We awoke Monday morning to clear sunny skies - the first we'd seen in a long while and it promised to be warm as indeed it eventually was. I ended the day riding in shorts! Just outside our lodging was the entrance to De Hoge Veluwe national park - this made for an beautiful ride through 5000 acres of wilderness preserve laced with paved bike trails. There are free "white bike" at the three park entrances for those arriving by car - just pick one out and go - no deposit - nothing! Most have kid seats or baskets. Every 0.2 km painted on the trail there is a phone number and grid reference in case you have a breakdown ( I guess). The park was originally privately held and features a "Hunting Lodgë" - as I posted earlier and the highlight the Kroller Muller museum which has -amid a vast gallery and sculpter collection - the worlds largest privately assembled van Gogh collection. It was Monday and the museum was closed so we soldiered onwards.
Eventually well out of the park and hours later we came to the Openlucht Museum which I had visited before on a Rick Steves tour 2001. It was happily open and we walked through. It is a collection of homes and buildings from around Holland from different periods. You can walk through the old farm houses etc. But it isn't a static display - the windmills work - the bakery has goods to buy, the old restuants are open - there is a tram with the conductors in period clothes. Bees are buzzing at the hives.
We left there and cycled a short but challenging (hilly) distance into Arnhem for the night. We found an Indonesian restaurant and pigged out on the exotic tastes!
Our lodging is a houseboat called the Drijfpaleis (Drift Palace) where its an amazingly decorated barge.
The next day (Tuesday) was a rest day but as it ends up - we didn't. Determined to see the art, we figured out a way to take a bus back up to the park entrance where we picked up the white bikes then pedaled a good ways to the museum. Superlatives do not suffice here but this place should be on every art lovers to-do list!
We revesred course after a long day and returned to our pad for stretching and sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment