Kilometers walked: 250
Nights in a tent: 3
Nights in hotel: 0
Nights home hospitality: 6, Joost and Annemieke 2x (Schiedam), Kim and Richard (Nieuwerkerk), Paulien, Benno, Jaël, Juda en Joas (Lexmond), Karin en Jasper (Rhenoy), Niels en Maartje (Nijmegen)
Days walked: 9
Zerodays: 2, Schiedam
Local attitude towards free camping: ⭐⭐⭐ (3 out of 5)
Quite ok. When you tell them your free camping they will say:”but isn’t that illegal?” Yet nobody seems to personally have anything against it, as long as you’re not in their way. We’ve met people while we we’re sitting next to our tent who greeted us and said: “Nice spot!”
Local hospitality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5)
The hospitality we got there was amazing, though mostly from friends and family. Exept for Karin and Jasper, who were willing to host total stranger and found out that they already knew us 😅. Still we had some nice encounters with people we didn’t know along the way. In general we found the Dutch people more reserved than the English (and certainly more reserved than the Irish😁) when you just walk past. When they take the time for a chat, they’re very friendly. My wish for the whole nation would be: “Take time and dare to be open, to be curious and to ask!” Many nice things can come from it.
Local attitude of traffic towards hikers: ⭐⭐ (2 out of 5)
They won’t run you over, but they don’t like you being on ‘their’ road. Especially when they want to get somewhere quickly. Cyclists generally are more impatient than cars.
Trail conditions: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5)
Well maintained tracks, mostly tarmac or paved. Combined with the flatness, you need shoes with soft soles.
Trail markings: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5)
E8 is only one trail in the Netherlands and it’s consistently marked with white/red markers. Easy to follow, well done Stichting LAW!
Trail views and impressions: The Grote Rivierenpad is a great way to see the Netherlands at its most ‘Dutch’. Windmills, waterways, big cities and rural villages, flat polders and dykes, a bit of everything. And of course the orchard of the Netherlands; the Betuwe.
Favorite drink/snack/meal: Pancakes, craft beer and coffee.
Best memories: Meeting all our friends and family again, getting to stay with them. Getting reacquainted with Karin and Jasper, and getting to see our own country at its best.
Would do it again: Yes
Would recommend this trail to: Any foreigner who’d like to see the Netherlands, and Dutchies who’d like to go walking in their own country and want something different than the Pieterpad.
Tips if you go: Wear shoes with soft soles, and go when the apple trees are in bloom.
Will do this after we get home because of the trail: make appointments with all the people who hosted us on our way through the Netherlands to catch up!
