Walking the Netherlands - Day 7.

Picking up the western leg of my trans-Netherlands walk again after some 15 months. Its the first day of summer time - but to look at the grey sky you wouldn't know it. At least it's not snowing this weekend. But there is a persistent drizzle when I set out on the train from Schiedam to Delft, I'm hoping it's going to clear. If not I figure I can do a few tourist sites in Delft and head back to Rotterdam. And it does. Game on! After a quick trip of the canals and bridges of Delft I take the bus out to Schipluiden - a beautiful little village and reconnect with the Oeverloperapad - the start of one of Europe's long distance footpaths -running from Hoek van Holland to Nice (I think there's a British section too). I'm kind of hoping to do it all - but at the rate I'm going it will be 2014 before I finish the Dutch section.

The skies are grey - I spend all day between 2 and 5.5 metres below sea level -combined that's a pretty accurate emotional barometer. But it's nice to be out in the wind, to talk to myself and take a rain check about what's going on (or not going on) in my life. I'm glad to be out by myself today. I invited a friend but she had other priorities and its good to be alone in the landscape. To deal with existential problems - like do I do turn South before or after that bridge? And why is there is a mismatch between the map - which shows no housing- and the path - where the housing is 100m north of the path I am following? And I chuckle at the metaphor - why does the reality of my life not match the map that I drew a few years ago?

The rain holds off - but the grey and flat landscape doesn't lend itself to photos today - so today's photos (see last blog) are mostly of birds and bridges. The first half of the walk takes me across a polder that separates Delft from Rotterdam. There's a story about how this is still here, at least still unspoilt . I only know half of it. Some years ago there were plans to build a motorway link across the middle of this polder. They built the infrastructure -a bank that it is now a cycle path - but the the environmental argument prevailed and the motorway extension was never completed. As a former anti-roads campaigner that gave me a warm glow in my heart.

The second half is spent skirting around the northern perimeter of Rotterdam. I love these peri-urban environments where almost every step is imbued with history. They are so much more interesting than city centres with their chain stores and malls and public images. (I once met a great guy in Copenhagen - who was offering cycling tours around the lesser known quarters of the city - unfortunately his publicity spoke of visiting the backside of the city and he didn't attract the client base he was looking for).

At the end of the day I've done nearly 20K and am tired so I misread the (Dutch) route instructions and instead of ending at a NS station find myself at the close-by "Melancholy weg" tram and metro stop. Now how appropriate is that? (But why are they not piping Leonard Cohen songs?).

Back to my friend's flat. She makes me a huge mug of tea - with biscuits- and we talk about each others days' - and how our lovers' fucked us up and hurt us - and we play each other our favourite sad love songs and I remember how important friends are. We run around the planet (in however large or small circles) looking for love - (well at least I do). Ultimately it's our friends who guide, shield, protect and inspire us.