How amazing are holidays? During our much needed October break we went to Holland and stayed with my cousin in Roermond for a few days. (He was a great host - thanks Peter!)
Kasteel Schaloen - from our walk in the Limburg hills.
I have a bit of a treat for you and I really hope you enjoy it! I’ve created a 20 minute audio documentary about our journey that weaves field recordings taken during our travels with narration and some brief snippets of music. A transcript of the narration (it doesn’t include the conversations in the field recordings) is provided below. You can read along and look at photos as you listen. Headphones are recommended.
London - Harwich - Hoek van Holland - Roermond
We leave for Holland on a still Sunday morning. The rooks and jackdaws have begun to jostle through the trees. The sky is blushed with pink. A heron passes over, weighty, silent.
Our taxi weaves through London as the city starts to stir and deposits us at Liverpool Street Station. There is a bus replacement service from London to the ferry at Harwich. It is not as uncomfortable as I feared.
On board, the ferry feels like a very comfortable airport, with wood panelling and armchairs. We set up in a sunny corner beside a big round porthole to watch England drift away. The sea is very calm. The crossing takes several hours, so we do a few laps of the deck, visit the lounge, read our books, lie on the couches for a nap.
Our taxi weaves through London as the city starts to stir and deposits us at Liverpool Street Station. There is a bus replacement service from London to the ferry at Harwich. It is not as uncomfortable as I feared.
On board, the ferry feels like a very comfortable airport, with wood panelling and armchairs. We set up in a sunny corner beside a big round porthole to watch England drift away. The sea is very calm. The crossing takes several hours, so we do a few laps of the deck, visit the lounge, read our books, lie on the couches for a nap.
Wind turbines in the middle of the sea. This stretch of water between the UK and mainland Europe is very busy.
Through our porthole in the sun.
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Arriving in the Netherlands.
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We arrive at the Hook of Holland during the golden hour, and disembark as the low autumn sun coats the terminal in honey light. Border control here is much less stressful than at an airport. I’ve now crossed from the UK to mainland Europe by plane, by train and by boat.
My cousin Peter (he’s my first cousin once removed) picks us up and drives us south, through the sunset, into the evening, to his house in Roermond. Our window looks out across the rooftops to the cathedral, with its golden statue of St Christopher lit up on top of the spire.
My cousin Peter (he’s my first cousin once removed) picks us up and drives us south, through the sunset, into the evening, to his house in Roermond. Our window looks out across the rooftops to the cathedral, with its golden statue of St Christopher lit up on top of the spire.
St. Christopher's Cathedral in Roermond. Some of the bells you hear in this piece are from the cathedral.
Holland and Belgium and Germany, oh my!
In the morning, after a proper Dutch breakfast with cheese and stroop and spice cake, we drive to Zutendaal in Belgium to walk a barefoot path. This two kilometre path is dry in some places - with sand, pebbles and woodchips - and wet in others - with mud, puddles and running water. There are obstacles, hanging bridges and a lookout tower which gives us a view out over the autumn trees to the fields and villages and wind turbines beyond. At the end of the path, we wash our feet and have a drink and a slice of vlaai (sweet tart) in the warm sunshine.
Dan and Peter taking the high road. There were plenty of little obstacles like this around the trail.
Muddy toes! It was so much fun!
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Walking up the (not-natural!) waterfall.
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This was so much fun. Are there any barefoot trails in the UK? I'd visit again!
We then drive right across the Netherlands to Vaals to enjoy a longer walk - not barefoot this time - through woods, along fields and down country lanes. We end our walk at Three Country Point and Dan takes a photo of me standing in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany at the same time.
Our walk took us through the countryside on the outskirts or Aachen, Germany.
Not the easiest of maps to follow, but better than nothing.
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The highest point in the Netherlands! That's two countries, now...
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Here's a footpath running along the border between the Netherlands and Germany.
The hills of Zuid Limburg (yes, they have a few)
Our second day starts in much the same way, but this time we pick up my other cousin’s black labrador, Pippa, before Peter drives us to the hills of South Limburg. It’s wonderful to explore a new country on foot. We climb up through an autumnal wood to a farmland plateau. I can’t resist sampling a carrot from the field by the path - it’s delicious. We wander down a valley on neat tracks. Pippa runs ahead and returns, munches on grass and rolls in good smells. A buzzard cries in the distance. We climb up again, then back down through the woods to a wonderful view over the valley and the castle below.
