June 30 – Only seven miles planned today, so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. Leaving the B&B, we stopped to admire the variety of colors and wonderful aromas of the nearby rose farm. Although the Netherlands is best known for tulips, it is also the world’s largest exporter of roses, carnations, chrysanthemums and other flowers.
June 29 – We had one more good breakfast at the Hotel de Kroon, then the dad of the owner drove us back to Vierlingsbeek so we could resume our hike right where we left off. 12.3 miles planned for today.
We were dropped off right at the church steps, and, as it is Sunday, we asked if there was a church service. Oh no, came the reply, perhaps if someone wants a wedding or a funeral the church can be rented, but otherwise no services.
This is the first day we will be walking in the sun, with no clouds expected. Today’s high is anticipated to be 82 F, which qualifies as a heat emergency in the Netherlands. As Virginians used to hot soupy weather, this made us chuckle. Our hiking app warned us not to hike in this extreme heat. I hope we make it!
We were very self assured after completing the previous day’s walk without taking any wrong turns. Perhaps we have figured out the Pieterpad? Nope!
June 28 – Today is a planned zero mile rest day. The pretty little town of Gennep deserves to be seen in great detail.
June 27 – We heard rain early this morning, but it stopped by the time we finished breakfast. Twelve miles planned for this cool and cloudy day.
June 26 – Our first hiking day dawned to the sound of thunder and the patter of raindrops. We’ll be using our rain gear today! Our walk is planned for 8.5 miles – an easy first day.
The Pieterpad, the Netherlands most famous trail, runs from Pieterboro in the north, to St. Pieter’s hill in the south, and can be walked in either direction. We are starting in the middle and walking south. There are different routes for hikers, cyclists and horses.
June 25 – Today Boris and his friend Simon picked us up in the morning for the 45 minute drive over the German border into the Netherlands. There is no border, of course, just a sign on the highway. We are heading to the town of Groesbeek, where we will start our Pieterpad hike tomorrow.
June 17, 2025 – You may remember that Jim and I had plans to hike the Pieterpad in the Netherlands back in the fall of 2023. Instead, we both got Covid and spent most of our vacation holed up in a motel, waiting to feel better.
Jim is not a person who can let a good trail go unhiked, so we are on our way back to Germany and the Netherlands to try again. Here’s to a healthy month!
June 18 – We flew from Norfolk to Newark, walking off one plane and directly onto the plane to Frankfurt with no incidents to report. We figured out the Frankfurt subway sufficiently to get to our hotel. Once we found the correct train, it was easy peasy, with stops displayed and spoken in both German and English.
We are staying at the Rioca, a Brazilian themed hotel with tropical furnishings and recorded bird calls in the hallways. We’ll be here a few days to get over our jet lag.
Oct 9 – This morning we put our boots on, and walked off to find the southern terminus of the Pieterpad. Even though we didn’t do all the hiking we originally planned, we thought we should climb the last hill.
We got to the foot of Mount Sint Pieter, and started up.
Before too long, we reached the summit, and looked around. No signs of the beginning or the end of anything. There were some trail markers, but the Pieterpad was not among them. What to do?
We trudged back down the hill, asking Google where we went wrong. No answers. At the foot of the hill was a café. We asked the proprietress, and she pointed across a very industrial-looking area. There was a path, so we followed it.
And so ended our Pieterpad and Netherlands adventure. Tomorrow, on to Belgium!
Oct 8 – As our hike from Valkenburg continued, we left the farmlands, walked through the suburbs…
…over a pedestrian bridge and about an hour into the center of the city of Maastricht. We maneuvered down a very crowded shopping street with upscale stores and lots of restaurants.
There were things to see, but my pack was getting heavier by the minute, so Jim took us right to our B and B, Chez Helene.
The funny thing about this country is that the small hotels we tend to frequent all call themselves B and Bs, but most do not serve breakfast. So what is the other B? We may never know. This one was even curiouser, as the advertised en suite did not actually have a separate bathroom. The toilet was right in the bedroom, with no door of any sort. Travelers can get used to anything, I guess!
So, after a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast from the nearby supermarket (coffee, hard boiled eggs, plain yogurt and fruit, and more coffee), we set off to see Maastricht.
We knew from our time in Valkenburg that the Basilica of St. Servatius was here.
Then we had a lovely café lunch and walked around town.
A very nice day!
Oct 7 – Today we bid adieu to Valkenburg, shouldered our packs and got on the Pieterpad for the hike to Maastricht. Although I’ve shown you plenty of wall art, here is some more as we walked out of town.
The day was perfect for hiking – cool and breezy. Maastricht is about eight miles away.
And just like that, we were in Maastricht, the biggest city we’ve seen since Amsterdam. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!
Taking Our Time 