Before I came here to the Netherlands, I asked my friend Travis if he could help me figure out some fun things to do while I’m here, since he had studied abroad in the Netherlands before. He wrote me up this amazing list of recommendations and not-recommendations. It’s now a file I’ve creatively saved as “Netherlands Advice from Travis.” Among these recommendations: De Hoge Veluwe National Park, mainly because of its proximity to Nijmegen. The title of this blog post is a quote from his entry about the park, in which he accurately stated, “It is not like the parks here in the US; the Netherlands is SUPER FLAT.” Emphasis not added.
It’s so true though. The Netherlands is one of the flattest places I’ve ever been to, and as I biked around the park there were times in which I wondered “Am I in a foreign country, or is this the Great Plains?” The truth is, I’m in a foreign country. The other day I learned that if water levels were to rise 2 meters in the Netherlands, more than half of the country would be completely underwater. Really, even if they rose 1 meter everything would be pretty wet, and you’d probably still be wading around. The 2 meter measurement is like the “You better swim somewhere with dry land because you can’t tread water forever” mark. That might be obvious, considering 2 meters = a little over 6 feet, but I think you get the idea.
The park uses its White Bike system to provide its visitors with bikes to explore its 52 square km area
But yes, this past weekend I did go to the National Park near here, and that was pretty fun. I took the day to hike around for 8.7 km and then bike for an additional 28 km. Travis was right; National Parks here are not like National Parks in the United States. I guess I’m used to there being lots of dynamic landscapes with clear-cut overlook areas and information signs sponsored by the US National Parks service. This place was different though. Since it’s so flat, there weren’t any overlook areas. There were a few signs, but mostly in the areas that were still partly private property. However, I think the defining difference between this park and those that I’ve visited in the United States is how much the park exists as a result of human interference.
It was interesting to learn about the landscape of De Hoge Veluwe National Park. According to their museum, the park’s three different landscapes (forest, heath/grassland, and sand drifts) mainly draw their beginnings from the deforestation from slash-and-burn farming wayyyy back long ago. Then, the area (which used to be marshy and filled with peat) dried out from human interaction, as activities like sheep herding, peat cutting, and traditional agriculture began to characterize the land.
But when chemical fertilizers began to be used more and more in modern agriculture, this land began to be used less and less for herding and peat cutting. Instead, people began to re-plant tree species in the area, and thus the process of re-forestation began. Now, the transformation from wasteland (the sand drifts and the heath/grassland) can be visibly seen throughout the park.
So while this place isn’t known for it’s awe-inspiring viewpoints, like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite National Park, and while it isn’t a display of natural wonder and preservation like Yellowstone, to me it represents a place of hope. It’s a place that demonstrates how humans have the power to destroy a natural landscape, but also have the power to work toward restoration and new life. It’s a place that serves as a visible testament to the importance of preserving and maintaining a healthy earth.