Exploring the Benelux Countries

Walking and Eating our way through Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

What's New

N70, where have you been all my life?

The N70: It turns out that they’ve been hiding the hills from us. When the Council of Europe declared the year 1970 as a year for nature conservation, the city of Nijmegen took this idea and ran with it. They devised a walking path that would get people, even people less familiar with nature, to

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In the Charming Old Mill Hotel No One Can Hear You Scream

photo: Karen Sandler Just in case you missed our manifesto, our name Boots and Bowtie refers to our love of scenic walks that also have some gastronomic aspect. Sometimes we find a lovely hike but are disappointed on the food end; these days are known as “all boots and no bowtie”. Occasionally it’s the other

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Après nous le déluge

We’ve both been thinking about this expression since our last walking trip in South Limburg. A few days after we got home, torrential rain brought death and destruction to parts of Limburg, Belgium and Germany. Now that the International Panel on Climate Change has released its report, it occurs to us that this sentiment may

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About Us

Mrs. Boots and Mr. Bowtie are two ex-pat Americans passionate about walking and food. Having settled in the Netherlands over twenty years ago, they set out to explore and discover all the finest dining and hiking the region had to offer. They aim to guide their readers with thoughtful, detailed and accessible descriptions of a variety of rambles through the Benelux, informed by local history and culture.
Read the Boots and Bowtie Manifesto.