Take a break …. think of Twente! You should definitely visit this part of the Netherlands with cozy towns and a beautiful entourage that is ideal for many relaxed walking or cycling trips. We stayed in Hengelo for 3 nights.

Day 1 Through Gelderland to Hengelo
We slowly left our familiar Brabant. Now we live in the west of that province and you will only find out its size when you cross the provincial border with Gelderland in the far east at Ravesteijn.

We first visited Doesburg in Gelderland. The beautiful town located on the IJssel has a picturesque core. Beautiful old buildings along cozy streets come into their own with the thriving floral decorations on poles and in front of facades. Plenty of lunch options, so it will come as no surprise that we ate an excellent sandwich, while there was a small but heavy shower. What comes across as very friendly to visitors is that they can park for free at various places and that you can easily walk into the city center from there. Here you will find a rough map of our walk.

After Doesburg we left the highway for what it was and we started driving secondary. We approached Hengelo, but not yet our final destination but the town of the same name in Gelderland. Funny to visit it first. At the church was a nice artwork of a motorcyclist.

We then went to Delden. Here we took a nice walk along shops, old buildings and nature. In the meantime we found three geocaches, one of which was quite large and hidden in plain sight. Another took us to the pedestrian bridge that would lead to Twickel Castle. And the latter made us discover the station.

In the meantime it was already around five o’clock, so it was high time to visit our hotel in Hengelo, now the Overijssel version. After a delicious dinner, we had a quiet evening.

Day 2 Walking in nature
We got up in time and hit the road early. A dry day was promised and that fits perfectly with a beautiful nature walk. First we went past Het Stift. A picturesque old church surrounded by characteristic houses from a bygone era.

The Stift in Weerselo is an age-old protected village view. A former Benedictine monastery from the 12th century and a Stift from the 14th century, where unmarried ladies of nobility lived.

We parked the car between Oldenzaal and De Lutte and then on we just walked. We had found a route that would visit the two highest places in Overijssel. From the Paasberg and the Tankenberg you look out over the lower grounds and with clear skies you can see Germany. We walked on paved and unpaved paths, along meadows and through woodland, in a sometimes slightly sloping landscape and with some beautiful farms and houses. It was a varied journey of almost 8 km. On the way we immediately found two geocaches. Always nice to find beautiful places that have something to say.

The remainder of the afternoon we made a tour through some German nature and around dinner time we ended up in Boekelo, where bleaching once was rampant. Part of the old buildings and chimney have been beautifully converted into homes. Boekelo also has a train station. We associated Boekelo with salt.

When drilling for good drinking water, it was discovered in 1887 that there is a lot of salt in the soil; after all, originally here was sea. In 1918 the Royal Dutch Salt Industry started salt production in this village. Due to the arrival of the Twente Canal, the factory of the Royal Dutch Salt Industry moved to Hengelo in 1936.

After a copious meal in this village we went back to the hotel.

Day 3 Villages between the showers
Unfortunately we had no beautiful weather today, but nevertheless we had a good time in this beautiful area. Keeping an eye on the rainfall radar to finish the trips dry. In the morning we took a walk through Borne. It has an old part that looks very picturesque. The Maria chapel is also worth a visit.
In the afternoon we stretched our legs at Enter. There the street was open due to sewerage works, but the largest wooden shoe in the world was simply showing off under the roof.

The largest wooden shoe in the world is located in the middle of the village of Enter, in front of the Museum Buisjan. This unique clog is made from one piece of tree. The clog is 403 cm long, 171 cm wide and 169 cm high and was made in 1991 by Heering and Plas. In that year it was also included in the Guinness book of records.

Haaksbergen is located almost in Germany and almost in the Achterhoek, but it is the southeasternmost point of Twente. We unfortunately explored this nice place from under a large umbrella.

Our last stop was at the old airport Twente where we even saw some Boeing 747 and other planes.

Day 4 Time flies when your’e having fun
After a good night’s sleep we made a tour of Hengelo. It was Sunday so parking was no problem behind City Hall. We had already printed a walking route at home and have largely followed it. The culprit was again the weather. It started to drizzle a lot. Nevertheless, we got a nice impression and we would like to come back again, just like the whole area deserves the need to stay longer. There is still much to discover and see here. Nature is beautiful and the villages and towns are very attractive. Cyclists and hikers in particular will get their money’s worth here.

For us there was nothing more than a scenic route home. On the way we made a stop on the Rhine, water lovers as we are. In Emmerich there was a strong wind and an “interesting” cloud cover hung over the Rheinbrücke.

From the Rheinpromenade in Emmerich am Rhein you have a beautiful view of the longest suspension bridge in Germany.

We ended the day and with it the weekend with a delicious Greek meal.

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