I drive by car to the village of Doorn and continue to walk where I left it the last time.

It is a magnificant day, with a nice walking temperature (approx. 20°). The last stage ended at the southern boundary of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug Hills. Today’s stage will take me into the so called riverland, with meadows, dikes and one river. In Doorn there are lots of festivities for Queensday which is celebrated today. There is a big band playing, kids are joining the parade, and many people are dressed up in orange, our national color.

Doorn

From Doorn the Trail uses many straight paths and roads, which is typical for the land around the big rivers in the Netherlands. The roads that I am walking today are not boring, due the changes in scenery; nice lawns with florishing trees on both sides of the road, open roads with clear views, etc. During the first 15 kilometers I pass along a lot of (small) castles, most of them are privately owned. 

Sandenburg Castle

Through the few woods and mainly fields I continue my way eastbound. After 18,5 kilometers I reach a milestone in my E8: the Trail meets the river Rhine for the first time. The Trail will follow and meet the Rhine many times during the next 650 (!) kilometers. The view from here on the Rhine is not spectacular: between the dike and the river there is a wide area of meadows, called the river forelands / uiterwaarden. The last kilometers to the village of Amerongen are very typical for the landscape in this part of the Netherlands: a dike, on one side the water and on the other side the protected land. There are sheep & lambs in the meadows and many cyclists are enjoying a ride on the dike.

typically Dutch landscape

In the villages that I cross, like Langbroek, Darthuizen and Amerongen, it is very busy with people enjoying the sunny Queensday festivities. Back in the woods and fields there is hardly anybody around. After I have left Amerongen I feel an increasing pain in my left kneecap. The pain makes it more difficult to continue to wlak without problems. I had in mind to finish today in the city of Veenendaal, but due to the injury I decide to draw the finishline in the vilage of Elst already, some kilometers earlier. 

I have to wait in Elst a while for the bus that will take me back to Doorn, where my car is parked. There are also a lot of Queensday activities, including barbeques, kermisses and parades. I am not so interested, I was never injured before in any of my joints.