About 10 days ago we went to the Netherlands for my mother-in-law's funeral. We stayed the night with my brother-in-law who lives between Rotterdam and Gouda. After the sadness of the funeral the following morning he took us out for a walk in Hitland which is just north of the river Ijssel.
It was a beautiful morning with a clear blue sky and mist hanging over the Hitland polder. Towards the south cows and sheep were silhouetted in the mist. Unfortunately I did not ask for the car to stop in order to take photos....
There were plenty of wet areas in the polder and a good network of footpaths and cycle tracks. We headed south on a path towards the dike of the Ijssel. There were plenty of waterbirds to be seen - swans, different duck varieties, coots and moorhens. Grey herons were everywhere.
I never cease to be amazed at the watery landscape in the Netherlands. As shown above, the polder lies well below the level of the dike. The river level is higher than the polder.
Once we reached the dike we were above the remaining traces of the mist and the visibility was very clear. A 100-year old three-mast barge which runs tourists between Rotterdam and Gouda sailed past.
After a kilometre or two walking along the dike we returned into Hitland - but now into deciduous woodland. My brother-in-law said that with woodland and polder next to each other a very large number of bird species have been recorded. As we walked through the woods we disturbed yet more grey herons and the odd buzzard.
By the time we completed our circuit, it was almost ten o'clock and the mist had almost completely gone. While I am a person who prefers mountains and hills to flatland, I can certainly not say that walking or cycling in polders is boring. Morning mist or frost can add to the experience.
