We were blessed with a nice November month to enjoy the autumn vibes at the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. As I don’t have a car anymore, I’m lucky with the good public transport network in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the NS (national train company) offers an “NS Wandeling” or station to station hike at several locations. I love the concept! This time I did the station to station hike in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, The Netherlands. We arrived at Driebergen-Zeist station and walked for approximately 16 kilometers via the Pyramide van Austerlitz (Pyramid of Austerlitz) to Maarn station.
I have to say, this was my favourite NS wandeling so far. There was a lot of variation and the Pyramid of Austerlitz was a nice sight along the way that I have been wanting to visit for quite a while.
Are you looking for the full descriptions (in Dutch only) check out this link. The whole route is also marked with white/red marks, which means you don’t have to have a look at the descriptions the whole time.
The first part of the walk takes you through Landgoed Bornia. You’ll pass the forest, heather and a sand drift, which offers several great locations to shoot some photos.
The second part of the walk brings you along Forestery Austerlitz. As you can see, we were very concentrated on finding the right route and on shooting images making use of the amazing autumn colors.
The official NS wandeling is 14 kilometers (you can also reduce it to 8 km and take the bus at a certain point), however you can extend it with 2 kilometers to visit the Pyramide van Austerlitz (Pyramid of Austerlitz) one of the main sights of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. Fun fact: this is the only pyramid in Europe! Normally, you are able to enter the property and walk up the pyramid for only 3 euros. Unfortunately, the pyramid and property was closed due to COVID-19, so I definitely have to go back once.
The days in November are not very long and the hike took us a little longer than expected (blame the lovely nature and our love for photography), we had to rush towards the end as we didn’t want to be in the woods when it was pitch black. I would definitely recommend visiting the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, either when living in the Netherlands or when visiting a little bit longer as especially the period is worth visiting. Easiest way to get to the pyramid is by car, however, you can also Hike the Utrechtse Heuvelrug with the NS wandeling and discover more of the nature The Netherlands has to offer.
