Surprisingly beautiful bike ride through southeastern Friesland

The kickoff of this rather long tour is in Donkerbroek, a former ancient settlement, where prehistoric discoveries have been made fairly recently. Along this village also runs the Opsterlandse Compagnonsvaart, which used to be part of the famous Turfroute in this region. In the wide surroundings are extensive forests and heathlands, breeding grounds for an extensive and colorful fauna. The next place on the route is Haule, a ribbon village sometimes referred to as the most beautiful part of Drenthe in Friesland, and characterized by many wooded banks. The short jaunt into Drenthe leads to Veenhuizen, known for its penal institution, but also with many monumental buildings, including the beautiful St. Hieronymus Aemilianus Church. Back in Friesland, the tour passes through the Fochteloerveen, one of the most beautiful raised bog areas in Europe and as large as 2,500 hectares. The tranquility and vastness of this area are impressive, not least because of the many bog plants and bird species, including many cranes in the spring. The next stop is Oosterwolde, where remnants of the formerly widely used tramway can still be found. The village church from 1735 is an eye-catching landmark. After the village of De Drie Tolhekken, we cycle about five kilometers along the Tsjonger or Kuunder, a fifty-kilometer-long peat river, which today is used exclusively for pleasure boating. Then the route bends north for the last leg to the end point.