Click here for this week’s European Volksmarch schedule.
We had so much fun at Delft last year that we’ve decided to go back this weekend. We’re going to skip the 0-dark-30 train on Saturday morning and just go up on Friday night. That way, we can be well rested for the big flea market on Saturday morning. One of our first stops will be at the VVV, or tourist information office, to look for more of the discount cards we found last year. Then we’ll head over to the east side of the city, a part we’ve not explored before. We hear the Oostpoort is a very pretty area. A repeat visit to the Vermeer Center is a must. We will let you know how it goes.
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Our recent trip to Volendam, Netherlands, was spectacular. Our hotel in the small town of Warder was across the street from the dike that holds back the Markermeer Sea. Climbing to the top of the dike gave us some beautiful sights of boats and the Dutch countryside. In nearby Volendam, the ZuiderZeeTocht took us through the beautiful town, harbor and along the ocean side.
As we picked up our start cards, we were given tickets for door prizes and Bob won a walking vest/jacket. On the down side, we found the trail markers hard to locate and missed some turns, especially in the crowded harbor area. But we figure this allowed us to see more of the city and gave us more kilometers for our money.
After the walk, we ate lunch in the town of Edam. We then spent the afternoon and evening visiting the town and harbor of nearby Hoorn.
Sunday morning found us on the way to Zaanstad and the Zaanse Schans center. With the weather nearly perfect, we decided to forgo the large indoor museum and instead take the boat ride and then visit the windmills, shops and smaller museums. We were disappointed that both of the saw mills were closed, but fascinated by the mill that was processing peanuts into peanut oil. There was a small shop where a man was molding pewter spoons, a small country store museum that is the predecessor to the large Albert Heijn chain of stores, a cheese-making shop, a wooden shoe museum and a whole lot more. Of course, we could not pass up a chance to have a Dutch pancake, and it was very good. Our time at Zaanse Schans went by way too quickly.
For more information, please check out www.zaanseschans.nl; there is an English link.
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Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we write about the start location changing for the Wiesbaden-Schierstein permanent walk, they changed it again. It is back at the Shell station at Rheingaustrasse 26a. The hours for the Shell station are: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
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Miscellaneous notes about this week’s volksmarch events:
• Kudos to Ramstein Roadrunner vice-president Brad Crandall, who recently completed his 1,000th IVV event!
• The Kylltalwanderer Kordel e.V. celebrates its 31st anniversary this weekend at the Turnhalle in Kordel, Germany. This walk is very convenient for the folks at Spangdahlem and Bitburg.
• For an excellent walk on Saturday, head to Vianden, Luxembourg, and walk through some of the most beautiful countryside in Europe. The 6-, 11- and 15-kilometer routes start from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Start the 20-km trail by 1 p.m. After the walk, make sure you visit the castle.
• The walk in Rachamps, Belgium, on Sunday is close to Bastogne. It would be easy to combine a walk with a museum and a meal in Bastogne.
• You can pick up the prize of an umbrella at the Schwaigern, Germany, walk today. You have to start the walk before 1 p.m.
• We shortened the name of the town Monte Prat di Folgaria nel Fruili in the walk chart to just “Monte Prat.”
• The routes at the Montecchio Precalcino, Italy, event are repeatable, so you can walk them more than once for more distance credit.
The cost of the walk is based on the distance you walk, but the maximum fee is 4 euros. If you walk a marathon distance, you’ll receive a hat and T-shirt.
E-mail volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09752.
