Steps (10): A stairway to the unknown.   [nederlandssh]

Stairs take you up or down. Usually it's pretty obvious where you end up after that. Very occasionally you have no idea what is waiting for you above or below.
This staircase looks inviting. It was late autumn at the time of shooting; i can imagine that now, in late spring, the picture is very different: the trees have much more foliage, so maybe the stairs are not so visible anymore, or probably only the first part.

For this walk i had already planned a route in advance, and i didn't want to deviate from it. Also earlier on the path there had been a small situation that had made my hair stand on end: while no one was around, and i was walking there calmly, suddenly a monster seemed to jump at me to my right in the undergrowth. A huge rumble of leaves and branches, and i literally felt all the hairs of my skin stand up, but i saw nothing and kept on walking, pretending not to notice. Maybe it had just been a cat, or a big bird, or maybe even a fox i had scared off.
A little further on, some men in waders were doing complicated things by the water, laughing at something. Could it have been a joke from one of them? No idea. I was glad when i saw two other hikers approaching the path. We said hello to each other, and a little later there was this staircase and i took a picture. I hesitated for a moment: should i go upstairs, but i didn't know where i would end up, and the chance that i would have to walk a long way was not what i needed at that moment. It was a very nice walking route, so maybe i should go back again and see what there is to see on top of the hill.