In spite of lots of time at home due to my shoulder injury, I have been way to lazy to update my walking blog. Why? I don't know... just because I guess.
With the start of this new year one of my resolutions was to keep my two blogs updated. So here I go... I will post links to the pictures of the walks of which I didn't write a small review...
This way they are at least mentioned on the blog even if the details are missing...
Showing posts with label Mechelen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mechelen. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Mechelen => Sint-Truiden Walk 2.... completed!
Sunday the 11th saw us (Cilia, Gabi and myself) complete the second part of our walk from Mechelen to Sint-Truiden.
It was a bit hard to find a suitable day in our plannings and this one was the best solution we could come up with. As for me, it still was a tough undertaking. I was at the 6th in a series of 7 night shifts at work. This meant I only had got home at 0800 in the morning and slept till 1330, when i got up, because Gabi would come by to pick me up at 1430. It also implied that after the walk I would have to go work to do my last night shift of the series. To top all of this off, I also had to take my selor exam the day after at 0845 in the morning... quite a challenge.
Today's walk would take us from Haacht (where we left off last time) to Leuven. We were joined by Kristien (Cilia's colleague) this time. Liesbeth (her other colleague) canceled, due to a better offer that came through. We started out at 1600, since I had been sleeping all morning because of my night shifts.
Like last time Cilia had plotted the course in advance. Taking us over the GR from the place we left off at the end of walk nr 1 to Leuven. We started out from Haacht railway station and right away decided to turn into the fields avoiding the main roads, changing them for a little cross country stint, till we encountered the first red and white GR markers at a small bridge in the fields. we followed the GR from there. It took us right back to the railway line, which we followed till Wespelaar-Tildonk. There we followed the Dijkstraat for a while and turned right past the communal sports center. After the sports fields we pretty much walked across the open fields in the direction of Wakkerzeel. We walked past an old mill at the outskirts of this village. A place that had been nicely rebuild to make comfy modern apartments. Well it looked very much like a place shared by several people with a shared court yard and garden. Very nice place.
From there the landscape rose slightly, this was the Kwellenberg. This short easy climb took us back to the banks of the Dijle river. From here our road turned East again and we saw the hills that surround Leuven on the horizon. Cilia promised us we would have to climb them later on...
Somewhere along the course, when we stopped to eat something, I discovered that in hurrying and being only half awake when i was gathering my walking gear, I had completely forgotten about food and drink. Luckily for me the fellowship kept me alive and fed me and gave me something to drink.
We continued, meeting the railway line now and then, and crossed the E314 motorway. All off a sudden the hills seemed very near. We continued through a residential area, and past a lumber mill and there it was... the start of the climb. On a forest road we climbed up the hill. No gradual rise like the Kwellenberg, but quite a steep climb. All in our own stride we all reached what looked like the top. Kristien proved to be an excellent climber. Without any visible effort, she climbed the hill leaving all of us behind and welcoming us back at the top. Well, like i said, what we thought was the top. From there the path descended a short while and turned left along the flank of the hill. A couple of minutes later we were climbing again. This time it would take us all the way to the top of the hill. Once again we all tackled the climb in our own tempo and once again Kristien shot away from us. Just great the way she seems to climb effortlessly. I'm gonna have to train on a similar climbing technique i think. Will come in very helpful next year when i go to Scotland.
At the top of the Hill we walked along the path and began our gradual descend to the Norbertine abbey that was to be the end point of this day's walk. We arrived at the panorama point overviewing Leuven... very nice view. Only wish I had brought my camera. By the way we got off the hill and arrived at the entrance of the Provincial Domain of Kessel-Lo, it was slowly getting darker. And our timing came under pressure. It was already past 1900 and I had to start thinking about work. Cilia had to get home to Karel and the kids and Gabi and Kristien... well guess they still had the drive back to Limburg ahead. All these combined made us decide to take the bus to the railway station of Leuven. Too bad. I really would have liked to arrive at the abbey at nightfall, like a real Pilgrim. But alas... time left us no other option. Maybe we can start out from the monastery for the third part. That way I can feel like the Pilgrim departing from the monks on to new horizons :-)
Anyhow. The party split at the Leuven Station. My pedometer had counted 21104 steps, for 20 kilometres in three hours and 27 minutes. Not bad...
It had been another nice afternoon in splendid company. I must admit that I am really looking forward to part 3. It was also good to hear that Kristien seemed to have enjoyed the afternoon, since at the parting of the fellowship she said "see you for part 3". So our little party of three has now become a party of four...