I forgot to mention in my documentary that the skies were reddish from Saharan sand picked up by ex-Hurricane Ophelia.
Peter and Pippa on the home stretch.
We stop at the castle for a drink before heading into Maastricht for lunch and a spot of sightseeing. There, we visit a huge bookshop in an old church and a bakery in an old mill - and we pause to sample their vlaai.
Sing a song of sixpence, a window full of vlaai.
In the evening, Bart (my second cousin) comes over for dinner and to take Pippa home. We have a few glasses of wine and Peter pulls out photo albums from his trips to Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We laugh - at the clothes and at Peter’s moustache. I take photos of the photos to send to my parents and sister.
The Shed. This is where I lived for the first year of my life as my parents finished building the house.
Zoom, zoom, zoom
On Wednesday, we hire electric bikes and ride from Roermond to Thorn. In the morning, the mist is so thick we can’t even see the boats as we pass the marina, and the cormorants drying in the trees create ghostly silhouettes.
Mist making everything seem a little more ethereal.
The mist has burnt off by the time we get to Thorn, and we wander around the picturesque streets in the sun. We find a little garden gallery where a woman has created clay models of all 15 chapels in the village. For lunch, we sit on a busy terrace and eat hearty Dutch pancakes.
Dan pushes his e-bike through the main square in Thorn.
Town Hall bells - tinklier than church bells!
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Models of Thorn's chapels (artist in background).
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We head back a different way, past Peter’s old house, down tree-lined cycle paths, across the river, through farms and industrial areas. I enjoy increasing the electric support on the bike while cycling uphill - it makes everything so much more pleasant. I think I’ve converted to electric bikes!
That evening, Dan and I take Peter out for dinner. As we walk home, the church bells chime and the town hall bells tinkle their tune. We’ve heard so many bells in every town and it will be one of my lasting memories of this visit.
That evening, Dan and I take Peter out for dinner. As we walk home, the church bells chime and the town hall bells tinkle their tune. We’ve heard so many bells in every town and it will be one of my lasting memories of this visit.
Footpath/cycle path in Thorn.
It shouldn't really come as a surprise that you're rarely far from water in the Netherlands. This is one of many Maas/Meuse-adjacent lakes.
Home again, home again
We spend our last day in Holland making our way slowly back to the ferry. We stop in Rotterdam and catch the tram to Market Hall.
Our lunch consists of several snacks as we graze our way along the aisles. We buy food for the ferry crossing and visit the English language section of a second hand bookshop. I read my book in the park, then in a cafe in the train station, then in the ferry terminal.
Our lunch consists of several snacks as we graze our way along the aisles. We buy food for the ferry crossing and visit the English language section of a second hand bookshop. I read my book in the park, then in a cafe in the train station, then in the ferry terminal.
Rotterdam was grey and shiny.
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Inside Markthal (Market Hall).
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Once on board, we find our cabin and change into pyjamas. The day fades outside our porthole and the lights of the industrial area across the water begin to twinkle. It looks much nicer in the dark.
During the night, I wake up and stare out the window. Lights of ships. The froth of disturbed water as the ferry ploughs through the swell. Mist whipping past in plumes and skeins.
During the night, I wake up and stare out the window. Lights of ships. The froth of disturbed water as the ferry ploughs through the swell. Mist whipping past in plumes and skeins.
Sunset at Hoek van Holland, as viewed from our nice little cabin. We pretended to be on a cruise. Fancy.
The morning announcement about breakfast is preceded by a few wake-up bars of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. The boat has already docked. We shower and head to Deck 9 for croissants, tea and coffee.
Too soon, we’re on the train, annoying commuters with our luggage. I’m tired. I close my eyes and remember squelching mud between my toes, crunching a stolen carrot, whizzing along the cycle path, and the bells ringing out into the night . . .
Too soon, we’re on the train, annoying commuters with our luggage. I’m tired. I close my eyes and remember squelching mud between my toes, crunching a stolen carrot, whizzing along the cycle path, and the bells ringing out into the night . . .
Goed zo! You are at the end. Did you enjoy this audio journey? Please leave me a comment to let me know. Dank je wel! I've also made a slow, short film from our ferry crossing.
The music used in this piece is "Caazapá (Aire Popular Paraguayo)", composed by Agustín Barrios Mangore and performed by Edson Lopes - sourced from musopen.org and used under a Creative Commons license.
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