June 28 – Today is a planned zero mile rest day. The pretty little town of Gennep deserves to be seen in great detail.
The toy store sells a wooden jigsaw puzzle featuring the town, with customized puzzle pieces. If Icould fit this in my backpack, I would buy one.Good looking dogsLots of bikes, as throughout the Netherlands, but this is the first tricycle-built-for-two that we’ve seenThe town hall has a carillon of 25 bells that tinkle sweetly several times an hour – selections range from Ode to Joy to the Yellow Rose of Texas, with a lullaby the last song of the eveningA nice shopping streetWe learned as much of the town history as we could figure out out without English signageThis is the original water spigot that the townspeople used to draw their water, for a feeThe Protestant church was open – very plain inside. The man we spoke to said the church is of the Calvinist tradition, but not especially strictMosaics in the square commemorate the 22 Jews who “left” during WWII and never came homeThis tower is all that remains of the Roman Catholic Church that was bombed during WWII. We climbed to the top to see the viewThere are murals painted inside the tower – see the Pieterpad hiker?The murals were done by the same artist who painted the overpass on our way into town. I recognize the badger!The top of the tower didn’t provide a view, but a reminder of the American pilot who died here in WWII. He thought he had crossed the border into Germany and dropped his bombs too soon, then was shot down and died in the crash.This wall contains insets of some historical buildingsThe River Meuse runs along the old city wallThe Good Samaritan A lovely day in a pretty town – tomorrow, we walk!
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.
Programming my phone for today’s itineraryGood morning, masked horses! The masks help keep the flies out of their eyesThe way markers seem clearer today, or maybe we’re getting smarter? The Pieterpad marker is the red and white in the middle.A nice shady pathA bit of road walking, with a decorated overpass…painted on both sides!Take care – chicken crossing ahead! We did not see any chickens…A big field of wildflowers This was the only cafe we passed by today, but we had already eaten our lunch with a pot of Jim’s good coffee, so we didn’t stop in.Now, here’s a sign you don’t see every day! An unusual way to alert folks that there is a ferry crossing ahead.Sitting and waiting for the ferry – how often does it run?It runs about every five minutes, taking pedestrians, bicyclists and cars across the Meuse RiverThe ferryman collected one euro from each person, and before we knew it, we were on the other side.Some more good signage – don’t take this path!Look in the distance – that must be Vierlingsbeek!We walked into town and waited on the church steps for Nena from the Hotel de Kroon to come pick us up. The walk to Meerlo is too long for us old folks to complete in one go (24 miles and a bit) so our travel company split it into two 12 mile walking days with a rest day in between. This is the good life!
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.
Leaving the hotelInstead of a map, our tour company gave us the GUIBO app, containing turn by turn directions of our customized itinerary. We learned early in the day that a nice path straight ahead is not necessarily the right way to go. After taking a wrong turn, we got a text informing us that we had left the trail, but not telling us where, or how to get back on track. So, we turned around and walked back until the app said we were, once again, on the route. After that, we checked our phones every few minutes for the rest of the day, like teenagers scrolling for new TikToks.My trail umbrella attaches nicely to my daypack (under my jacket) so I can use both hands for my trekking poles. If I had a third hand to hold my phone, life would be ideal!Pretty berries Wait for me, Jim!So still and tranquil Cows in the rainA horse looks like she’s wearing a raincoat too!An old icehouse, used to store food in the hot summer A gnarly treeHave we reached Troy? We walked through the little town of Milsbeek, home of another WWII cemetery filled with foreign soldiersLocks of love!Almost thereAnd now we are in the lovely town of Gennep, (pronounced Chhhhennep like you are clearing your throat), and the rain has stopped. A fine first hiking day!
Taking Our Time 