“Something like that melts my heart” – Marlies (and Pieter) on the Walk of Wisdom
Marlies and Pieter walked the Walk of Wisdom together in 2022. Afterwards, Marlies wrote a roaring report on her website, which we can share here. Here’s to it!
The Walk of Wisdom
A walk that made a big impression on us is the Walk of Wisdom. A pilgrimage of 136 kilometers around Nijmegen, visiting two countries, three provinces and eleven municipalities. You start in the Stevenskerk in Nijmegen, then walk via the Ooijpolder towards Groesbeek, cross past the Duivelsberg into the Reichswald and skim past Kranenburg, to cross many beautiful nature reserves such as the Mookerheide and the Hatertse Vennen back in the Netherlands, visiting old towns such as Ravenstein and Grave, before returning to Nijmegen.
The tour is absolutely beautiful. Un-Dutch climbing, lots of unpaved, views over heathland and water features, feeling protected by giant trees around you, it offers a glimpse into the beauty that the Netherlands has to offer.
Forest and meadows
It took us six days and in retrospect we thought it was too short, we would have liked to have added two more days to give ourselves more time and take it easy. Daily stages of 28 km are a bit long. The route is very well marked in the Netherlands; in Germany those markings are not allowed, so there you walk on the route description in the booklet you have with you.
The best thing we found – we are such fools – is that when you leave the Stevenskerk you get a bracelet with which you can string a bird ring in every municipality you visit. For example, when you arrive, at the end of your pilgrimage, you will have a bracelet with eleven rings on it. People recognize this bracelet and we loved it when a lady on the bike overtook us, then turned around and shouted: “Hey, you guys are WOW-ers! Have fun!”, giving a thumbs up and cycling on. Something like that melts my heart.
Take a moment to reflect on the beauty of life
So if you fancy a multi-day hike in the Netherlands, consider the Walk of Wisdom in addition to tours such as the Pieterpad and the LAWs. You won’t regret it!
More about Marlies (and Pieter)
Read more about Marlies and Pieter on their blog pieterenmarliesoppad.nl.
