Courtney's Back - Part 5

We rolled through yet another darling town called Amersfoort, and chose for our last stop an area just outside of Arnhem in the Hogue Veluwe National Park. This place was the perfect icing on the cake to wrap up our Dutch tour. Our campsite was set on the edge of the forest, with hiking and biking trails leading out just behind the van. A creek ran through it and the trees were constantly humming with birds chattering away. It seemed everyone had dogs so I was in heaven making furry friends; two of which were Bernese mountain dogs. I came away from my 'visit' (aka roll in the mud with them) covered in dog hair and caked with mud, but I felt like I'd gotten a dose of my girl Sanka! We did an amazing bike ride through the park, about 45km in total, which rode us through constantly changing landscapes. One minute we were ducking through the shade of the trees, and the next the forest would open up to a wind swept prairie with grasses as tall as either of us. Then we'd cycle over some rolling hills surrounded by sand dunes past a range of wild elk grazing on their dinner, only to arrive at the former summer house (more like a castle with pristine gardens and lake) of the wealthy couple who used to own the land before donating it to be used as the national park. My ass was sore for a day or two after that ride but it made for quite a memory!

The next installment was the familiar trip back to Paris, round 2, where we met my mom, dad, and brother to travel through France for almost three weeks. Team Buddbergen unite!