am curious to see whether there is already some blossoms on the trees.
In March 2021, I will return to the Migration birds trail for the third time this month. Today I will hike from Het Schouw to Schellingwoude in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
After a wonderful hike on the Migration birds trail between Zaanse Schans and Den Ilp last time, I really got the hang of it and travelled to Den Ilp a week later. I continue my hike through the Twiske nature and recreational area, walk a bit through Landsmeer, then go through the polders of the Ilperveld and end my hike just after the ferry at Het Schouw.
In September 2021, I completed the last hike from the booklet Green Heart trails of the ANWB. This booklet contains 43 round trails in the Green Heart region in the Netherlands. The booklet is no longer for sale and the hexagonal ANWB trail markings are outdated or no longer present everywhere, but the trails can still be hiked and found here and there on the internet. Therefore, I created an overview of where you can find these trails online. I also describe a top 5 of favourite hiking trails from this booklet.
After a two-month break, I continued with the long-distance trail the Trekvogelpad (Migration birds trail) at the end of February 2021. Via a small detour through Zaanse Schans, I pick up the official trail just outside Wormer. After this I follow the trail through the Engewormer polder, the Jagersveld and the Oostzanerveld to the Twiske nature reserve and recreational area. Halfway through the Twiske, I stop my hike and take the bus back home from Den Ilp.
