5/25-5/26 Zolder to Hasselt to Zutendaal

Lack of good Internet when we reached our hotel in Hasselt stymied my blogging so forgive me if I combine 2 days in one.
We left Zolder in perfect weather just as the motorcycles started out on their morning laps. Fun to see!
As we walked further along the broad bike lanes beside the Albert canal cyclists and barges streamed by. They easily could do 100 miles out and back just along this path!
We reached a split where a GR 5 variant stays north of the downtown and avoids the city center. Seemed like like a good idea but the first 2-3 miles were damp and dense with mosquitos. So motivated we moved very fast through this area which finally it opened up to shady lanes with strong breezes which made for perfect delightful walking pretty much the rest of the day.We reached our hotel early. After a good lunch at the Qwackvoss, Tammy went for a rest at the hotel while I want to see the open air museum at Domain Bokrijik. What followed was 3.5 hours of fast nonstop walking to tour and photograph this worthwhile display of old Flemish homes and farms in a setting similar to what we saw before in Arnhem Holland. Very well done. Returned back to the hotel exhausted and after some fruit I'd picked up along the way and hit the sack.
Another bluebird day for our walk to Zutendaal the next morning. The heat eventually hit near 80F. Like the prior day, a GR 5 variant allowed us to bypass the Genk center but unfortunately no watering holes till almost Zutendaal. We has a late lunch at an outdoor cafe and a fantastic dinner at an Italian restaurant. Tammy had a penne while I had Belgian Blue steak - very very good. We drank 3 bottles of water - the daily heat takes a toll. The damn blisters remain pesky too!