Nordic Walking & Barging Tours
Why Nordic Walking from IBT?
When Frank Behrendt, IBT’s founder, discovered Nordic Walking he almost gave up his bicycle. “I’m totally hooked,” he says, and now walks several times a week in all kinds of weather. This low-stress, full body workout appeals to people who may never ride a bike or, like Frank, those who enjoy having another sport to pursue. Frank is certified by the Netherlands as well as the Austrian Nordic Walking Associations. He is well qualified to teach you his love for this great outdoor sport.
What is Nordic Walking?
A fast-growing European sport appealing to enthusiasts of wide age range and athletic ability, with immediate health and fitness benefits, Nordic Walking grew out of summer practice by serious cross country skiers in Finland and has become a sport on its own. Specifically designed poles are used to enhance regular walking, propelling the body forward with controlled arm movements and increasing the healthful benefits of regular walking by surprising margins. Impact on knees, hips, ankles and back is substantially reduced, calories are burned up to 46 percent faster, heart rate response increases up to 20 percent and the upper body benefits by increase in strength and tone. The technique is quickly learned and easily put to use in streets, in parks, almost anywhere. It’s a skill that will go home with you. Use of poles is included in the tour cost, or you may bring your own.
Both walking and barging?
Nordic Walking, like bicycling, proves a perfect fit with barge trips. You have the pleasure of new walks each day and the same bed each night. The barge sails as we walk and is docked to welcome us at the end of every day. IBT barge tours take place in various parts of Europe and enlist the services of individually owned vessels whose captains make their passengers comfortable and welcome. You are accommodated in a two-bedded cabin with private bath, and can unpack without packing again until leaving for home. Breakfasts and dinners are on board. Returning at the end of the day, a peek into the galley lets you identify whatever tempting aroma is emerging in advance of dinner. Now and again the barge is underway during meals, producing a changing vista from the dining table. The sun deck provides an out-of-door salon, and seating is available in the main salon as well. Each cabin has its own porthole view of the river scene.
Leave the details to us…
Although you will do the walking, leave everything else to us. We meet you at the airport and will return you there, transport you to the barge and, through our knowledgeable planning and the constant attendance of your instructor, ensure that all goes safely and well. Your instructor provides insight on the area and is fluent in the language. All breakfasts and dinners are on board the barge; lunches are on your own in whatever pretty village we’ve come to.
What is a day like?
Days vary as we come across sites of interest that range from windmills to castles to historic locations. (We provide the entrance fees.) As we experience the countryside stops are frequent and opportunities to take photographs ample. We start in the fresh air of the morning, take a lunch break en route in some attractive small town, or perhaps pick up supplies to picnic. Time is made for informative lectures as well. Dinner and breakfast, aboard the barge, feature fresh, local, seasonal ingredients prepared by chefs who know exactly what a Nordic walker might enjoy. At dinner the day’s shared experiences often produce a fine camaraderie.
Who does Nordic Walking?
The age range and range of athletic ability varies widely among participants in Nordic Walking and Barge Tours. Newcomers to the sport can expect to be taught proper technique and to find their skills improving during the trip. If you wonder if Nordic Walking is for you, this is the way to find out.
IBT’s hallmarks are safety and maximum value…
combined with the best prices in the business, have attracted thousands of people for great bicycling experiences since the company’s establishment in 1976. Now those qualities extend to Nordic Walking and Barge tours.