Rockanje

3 May 2015:  A change in the weather!  The day dawned cloudy.  By mid-morning, the rain began to fall.  It continued most of the day, alternating between heavy mist and light rain.  We hiked from Brielle on very pleasant trails on dikes and through forests; there was very little walking on paved roads or bike paths.  Our destination — Hotel Olaertsduyn — is, itself, in a forest near Rockanje (14 km from Brielle).  The hotel's restaurant is closed tonight and there is no other restaurant within convenient walking distance, so we (like some other guests here) will order dinner to be delivered by an Italian restaurant.  This is one of the advantages of hiking the GR5, compared, say, with the PCT...

And one of the the great advantages of hiking in the Netherlands is the opportunity to enjoy appelgebak met slagroom (apple pie with whipped cream).  Dutch appelgebak is to American apple pie as Vincent Van Gogh is to Norman Rockwell...  We somehow could not fit appelgebak into our schedule the first two days on the trail, but the stars were perfectly aligned today: About 2 hours after we left Brielle and shortly after the rain began, we emerged from the woods and found ourselves in front of a café.  We went in and ordered coffee & tea and were about to enquire about appelgebak when the friendly proprietor asked us if we would like some apple pie.  Yes!  It was great...

*   *   *

The trail leaving Brielle:

A light wind today gave these windmills a spin:

The rain begins:

Appelgebak met slagroom!

The friendly proprietor of the "Gorspaviljoen". We recommend his appelgebak!

A broad, grassy trail leading from the "Gorspaviljoen":

An unusual sign (addressed mainly to cyclists, we think) on the border of a nature reserve: No entry via this path! ("Geen toegang via dit pad!") — This is an exit only! ("Dit is alleen een uitgang!")

Walker's entry into nature preserve:

Lunch al fresco:

Hotel Olaertsduyn: