Tag Archives: Pieterpad

Pieterpad: Valkenburg to Maastricht

July 13, 2025Travel, Hiking, The NetherlandsValkenburg, Pieterpad, Maastricht, Mt. St. Pieter, André Rieu, Hotel Les Charmeskarenfranza

July 10 – All good things must come to an end. Today is our last hiking day. 12.75 miles planned.

This sign in the stairway of our hotel summed up our Netherlands hiking experience. Not only is there never an elevator, each hotel assumes that because we are hikers we won’t mind walking up to the top floor!

Heading into the suburbs before Maastricht, which go on a long way

The Dutch are so meticulous – have you ever seen such a perfectly trimmed weeping willow?

Crossing the bridge over the river Meuse

Many people stop to offer a prayer to the Virgin here

Passing out the other side of the city on the way to Mt. St. Pieter

Elevation! There’s Maastricht down below

Ta da! We are at the end of the Pieterpad! Another couple who had just completed took our picture.

Back to the city, we checked into Hotel Les Charmes, a delightful place where all the tables are made of old suitcases

The streets were super crowded this evening, and traffic was blocked to facilitate the free concert by hometown hero violinist André Rieu. We were told that he is the most famous violinist in the world.

Snaking through the crowd, we managed to find our restaurant. As a reward for a job well done, we treated ourselves to a spicy Singapore pho dinner, filled with seafood. Yum! We did it!

Pieterpad: Swalmen to Montfort

July 7, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, TravelB&B Botervleig, gooseberry pie, Montfort, Pieterpad, Swalmen, wall artkarenfranza

July 4 – Another clear and cool day, with temperatures again in the ideal 70s. 14.6 miles planned today.

The nice thing about our customized app is that you know your exact mileage right up to the door of your lodging, instead of a guidebook’s mileage to the town center, plus who knows how much longer til you can actually put your feet up! I’m liking the GUIBO app.

Is the corn as high as an elephant’s eye on the Fourth of July?

We had to walk along the road for a while in an industrial area

The first sunflower we’ve seen, all by itself

This man was looking for buried treasure with his metal detector and a spade. He said he was searching for ancient Roman coins, but all he was finding was old bullets.

It is the Basilica of St. Odilien, but it was not open for us to visit

Near the church is a memorial for those from this town who “died due to war violence”. Many of the names are female. Were they victims of a bombing? Killed for resisting? Sent to a camp? We’ll never know.

This farmer really loves to sculpt his shrubbery

We came to the place where a treasure trove of Roman coins were found. It is thought that a Roman soldier buried them for safekeeping, then never returned.

And now we are in Montfort. Here is the only wall art we found

…and here is a statue of a man and his dog

And now we are at the B&B Botervleig, where we will sleep for the next three nights. Our host Marijke met us with homemade lemonade and a huge slice of gooseberry pie. I think we’re going to like it here!

Pieterpad: Venlo to Swalmen

July 6, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, TravelPieterpad, Swalmen, Venlokarenfranza

July 3 – What a difference a rainstorm makes! We bid adieu to Villa Anna, and stepped out into the 56 F morning – a forty degree drop in one day! A beautiful clear day, with a high in the mid 70s and 15 miles planned.

More quirky statues as we walk out of Venlo

Getting out of the city. Which way do we go now?

Today’s signage was the most confusing so far…do we follow the red and white, or obey the X?

A noisy wood chipper came by to widen our path

This is St. John of Nepomuk, also known as the Bridge saint, as he was killed by being thrown off a bridge. He has his finger to his lips as he was martyred for refusing to betray the confessed secrets of the queen.

An exquisite supper – Jim had the stuffed peppers, and I had pasta and burrata. I’d not had burrata before: it is a cheese globe of mozzarella on the outside, which you break open to find soft creamy stracciatella inside. What a treat!

Pieterpad: Broekhuizen to Venlo

July 4, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, TravelBroekhuizen, hot weather, Pieterpad, Venlo, Villa Annakarenfranza

July 1 – We have been watching the weather all week, as the temperatures continue to rise way beyond what is usual in the Netherlands. We chuckled when a heat emergency was declared at 80 F, but today will get up to 95 F, and we are not chuckling now.

We asked for the earliest breakfast time, to take advantage of the coolness of the morning, but it’s looking like we’ll be taking a miserable walk.

We reviewed today’s route, and saw that we are scheduled to walk by an Albert Hjein (Netherlands best grocery store!) at about mile 5 of our 12 mile day. This gives us a place where we can direct an Uber, if Uber exists out here where there is no city.

It took a minute, but yes! Uber is available, and Rajik will come for us in 14 minutes! O happy day! A 7 mile day is doable in any heat.

I bet you wish you weren’t wearing those wool coats!

