Nijmegen: A City of a Thousand Heights

A friend recently pointed out that they had not been to a new place in a long while, and that made them feel like something was missing. That didn't make sense to me until, thanks to PEP, we had another fulfilling rondleiding, this time in Nijmegen. Now I have been to Nijmegen before, but seeing it in this light definitely hit me differently."

"Nijmegen reminded me strangely of Ntungamo, a village in the South Western part of Uganda, and, coincidentally, my father's hometown. It is known as the city of rolling hills, valleys, milk and cattle. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying Nijmegen felt like rolling hills, but it definitely did feel like a city of a thousand heights, and my Strava can attest to this fact! Regardless, it was beautiful to see the city unfolding from different viewpoints, framed or not, and especially through elevation."

"I guess the layered nature of Nijmegen gives it quite a strong section, sitting on the edge of a stuwwal and the Waal river landscape. This is definitely different from a flat polder surface. So think of higher ground versus lower river plains, and then of the slopes, terraces and transition zones. And all these combined form the city’s main spatial structural devices, producing long views, landmarks, and a sequence of distinct public space characters."

"Enjoy my few captured views.