The Netherlands
The Dutch leg of our vacation was quite different than the Ireland leg. Our home in Didam was our base and, given that Judy and John had previously been to Amsterdam and the surrounding areas, they were more interested in discovering what rural life was like in the Netherlands than seeing all the sights. Which worked out well because, well, we being old folks (not to mention the chaos of getting through passport control at Schiphol [something was amiss that Thursday]), we were a bit tired from our running around in Ireland.
So Friday was a “rest day,” but pretty much established our routine for the week. Friday is market day in Didam, so we walked into town and John had a field day at the market. Cheeses, breads, some honey, dried meats and a beautiful cut of steak (after a long discussion with the butcher). That evening I made a dinner of mattar paneer (I bought some paneer before we left and used fresh vegetables from the run to the farmers market), which I’d planned so that we wouldn’t have to worry about dinner that first night back.
We were still in super casual mode on Saturday so we decided to take it easy yet again. Easy I guess if you mean going out for our usual walk (a nice way to show them the countryside) . . .
. . . and a trip into Zevenaar, the larger town not far from our house. In Zevenaar we started John’s quest to find the best bitterballen in the Netherlands, and made a stop in our favorite liquor store to stock up on scotch, whiskey and other beverages John wanted to test. And John got to cooking his steak for us. If you see a pattern connecting our Ireland and Netherlands legs of the vacation, you’re right - food plays a major role in our enjoyment of life.
Sunday brought more of the same. Ann made an amazing breakfast and we took our time before heading out for the afternoon.
In our email communications while trip planning, John had requested seeing the Netherlands part of the Rhein. Strangely enough, a few days later, at Ann’s hairdresser appointment, Ann was talking with her hairdresser about the upcoming trip, and when Ann asked Nicole if she had any recommendations for restaurants by the Rhein, Nicole said, “Funny you should ask . . . .” The other customer at Nicole’s place happened to own a restaurant in Tolkamer. So we spent part of the afternoon walking along the Rhein in Tolkamer, then headed over to the Restaurant Brasserie for some drinks while overlooking the Rhein before heading inside for dinner.
Dinner was great (the bitterballen were pretty darned good), and we had a grand time talking with our waiter, Khoray, a Turkish Kurd living here in the Netherlands.
As we were leaving, Khoray told us about a near-by memorial for some WWII airmen who had been shot down in Tolkamer. So before heading home, we took the short walk over a bridge to check it out.
I’ve mentioned before that the memory of WWII is still very present here. It is not uncommon to be talking to folks and at some point they thank us for what America (it’s always America in that instance, not the United States) did for them during the war. The memorial soldiers were from an RAF bomber that was shot down. Ages 17 to 38. You couldn’t help but wonder what their lives were like, who they left behind and what lives they would have had if the world were different.
There was also a separate headstone. Likely Canadian, but unknown.
By the time we headed back to the car, the sun was beginning to fall over the Rhein.
Our plans for Monday (ok, what plans? We ain’t got no stinking plans!), got shook up just as we were discussing what we were going to do for the day. We’d discussed several possibilities but those went out the window when I got a call that Arno had finished working on our upgraded wifi/cell system for the bimobil. We were interested in picking it up right away and Judy and John were interested in seeing our rig. So late morning we headed over to pick up the bimobil and, upon return, we gave John and Judy a tour of our home-away-from-home. They of course said we could visit and park it at their place any time we want . . . we just have to get the US government to allow us to import it!
Ultimately, we opted not to take a quick camping trip and started discussing what we might do that afternoon. We were ready to get out and about, so we headed for a hike in the National Park Veluwezoom just north of Arnhem. We took the back way there so they could enjoy a bit more of the Dutch landscape. Once we were there, the area I’d picked to explore had plenty to offer.
Unfortunately, we were about a week too late for the full heath bloom. Sure, there were plenty purple-topped bushes in the fields, but they weren’t shockingly purple like they had been a couple weeks previously. Still, it was lovely.
The nice thing about a large park like that is that you can take trails that wind through a variety of landscapes. Although I didn’t exactly know where we were going, my Gaia app and All Trails app on my phone let kept us going in a reasonably circular route through different landscapes.
We eventually popped out of the woods and back onto higher ground for some lovely views.
And I (intentionally) led us back to the Pavilion de Posbank, where we could sit down and have a nice beer and some . . . bitterballen! That is one thing I do enjoy about Dutch parks, there is almost always a place to sit back and have a coffee, ice cream, snacks or a beer, usually in the center of the park.
After our long hike on Monday, we decided to take it easy on Tuesday. Of course that didn’t mean we did nothing. We decided it was time for our guests to check out downtown Didam because, hey, they hadn’t made it much past the Market on Friday. John of course was enamored with the town because, even as small as it is, it still has two bakeries and two butchers in a 3-block area. We stopped off for some more bread at one of the bakeries, stopped to have a beer and bitterballen at Jan and Jan, and headed over to the other bakery to see if they had any goodies.
The trip to the other bakery was quite eventful. John had to stop at a food cart (Thai) to try out some spring rolls (John is a grazer). Then we ran into Khoray, our waiter from the restaurant in Tolkamer. He lives in Didam! (The other day when Ann and I were walking back from the bakery, a car honks at us and it’s . . . Khoray!). Well, the second bakery (it was early afternoon by this point) was pretty low on bread, but was pretty well stocked up on desserts.
So we walked out with a box full, knowing that desert would be just as good as dinner that night.
Wednesday saw us on the road again. When we ran into Khoray in Didam, he had recommended a couple of places for us to visit. After checking them out online, we decided to spend the day in Elberg, a nice Hanseatic fortress city dating back to the Middle Ages.
The best part of visiting Elberg is that the town is developed within its old moat. So while most of the fortress wall has been removed (not the latter earthen wall though), the city is confined within a fairly small perimeter, so you can easily wander through the city without walking miles and miles. As you can see, the place has a lot of character.
We took our time wandering through the city, checking things out.
Before the Netherlands built its two major dikes, the town was a port town with the sea at its doorstep. Today it still has access to the sea via a canal, and it has a robust fishing economy that is advertised throughout the town in many different ways.
It didn’t take us too long to walk down the central road of the town and through the other gate. Crossing the moat . . .
. . . and entering the harbor area where there was a fleet of traditional shallow-draft boats.
One of the more “tourist” features of Elberg is what they claim to be the largest bench in Holland. From what we can tell, it’s probably the right height for many of the Dutch we see walking around.
After a stop for lunch (yes, John ordered bitterballen), we returned to the town and started wandering up and down its side streets, exploring the different parts of town. At one point we climbed up one of the historic fortress wall segments still remaining, then wandered by the church, and then back to the canal that runs through the center of town, cross-ways from the main drag (Jufferenstraat).
In our wanderings we came across a metal workshop open to the public. Ann and I stayed there awhile while one guy made a bottle opener and the other was working on a candle holder.
We eventually wound up by the harbor gate again and decided to walk around the city on the earthen berm (built after canons became weapons of war) that surrounds the old fortress.
I think Ann and I will be returning here again in the not-too-distant future.
Thursday was John and Judy’s last day so we took it easy, had a good stroll through Zevenaar again, and had a fancy dinner. Well, it was fancy for three of us. John of course ordered bitterballen (and grazed off our plates), though I must admit, it was the best bitterballen John had tried (he knew enough to order extra).
And with that, the vacation was over.
It was an easy drive to Schipol airport in Amsterdam the next day to drop them off, and Ann and I had the rest of the weekend to recover and for me to get ready for the work grind.
I’m already ready for another vacation.