The Pieterpad adventure: 500 kilometres on foot in 26 stages

It is not as arduous an undertaking as the idea of crossing the entire country on foot may seem. The Pieterpad, which runs from the village of Pieterburen to the southern end of Groningen in Limburg, was laid out in the 1970s and since then has attracted many Dutch hikers along the trail, attracted by the polders, forests and meandering river bends, all the way to the hills of Limburg. One stays in villages during the twenty-six stages of the route, covering a total distance of 500 kilometres, along which one encounters many fairy-tale windmills, thatched-roof cottages in which one can often stay. You will come across horses in the wild and have the tasty opportunity to share cheese snacks with local farming families who also offer accommodation. Of course, one has to have the right clothing to cover oneself in case of rain or wind, but it is also true that Holland does not have any real altitude differences. It may even happen that you have to accept the passage of a barge to cross a stretch of a river or stop to rest in a field of hay sheaves that will remind you so much of Van Gogh's paintings.