A last short note on my new walking shoes. The withstood the walk really well as did my feet. No sore of black toes this time. A slight pressure on my front sole, but i think that can be resolved by other/better walking socks. All in all the my Lowas were fantastic, even without much testing or trial walks. Hurrah!!
It was a bit hard to find a suitable day in our plannings and this one was the best solution we could come up with. As for me, it still was a tough undertaking. I was at the 6th in a series of 7 night shifts at work. This meant I only had got home at 0800 in the morning and slept till 1330, when i got up, because Gabi would come by to pick me up at 1430. It also implied that after the walk I would have to go work to do my last night shift of the series. To top all of this off, I also had to take my selor exam the day after at 0845 in the morning... quite a challenge.
Today's walk would take us from Haacht (where we left off last time) to Leuven. We were joined by Kristien (Cilia's colleague) this time. Liesbeth (her other colleague) canceled, due to a better offer that came through. We started out at 1600, since I had been sleeping all morning because of my night shifts.
Like last time Cilia had plotted the course in advance. Taking us over the GR from the place we left off at the end of walk nr 1 to Leuven. We started out from Haacht railway station and right away decided to turn into the fields avoiding the main roads, changing them for a little cross country stint, till we encountered the first red and white GR markers at a small bridge in the fields. we followed the GR from there. It took us right back to the railway line, which we followed till Wespelaar-Tildonk. There we followed the Dijkstraat for a while and turned right past the communal sports center. After the sports fields we pretty much walked across the open fields in the direction of Wakkerzeel. We walked past an old mill at the outskirts of this village. A place that had been nicely rebuild to make comfy modern apartments. Well it looked very much like a place shared by several people with a shared court yard and garden. Very nice place.
From there the landscape rose slightly, this was the Kwellenberg. This short easy climb took us back to the banks of the Dijle river. From here our road turned East again and we saw the hills that surround Leuven on the horizon. Cilia promised us we would have to climb them later on...
Somewhere along the course, when we stopped to eat something, I discovered that in hurrying and being only half awake when i was gathering my walking gear, I had completely forgotten about food and drink. Luckily for me the fellowship kept me alive and fed me and gave me something to drink.
We continued, meeting the railway line now and then, and crossed the E314 motorway. All off a sudden the hills seemed very near. We continued through a residential area, and past a lumber mill and there it was... the start of the climb. On a forest road we climbed up the hill. No gradual rise like the Kwellenberg, but quite a steep climb. All in our own stride we all reached what looked like the top. Kristien proved to be an excellent climber. Without any visible effort, she climbed the hill leaving all of us behind and welcoming us back at the top. Well, like i said, what we thought was the top. From there the path descended a short while and turned left along the flank of the hill. A couple of minutes later we were climbing again. This time it would take us all the way to the top of the hill. Once again we all tackled the climb in our own tempo and once again Kristien shot away from us. Just great the way she seems to climb effortlessly. I'm gonna have to train on a similar climbing technique i think. Will come in very helpful next year when i go to Scotland.
At the top of the Hill we walked along the path and began our gradual descend to the Norbertine abbey that was to be the end point of this day's walk. We arrived at the panorama point overviewing Leuven... very nice view. Only wish I had brought my camera. By the way we got off the hill and arrived at the entrance of the Provincial Domain of Kessel-Lo, it was slowly getting darker. And our timing came under pressure. It was already past 1900 and I had to start thinking about work. Cilia had to get home to Karel and the kids and Gabi and Kristien... well guess they still had the drive back to Limburg ahead. All these combined made us decide to take the bus to the railway station of Leuven. Too bad. I really would have liked to arrive at the abbey at nightfall, like a real Pilgrim. But alas... time left us no other option. Maybe we can start out from the monastery for the third part. That way I can feel like the Pilgrim departing from the monks on to new horizons :-)
Anyhow. The party split at the Leuven Station. My pedometer had counted 21104 steps, for 20 kilometres in three hours and 27 minutes. Not bad...
It had been another nice afternoon in splendid company. I must admit that I am really looking forward to part 3. It was also good to hear that Kristien seemed to have enjoyed the afternoon, since at the parting of the fellowship she said "see you for part 3". So our little party of three has now become a party of four...
A last short note on my new walking shoes. The withstood the walk really well as did my feet. No sore of black toes this time. A slight pressure on my front sole, but i think that can be resolved by other/better walking socks. All in all the my Lowas were fantastic, even without much testing or trial walks. Hurrah!!
