Arnhem and the Openluchtmuseum

We got a rather late start this morning due to sleeping so long. We almost missed breakfast. Everything worked out just fine as the outdoor museum didn't open until 11. And it closed at at 4:30. By the time we got there, we only had 6 hours to see 96 exhibits - most of which are houses/buildings that you walk through.

We've decided that we need to get a new Europe chip for Flo. The roads have changed enough since it was made that we're spending too much time trying to find our way because she doesn't know where the new roads are. Now I can't blame all of the "we're lost again" moments on Flo but the majority are hers.

It was another beautiful, warm day. It looks like there's a chance of rain tomorrow and the temps will go down to about 70. We've had outstanding weather for which we're very thankful.

We eat far too much here. We finished breakfast at 10:30, had a cup of soup at 1, ice cream at 1:30 and about 10 minutes later, a new food (for us) mini (about the sizxe of a twoonie) pancakes (good but 'raw" in the middle) with butter and icing sugar. Hey. You have to try new food when you have the chance. Ice cream here is very different - more like ice milk. I don't think it's worth having. We didn't eat supper until 8 pm.

So back to the museum. In a large park like settting, there were many things to see spanning the last 200 years. Some things I learned.
- people painted their houses blue to keep the flies away
- kids had to bring peat to school to help keep the school room warm
- many old farmhouses were huge with about 80% of the "house" (a barn really but part of the house) for the animals
- there are some very tiny homes with one room - shared by the family and the animals
- bedrooms were really "holes in the wall"
- people were very short - doorways were about 5 feet
- in 1900, wealthy families sent their laundry out - it was picked up once every 3 months

We  bought a book that has  all of the exhibits so I have all the details if you're interested. It was a very enjoyable day. Lots of walking again. There's a small train on the property that we got on just so we could sit for a minute. (There's no smoking or spitting on the train.)

I mentioned soup earlier. We entered one house about 1 pm and there was a lady there who had made soup the day before (it's a "live museum" with some buildings staffed with people in period clothes going about a "real day"). She asked if we wanted to try her soup so we sat in this beautiful, old farmhouse from the Betuwe region and had this very good soup - made from vegys from the garden outside the door.

There was a play area for kids with a wire hula hoop type of toy. You have to keep it rolling with another piece of metal. It looks easy but it's not - Dave tried.  :)

When the museum closed, we headed to Gouda. In one of the exhibits we saw a map of Holland  and planned the rest of our time here. It was off to Gouda tonight and then to Rotterdam, Den Haag, Delft, and one of the islands. It turns out we're zig zagging across the country. When we arrived on Saturday we were only about 30 minutes from Rotterdam. We went to Eindhoven and then went very near Rotterdam when we spent the day with Anneke and Wim. Then to the other side of the country to Arnhem and then back to Gouda - which is very close to Rotterdam. You can tell that we're now planning as we go but that's fine. You can get from one side of the country to the other in about 90 minutes - at least where we are right now.

After a bit of work, we found a place to stay in Gouda - a Best Western. I know. Second time in a regular hotel - which we don't like to do but our options were very limited since we wanted to be in the old downtown area. After getting the bags into the room, we headed to the market square for supper. After trying to read a few Dutch menus, and only being able to pick out a few words, we asked for English menus. What a great idea - should have done that earlier! We both had fish. Very good. We wandered back to the hotel at 9:30. Another day done. Another day of memories created. And one day closer to going home. We miss the kids and grandkids, and are eager to see them, but we aren't quite ready to leave yet. Still 4 more full days.

One thing I learned today: Whether I'm concerned about how much weight I'm gaining or not, I still eat what I want and so today I decided to stop being concerned and deal with it later. There's too much to enjoy here!

One new thing I experiened today: Standing in an alley that's so narrow that my shoulders almost touched both sides. There's a picture.

Most powerful moment of the day: Seeing a display in one of the houses at the museum on the emmigration from Friesland to Canada in the early 1940s and knowing that some Dutch people I know where a part of that.

One pleasurable experience:  This one's mean but funny. Dave went to look at something in a store window and smacked his head into the glass. There was a fence of sorts behind the glass and Dave thought that's all there was.  He wasn't hurt.