Our Sundays are always spent walking in the forest, so today we picked a place we have been to several times but always end up forgetting how to get here, even with the help of a GPS. Dutchman and I are sadly getting old. Sigh, these are the things in life we don’t have control with, unfortunately.
The place is called Helenaheuvel in Kaapse Bossen, Doorn, Utrecht. To get here simply type ‘Sint Helenalaan, Doorn’ on the GPS window. The walking routes begin right in front of Chalet Helenaheuvel which is a nice place in the middle of the forest to have lunch or afternoon tea. We always finish our walks late so by the time we are ready for drinks this chalet restaurant is closed for business. Always. Let’s hope next time we finish our walk early.
So today we chose the Green Route: ‘Helenaheuvel’, a 10-kilometer walk that took us 1 hour and 45 minutes. We tend to walk leisurely, after all this is about enjoying nature and de-stressing. We also had to retrace our steps several times before an intersection because the route poles are hardly to be found.
What we loved about this route were the diversity of sceneries.
From our starting point in Chalet Helenaheuvel, we walked through a little section of Kaapse Bossen (forest). Further ahead we found ourselves sauntering into the centrum of Doorn, which caught us by surprise. We passed by shops, churches and a traffic intersection. We left the centrum and followed the trail bringing us back into the forest. The bare-naked trees and dried twigs and leaves kept us company for a while. Far along, the route took us to another section of the forest where we crossed a road that brought us back again into civilization. We passed by a suburban vicinity and saw not a single living being in the process—ah, looks like a very quiet Sunday in this neighbourhood. So we walked further and before we knew it, we are back again in the forest going towards the direction of where we started.
I must admit that compared to the previous walking routes we’ve had, this one is by far interesting—a fusion of nature and urban sprawl (in a minuscule level).
Now, let me show a few fotos I took:
The 10-kilometer (walking) Green Route: Helenaheuvel. We have done the Purple Route: Postweg in the past, I think it was about 6 kilometers.
Chalet Helenaheuvel – a nice place to lunch or have tea and coffee. The starting point of the walking routes are here.
Spring is coming earlier than expected. We heard birds chirping in the woods already.
The walking trail brought us to the centrum of Doorn (Utrecht).
And then back again into the forest. Temperature was just about freezing point, 0 degree centigrade.
Final leg of the walk as we approach our starting point at Chalet Helenaheuvel. Must wear the parka’s hood because it was windy and bbbrrrrr…
You can find the rest of the fotos here: Helenaheuvel (Kaapse Bossen), Doorn, Utrecht – The Netherlands
We ended the day with some unhealthy Dutch treats. OK we damn earned it, haha.
On the menu: ‘patat oorlog’ and ‘patat speciaal’ together with a ‘berenklauw’ in a local snack bar in the centrum of Doorn. Patat is of course potato fries, Dutch style, they are thinner than Belgian friets and thicker than (fastfood) French fries. And this might sound weird but the sauces we ordered to go with our fries are curry, peanut and mayo, all with chopped onions on top. I am not always a fries gal but this was heel lekker!
I did not catch the name of the snack bar so I used my google skills and found it: Cafeteria Lucullus. This has got to be the coolest, if not, one of the coolest snack bar in the Netherlands. If you’ve been to the Netherlands and have seen a couple of snack bars, then you probably know what I’m talking about. The snack bar has its own bar section with cool blue lights and a separate eating corner that looked like an American diner, very cool, cozy and chic!
Cafeteria Lucullus is located on Dorpsstraat, Doorn, just right across the big church before reaching Amersfoortseweg intersection.
Hope your Sunday was nice as well!
Visit Period: February 2010
Destination: Doorn (Utrechtse Heuvelrug – Utrecht), The Netherlands