Hiking in Holland and Other Assorted Ramblings

So here's the whole story:  we had planned to go to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.  Then we got talking to Steve about going to the F1 race in Monaco at the end of May.  That led to further conversation about flying to Barcelona, meeting Steve and Angie for the F1 race there, then going on to Monaco.  Of course, the problem was what to do for the almost two weeks between Monaco and Le Mans.  As always, our answer was "we'll come up with something". 

After spending weekends in Epen, Holland during previous Belgian Grand Prix, we knew that some good-looking trails were nearby and we had really wanted to hike around there.  Couldn't get a reservation at the Inn, so we called up our favorite all-knowing, all-seeing soothsayer, Steve.  He has connections.  And they worked.  We were in!

So what was supposed to be a 7-day trip to Le Mans turned into a month-long adventure that went from Barcelona to Nice, back to Barcelona, thence to Paris, Epen, Paris, Le Mans, Paris, and Barcelona.  Again.  Transportation was a combination of planes, vans, high-speed trains, low-speed trains, busses and a lot of walking.  Anyway, short videos of Barcelona and Monaco precede this posting, and Le Mans photos will follow.

Now, here are some highlights of Holland.  Thanks to Steve, we stayed at the Hotel Ons Krijtland (http://www.krijtland.nl/) near Epen.  The photo above was taken from one of the trails south of the hotel.  That's the hotel in the distance.  It's outside of town, and there isn't much nearby, but the restaurant at the hotel is excellent, and they have an "honors system" beer cooler that's well-stocked with local brews.  The local Gulpener Dort beer was perfect to enjoy while sitting on our balcony after a day's hiking.  One day turned out to be a holiday and from our balcony we watched quite a parade of vintage autos, sports cars, and every kind of motorcycle imaginable, including trikes and sidecars.  Apparently, on holidays, everyone dusts off their treasures and takes them out for a run.

The weather was almost perfect the whole time, and we got 15 miles or so in each day, following the different trails, all of which are mapped and marked.  We walked through cornfields, pastures, wheatfields, forests, towns, and cow patties.  It was beautiful!

Speaking of pastures, Holland is a place where men are men and sheep are nervous...

Hiking south from Epen, it isn't long before one looks around and realizes that cars have Belgian license plates.  Turns out, it's because one is on Belgium.  We didn't realize that another country was so nearby.  We did venture into and out of the place without causing an international incident.  One really neat thing to see was the Castle Beusdal.  It's in Belgium, but we could see it from our balcony and wanted to get closer.  Of course, we did...

During our hikes, we passed a number of markers commemorating Allied war dead from World War II.  It's amazing how well they are cared for and the locals decorate them regularly with both fresh flowers and plants.  Some of the fiercest fighting in the war took place in this area.  It's hard to imagine the backdrop of war in this beautiful place.  This particular marker intrigued us, as it recognizes two RAF officers.

We discovered that in the nearby town of Margraten is the location of the American Cemetary in Holland.  We set the cemetary as the destination of one of our final walks.  Long hike, but well worth it.  Please look at the cemetary's website:  http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ne.php  .  It was a moving experience.  We were there right after the anniversary of D-Day and were surprised how many Dutch were still coming to the cemetary to show their respects.

Now, back onto the bus to Maastricht, train to Paris, bus to Tours, and on to Le Mans!