So, today we learned another lesson of the Pieterpad. When Uber drops you off right on the trail, make sure you are walking in the right direction. Yes, we walked this stretch twice. Now it’s an 8 mile day!

Interesting yard art – I like the pants!

I bet this guy heats up nicely in the sun

We were hoping for a shady woods walk, but no luck so far

Another ferry crossing – wonder why they don’t just build a bridge?

Time to put up the sun-brella. That little bit of shade makes all the difference

Jim didn’t have that option – he left his umbrella at home

We got to walk along the water for a while, but it was no cooler there

Well look at that – a marker for the Camino de Santiago!

…and walk some more into the city of Venlo

So now we’ve arrived at Villa Anna, a lovely historic B&B with – you guessed it – no air conditioning, and only one window, so no chance of a breeze. And no Wi-Fi either. It actually got up to 98 F this afternoon. It’s going to be a long night…

Pieterpad: Meerlo to Broekhuizen

July 3, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, TravelBroekhuizen, Klein Lourdes, Meerlo, Pieterpad, roseskarenfranza

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.

Passing through the town of Tienray, we stopped at an important pilgrimage site called Klein Lourdes, where folks travel to pray. The church was bombed in WWII, and was rebuilt.

Inside is a replica of the grotto where St. Bernadette spoke with Our Lady

What’s this? A field of immediately recognizable plants!

The sun is so bright that some folks shaded their beautiful hydrangeas with umbrellas so they wouldn’t get crispy. The temperature reached 92 F – very unusual for here.

And we’re almost to our hotel! I’ll do a seven mile day anytime, even in the heat!

Landhuishotel de Hilkensberg was like a spa, with extensive grounds

And – saving the best for last – a baby alpaca! How cute is that?

Pieterpad: Vierlingsbeek to Meerlo

July 2, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, TravelMeerlo, Pieterpad, Vierlingsbeekkarenfranza

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!

We crossed on the ferry again to return to Vierlingsbeek, this time in a car

On the other side of the woods, a little town with some roadside art

After the town, a very sandy area, although there is no beach nearby

A thatched roof cottage. Here we learned a lesson of the trail: just because others are walking in one direction, doesn’t mean you should follow them.

This is a rose farm, with folks cultivating baby rose bushes. The Netherlands is one of the world’s biggest exporters of flowers of all kinds. Here we learned another lesson: don’t get so interested in your surroundings that you miss your turn!

Midafternoon, with no shade. We stopped at a bar, and Jim popped in to the outdoor restroom, just to refill a water bottle. As we left, the owner came out and chased after us, yelling that we were stealing his water. I guess he was the opposite of a Nice Person. Hope we don’t meet too many like him.

Thanks to whoever took the time to decorate the roadside posts

A little chapel in the middle of the woods

The door was locked, but here’s what it looked like inside

A picture worthy hollow log along the way – I would definitely plant some flowers here

Look in the distance- that must be Meerlo!

Indeed it was Meerlo – we walked into the town

…through the town, and out the other side

Our B&B was quite an extra hike, but we got there eventually. We had the place to ourselves, as our host said the other expected guests cancelled due to the heat. There were no restaurants nearby, so Jim made us a ramen noodle supper. A good day!

Pieterpad: Gennep to Vierlingsbeek

June 30, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, Travelferry, Gennep, Meuse River, Pieterpad, Vierlingsbeek, wall art, Wildflowerskarenfranza

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 itinerary

Good morning, masked horses! The masks help keep the flies out of their eyes

The way markers seem clearer today, or maybe we’re getting smarter? The Pieterpad marker is the red and white in the middle.

A bit of road walking, with a decorated overpass

Take care – chicken crossing ahead! We did not see any chickens…

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 River

The 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!

Pieterpad: Groesbeek to Gennep

June 29, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, TravelGennep, Groesbeek, GUIBO, Pieterpad, rainkarenfranza

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.

Instead 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!

A horse looks like she’s wearing a raincoat too!

An old icehouse, used to store food in the hot summer

We walked through the little town of Milsbeek, home of another WWII cemetery filled with foreign soldiers

And 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!

Pieterpad – Take Two!

June 21, 2025Germany, The Netherlands, TravelHotel Rioca, Pieterpad, Wildflowerskarenfranza

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.

The sign outside our hotel door, in case we forget where we are staying

The hotel has a rooftop restaurant with a lovely view of the city

We ventured out to find a grocery store. Fields of wildflowers are planted along the walkway to attract birds and insects. With only two hours of sleep last night, we tumbled gratefully into bed. Tomorrow we will explore!

Maastricht – the end of the Pieterpad

October 11, 2023The Netherlands, TravelMaastricht, Mount Sint Pieter, Pieterpadkarenfranza

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.

This is a working river, with lots of barge traffic

We got to the foot of Mount Sint Pieter, and started up.

Jim is always happy to be ascending, even if the hill is not very steep

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.