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Mechelen => St-Truiden, Walk 1 - Mechelen-Haacht
Today I completed the first part of the Mechelen to Sint-Truiden walk in the excellent company of Cilia and her father Gabi. We've known each other since forever and have remained the best of friends throughout the years.
I had two black toenails (walking shoes too small) and was a little stiff in legs and joints from the day before, but apart from that I felt pretty good, so it was off to Mechelen. Gabi picked me up at about 08h15 at the railway station in Sint-Truiden and we set out for Haacht. This would be the end point of our walk so we parked the car there. Karel (Cilia's husband) picked us up in Haacht and took us to Mechelen, the starting point of our journey.
After a quick change of trousers and shoes we were off. Second walk in as many days; I must admit I was a little scared and felt unsure whether I would be able to pull this one off.
We started in Mechelen city, in the court yard of Cilia's home. From there it was only a short walk to the banks of the river Dijle. We followed the path on the riverbank till Muizen, enjoying the beautiful countryside and the nesting birds. We even saw a couple of storks.
From there we bridged a small gap between two GRs to arrive at the GR 128. We followed this path, which continued along the banks of the Dijle for a while. This was the hardest part of today's walk. Not because of the terrain, but because there was a sharp and cold eastern wind, which blew head on for the whole riverbank part. Afterwards the path turned away from the river a bit and lead us through some soggy meadows. After a muddy last 2 kilometers we arrived back at Gabi's car. First part of our big walk from hometown to hometown completed.
My pedometer today showed 20640 steps, for 17km which we completed in 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Next part will be Haacht to Leuven.
I had two black toenails (walking shoes too small) and was a little stiff in legs and joints from the day before, but apart from that I felt pretty good, so it was off to Mechelen. Gabi picked me up at about 08h15 at the railway station in Sint-Truiden and we set out for Haacht. This would be the end point of our walk so we parked the car there. Karel (Cilia's husband) picked us up in Haacht and took us to Mechelen, the starting point of our journey.
After a quick change of trousers and shoes we were off. Second walk in as many days; I must admit I was a little scared and felt unsure whether I would be able to pull this one off.
We started in Mechelen city, in the court yard of Cilia's home. From there it was only a short walk to the banks of the river Dijle. We followed the path on the riverbank till Muizen, enjoying the beautiful countryside and the nesting birds. We even saw a couple of storks.
From there we bridged a small gap between two GRs to arrive at the GR 128. We followed this path, which continued along the banks of the Dijle for a while. This was the hardest part of today's walk. Not because of the terrain, but because there was a sharp and cold eastern wind, which blew head on for the whole riverbank part. Afterwards the path turned away from the river a bit and lead us through some soggy meadows. After a muddy last 2 kilometers we arrived back at Gabi's car. First part of our big walk from hometown to hometown completed.
My pedometer today showed 20640 steps, for 17km which we completed in 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Next part will be Haacht to Leuven.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Walking weekend 6-7 March 2010
The weekend of 6th and 7th of March will see the real start of the preparations for Scotland. The planning with books and maps and websites has been going on for a while now. Eating habits have been changed since 1st of March, but this weekend will see the real kick off... the virtual kick in the butt that will show me that i should take this seriously and start practicing more often...
Saturday the 6th I will participate in the "Straffe Wandeling" by the Bergpalieters. A walk organized by the sportsclub of my colleague Geert. My good friend and sport guru Captain Angela will join me on this walk. The walk itself is a 23km walk through the region of Godinne, South of Namur in Belgium.
Sunday the 7th takes me to Mechelen.
Another friend of mine, Cilia has come up with the brilliant plan to walk from Mechelen (her hometown) to Sint-Truiden (my hometown). The distance between these two towns is about 60KM. In this first stint we depart in the direction of Muizen (4KM) and aim for Haacht (14KM). Cilia's dad Gabi will join us on this first part of the trip.
Saturday the 6th I will participate in the "Straffe Wandeling" by the Bergpalieters. A walk organized by the sportsclub of my colleague Geert. My good friend and sport guru Captain Angela will join me on this walk. The walk itself is a 23km walk through the region of Godinne, South of Namur in Belgium.
Sunday the 7th takes me to Mechelen.
Another friend of mine, Cilia has come up with the brilliant plan to walk from Mechelen (her hometown) to Sint-Truiden (my hometown). The distance between these two towns is about 60KM. In this first stint we depart in the direction of Muizen (4KM) and aim for Haacht (14KM). Cilia's dad Gabi will join us on this first part of the trip.
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