Intro
It rained … not an unusual situation in our country. But when it rains all the time during a hike, that's already less acceptable. And when at the end of the hike the rain suddenly stops, then you really feel betrayed by the weather elements.
Hiking in the rain is never the same as hiking in dry weather. You may be as well protected as can be - rain jacket and trousers, a hood for the backpack - it always bothers us. Especially the hood of our jacket sits in the way of a normal sight. And taking pictures, forget it.
So, this time you'll have to do with a text-only report, no Picasa album.
Back and forth
Every hour busses take you from the railway station at Mechelen to the center of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver.
The hike ends at the Brusselpoort (Brussels Gate) in Mechelen, situated on the circular boulevard. It's only a 10 minutes walk from there to the train station. But you can also take a bus if that's too much.
The hike
When we arrived a bit before 11 am in Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver, it was raining. Everything was ready for the yearly fair, so the rain must have been a serious disappointment for the locals. Let's hope some people found the courage to visit the fair in the afternoon. However, from our perspective it meant all the taverns on the market square were open, and we had no problem to get our cafeïne injection before starting the hike.
The trail directs us towards the village of Bonheiden. The first 4,4 km. take us over asphalted roads with lots of houses. Not really interesting. Only at the Peultenbos the situation improves.
Peultenbos is a small but nice forest that used to be part of the much bigger Krankhoeve forests. An information panel explains that the name refers to the presence of small sheds in these woods where sick people (victims of the Plague) were brought to be isolated from the still healthy part of the population. 'Krank' means 'sick'. There wasn't much more that could be done at the time. Not a pleasant story. The poor buggers were left on their own, waiting to die. Our first reaction is that we're lucky not to be living in those times, science now has most of the solutions and can at least ease the suffering ... But in practise that's still not true. Even in this 21st century there's lots of places where doctors lack the most basic medications and are forced to watch their patients die. This is all the more terrible since it can't be denied that we have the means to do something about it, but we don't ...
The name Peultenbos is more recent. It comes from the latin word ‘palus’ meaning swamp. Indeed, you can see this a very moist area (especially when it rains).
From this point on the hike becomes more interesting. Alternating between meadows and small forested lands we're walking towards the Krankhoeve ('hoeve' means farm) in Bonheiden over mostly country roads.
The old farm has been completely renovated and now serves as a community center. Contrary to what the name suggests this farm has nothing to do with the little sheds we mentioned earlier. Along with another farm the complex belonged to the beguines of Mechelen. Here in the countryside they used to take care of their 'kranck' or sick people, some kind of an early form of a hospital. The farm was self-reliant. A bakery and a dairy barn still witness that.
The trail now describes a wide curb around the center of Bonheiden and passes by another old farm (Blijdenberghoeve) and the (modern) abbey of Bethlehem. At the other side of the village we enter the nature reserve Mechels Broek.
As the name indicates these are lowlands, mostly meadows and swamp lands. We're not far from the Dijle river and the Nekkerplas (a pond). The reserve is a paradise for many bird species. It is grazed by Galoway bovines, bred locally. While walking here the towers of the city of Mechelen appear in the distance.
Wooden bridges and narrow paths guide us through this nature reserve. Leaving the trail for a few hundred meters we get to a bird observatory. It looks upon a wonderful stretch of nature where birds and other animals have found their private garden of eden.
Another interesting phenomenom in this area are the many frog pools. They're the result of bomb impacts when the allied forces tried to destroy the strategic railway lines complex of Mechelen, which is situated only a kilometer from here. Nature transformed the craters into shallow pools filled with abundant animal and plant life.
We arrive at the river and follow it along the towing path on the embankment to Mechelen. The few meters hight offer nice views over the Broek nature reserve, and only a few kilometers further the solid St-Rombouts tower flaunts over the city.
An enormous railway complex separates us from Mechelen. Bridges in all forms and materials betray the presence of a maze of railway lines. The GR 12 trail has found an original itineray to get us into Mechelen. We just follow the river Dijle underneath several of the bridges. It's like sneaking into town. All of a sudden we're at the busy circular road.
We cross the road and enter the Kruidtuin (Herb Garden) passing by the Volmolen and the Molenhuis (an old watermill complex). The park extends along the city canal leading us right into the center of the city.
We're almost at the end of our hike, and finally it stops raining. At least we can get out of our rain clothes and discover the city as a pair of more or less normal looking people.
Over the last few years the long neglected waterways of Mechelen have become a trendy neighbourhood. A lot of renovation effort has been invested combining old and new. There's even a walking boulevard built on the water.
At the bridge Grootbrug we deviate from the trail and head for the Vismarkt (Fishmarket). No more fish stalls here, but a cozy looking little square alongside the river with lots of restaurants, shops and taverns. We found a terrace overlooking the water. It's a nice change to sit outside without a raincape and to enjoy the view. A while later we continue the hike through the center.
At the Brusselse Poort (Brussels Gate) we call it a day. The train station is only a kilometer away.
All in all this was a pretty interesting hike. It's a pity we had rain all the way, but maybe you'll be luckier than we were.
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