Today I travelled some 90min south-eastwards to Nijmegen. Partly to see the oldest city of Holland (more than 2,000y – competing for that title with Maastricht & Voorburg), but mainly to go hiking nearby through forests, villages and the Rhine embankment (or Waal in Dutch). The sun wasn’t too hot today making for a pleasant 23km relatively easy stroll including a well deserved German lunch & beer just over the border in Zyfflich (what a fitting name for ascension day celebrations).
I arrived just after 11am in Nijmegen central from where I took a bus further east of the city, as I had read about some decent hiking there along the N70. Initially it was pretty much all forest. It was fun to be out in the fresh air, listen to music and some Russian audio class. After less than an hour I reached the town of Beek, which still remembers to date how it was liberated by US troops. After Beek you get pretty close to the German border. Only during a phone conversation did I realise that today was ascension of christ day – a day we traditionally celebrate in Saxony by going for a walk with friends (call it an open air pub crawl). So I quickly made a decision to treat myself to a German meal & beer (sorry Holland, but German beer remains the best).
Halfway of todays hike I got to a village called Zyffich – best name possible for such a day the German speakers will agree. They even had life music there … everything cheesy you can imagine including Roland Kaiser’s “Joana” (couldn’t help myself but to put it on while writing this). After an asparagus soup and a Königs Pilsner I continued back towards Nijmegen. You cross picturesque villages, grasslands, cattle & sheep (and again a fresh milk machine!) and as you get back to Nijmegen – the mighty Rhine & large bridges.
I ended up spending little time in Nijmegen itself. The inner city has some older buildings around the main market place, which was nice. But no appetite today to head to a museum etc. History around here is rich though and dates back to the Roman times (under its first name Oppidum Batavorum) who erected a military camp in the city’s current place in the 1st century BC. It was in particular important for the Roman empire after they lost to the Germans in the Teuteburger Forest (9AD) after which the Rhine remained the ultimate border and Nijmegen was further strengthened on this backdrop.
Well, enough history now. It was fun going for a hike again.