I live in Belgium, originally from The Netherlands. Both countries are essentially build up like this: city center - suburban stretch - city center with farm land in between. There is virtually no real nature to be found in both countries with the exception of a small part of southern Belgium. What natural parks we have are basically large artificial plots of nature. Every single inch of these countries is managed beyond belief.

Want to enjoy the few plots of land that are deemed ‘nature’? So do the 30 million other people living here. The most remote part in The Netherlands is a point at which you are, hold your hats, 11 km removed from the nearest road. A two and a half hour hike at best.

It’s suffocating. There are people everywhere, all the time. You can hear cars at any point in these countries. There is no natural silence. It drives me nuts.