After a few weeks of sitting still both at home and at work it was time for “get-Dominique-in-shape-with-an-organized-hike” part two, which took place in Geldermalsen. The route I walked is also known as the Bloesemroute (Blossom route) and it follows the river Linge in Noord-Brabant in The Netherlands. The best time of the year to take this route is in spring, because that’s when the flowers are in bloom.

Blossoming flowers generally scare me. I have hayfever, but I don’t know which flowers or blossoms trigger it. In Spring, I’m basically a ticking timebomb and anything could bring along a bout of sneezing. Luckily, it seems I’m not allergic to the flowers around the Linge.

The weather wasn’t great which is why I don’t pre-plan weekend trips in the Netherlands without checking the news. The problem wasn’t the rain (although it did rain once or twice); what bothered me was the relentless white cloud deck covering the beautiful blue sky. I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to capture scenery and beautiful sights on camera when the background is pale white.

This hike was also much busier than the previous one I joined. Even though there were two directions – east and west – with each four different distances, it didn’t make a difference because the start of the route was followed by all routes which meant that when we reached the first bridge over the river Linge we had to queue to cross it. This is how busy the whole start of the route was, and it took around 1.5 hours until the routes split and that’s when it became more peaceful and enjoyable.

Army

I’m not Sherlock Holmes, but it doesn’t take a master detective to deduce that the area around the Linge somehow played a big role in World War II. Along the route there were different stops showing army vehicles, bridges protected by German soldiers, and bridges protected by Dutch soldiers. This theme didn’t add much to the walk for me, but children loved it and ran up to the soldiers to take pictures.

If any of you know what happened in the region in WW II, please enlighten me below in the comments!

Scenery

I preferred watching the scenery along the route. I wasn’t transported back in time just by the WW II soldiers, but also by the thatched roofs, windmills and old-fashioned farms scattered around the area. Even the odd farm animal can be seen walking around, which made me stop in my tracks to take pictures.

Stats

I shared the stats of my previous walk in the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park so I think it’s time for some stats again. This walk (15 kilometres) took me 3 hours and 14 minutes to complete. The landscape around the Linge is completely flat, so there were absolutely no inclines and declines to battle.

Conclusion

The Bloesemroute in Geldermalsen was a nice organized hike to partake in, however, I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone simply because I believe the Netherlands is home to more beautiful routes. Also, I wasn’t happy with the weather during this walk; my pictures turned out dark with a bright white background.

Does anyone have tips on how to take pictures in these weather conditions? Please let me know in the comments!