Grathem is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Leudal, about 10 km west of Roermond. Around 1700 people live in Grathem, and I am one of those. I have moved to Grathem with my wife, back in 2012. So Grathem is my hometown for 8 years now.

In these 8 years I have really grown fond of this beautiful little village. It is small, super quiet and not busy with traffic at all. It is that classis small rural village. In and around Grathem there’s beautiful nature. In summer there’s some tourism, and there’s a popular cycling route going through town. So, expect some people out and about in the summer months. Other than that, it is quiet, peaceful and again… that typical tiny village surrounded by lots of nature.

The year is 2020, and the world is on lockdown due to the Covid-19 situation. Therefore I am not travelling right now, and I have a lot of “stay at home time” ahead of me still. The weather is nice, spring has arrived. So this is the perfect time to photograph and showcase my hometown, and my local area.

I have documented this walking route called “Het Puinebrug Ommetje” that goes through parts of Grathem, and takes you through some beautiful nature. I will take you through the walk step by step and frame by frame. Let’s take a virtual trip right?

**1. This is the map of the route, we are are going to walk the blue route, “Het Puinebrug Ommetje”**

**2. This is your starting point. “Markt” basically the main square, or downtown**

**3. From the market square you start walking south, onto the Dorpstraat**

**4. You will come across this small chapel, called the “Heilig Hart Kapel” built in 1922**

**5. We will make a left turn by the chapel, to head onto the street called “Gulden Eind”**

**6. We will pass ”Biej Smidje” the only store and supermarket in the village**

**7. We will continue walking down “Gulden Eind”**

**9. After we have passed the “Beekstraat” we are now on a small bridge called the “Puinebrug” and we can see the “Uffelsebaek” for the first time.**

**8. Looking right whilst on “Gulden Eind” we see the “Beekstraat”**

**10. Looking south whilst on the “Puinebrug” we can see a glimpse of the St. Severinuschurch (12th Century)**

"Puinebrök"
The bridge between the Gulden Eind and the Beeklaan is known in the village under the name "Puinebrök"
It owes its name to the time when the crossing over the stream still consisted of wooden beams. Weather conditions created space between the beams with the result that farmers got stuck in them with their horse-drawn carriages. In order to remedy this problem, "puine" (plags) were laid over the beams. That's the origin of the name for this bridge.

**11. After taking the “Puinebrök” crossing the “Uffelsebaek” we turn left, and we see the St. Severinus Chapel (1976)**

**12. When we have passed the Chapel, we make another left turn, away from the bigger dirt road, onto the smaller one, that goes right next to the “Uffelsebaek”**

13. Next up is a bunch of shots of the beautiful nature you will be seeing, walking next to the “Uffelsebaek” just keep following the path, and you will come to a place where the trees make room for a nice and open view, out over the fields.

**14. After a while you will see another bridge crossing the “Uffelsebaek”**

**15. We are now crossing this bridge over The “Uffelsebaek”**

“Kapittelsbos”
When you have crossed this bridge you will walk past the garden of Kapittelsbos.
Kapittelsbos in Grathem has been in the hands of Jackie's (the current owner) great-grandparents since 1905. From a mixed farm it has been transformed into a recreational and cultural farm for meetings and holidays.

The boulders of Maiella (Italy) have been in this garden of the Uffelse and Haelen brook valleys since 2006. (Click on the photo’s below to get a better look at them) A kingfisher regularly appears here in this typical Leudal stream valley. The beaver is also active on the water's edge. A regional beekeeper places his bee colonies in the garden. The insect hotel attracts solitary bees and other insects and reptiles.

At the end of December 2013 there were two beaver castles/lodges under construction at the Uffelse Beek along the detour through Grathem. In the summer there is a chance to spot a beaver, especially at sunset and in silence!

**17. Beautiful little painting like scene’s all around**

**18. We are about to enter the village again…**

**19. Just before entering town, is where we say goodbye to the “Uffelsebaek” as it makes a left turn, and we keep on the main road.**

20. After entering the village again, you make a right turn and you completed your walk! You have reached the “Markt” again, the starting point of “Het Puinebrug Ommetje” the market square is a perfect place to park your cars, rest on the benches, or sit down with a cup of coffee before or after your walk through this beautiful village and natural area.

Here you can see the route, starting and ending at the Market Square, and leading you out of town, over the “Puinebrök” and where it takes you next to the “Uffelsebaek" and past “Kapittelsbos”

Thank you for joining me on this virtual tour, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you are ever in the area, let me know… and I will take you around. We can do this little tour together (when times allow for it again) If you enjoyed this blogpost, a like, comment and share is very much appreciated.

See you in Grathem!

Recently I have been gaining quite some interest for Astrophotography. I have always loved these great images of night skies and star trails and such, but never saw myself take any photographs like that. Because I always thought that the techniques and materials you would need for this were out of reach for me.

I have been talking to my friend Asgeir from Iceland about shooting the stars for quite a bit for the past few weeks, and have to admit that his work and our conversations inspired me to give it a decent go. He basically nails this type of photography. His work are master pieces. He has provided me with plenty of very useful tips and the motivation to step out of my comfort zone and try something new, thanks buddy! (Check out Asgeir's great photographs right here)

So below you can see what I managed to push out of my camera. I don't have a full frame camera, and my widest lenses are both at F3.5 only. For this type of photography you would really want a "fast" lens (with apertures ranging from F1.4 to F2.8) so F3.5 isn't that bad at all, but it comes with a little challenge. There is slightly less "light" hitting the sensor compared to a F1.8 for example. I had the ISO up to 3200 for both shots, which is still pretty good on my "old" D7000 but also showing that from there grain and noise become much more visible and a disturbing factor. I did edit both pictures in Lightroom and Photoshop to try and get the best quality out of these images. And I am pretty happy with how they came out, what do you think?

Anyways, I am back off to saving some more money to reach the point of possibly upgrading my body and lenses to something more powerful and capable, for experimenting a bit more with this type of photography.

blog

Winter has arrived

Grathem: Het Puinebrug Ommetje

Astrophotography