Netherlands

Self-supported bicycle trip in

The Netherlands - 2023

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Day 8 - Tuesday

We rode 15 miles today from Oosterbeek to Otterlo

After our breakfast at the B&B, we retrieved our bikes from storage and loaded them with the bags. The weather was threatening rain and a bit cool, but it held off until mid-afternoon. In a bit of welcome news, my Garmin GPS powered up and was working properly again after refusing to cooperate the day before.

We cycled away from the B&B toward the Airborne War Cemetery, the resting place of the troops from the Commonwealth and those who fought with them, i.e., the British, Canadian, Australian, and Polish dead from the Battle of Arnhem. An American, Lt. Richard K. Tice, is buried with the men of the Polish Parachute Regiment. He was born in New Jersey but lived in Allentown, PA, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940. But when the Army found out that he had a punctured ear drum, he was discharged. After the U.S. entered WWII, he wanted to be part of it, so he and a friend went to Canada and enlisted in the Polish Army. He perished in the Battle of Arnhem and is buried there with his brethren soldiers.

After leaving the cemetery, we entered a forest trail. We were finally now in a very rural area, far away from the bustle of cities. The trail was quiet and very peaceful. Riding along the path was shear joy, especially when I looked down and saw a large patch of lily-of-the valley flowers - still in bloom!

We entered the large national park, De Hoge Veluwe National Park, and cycled the trails through the woods and the heath toward the Kröller-Müller Museum. The museum houses one of the world's largest collections of works by Vincent van Gogh, as well as works by many other artists. We had planned our route on this trip especially so we could include a visit here.

But because our bikes were still loaded with our bags, holding stuff that we did not want to leave unattended, we continued riding to the town of Otterlo, only about two miles further, where we checked into our hotel room and unloaded the bags. The weather forecast convinced us to get out of our bicycling clothes and take a bus back to the museum.

After a quick lunch at De Waldhoorn in Otterlo, we boarded a local bus for a short ride back to the museum. We spent a few minutes in the sculpture garden, but since our real interest was van Gogh, we didn't attempt to see all of the sculptures. (That might require the better part of a day anyway since the museum has more than 150 sculptures, distributed across more than 60 acres with walking trails.

In the museum, we feasted our eyes on some of our favorite van Gogh paintings, e.g., "Cafe Terrace at Night," and "The Potato Eaters." Some of the paintings we have seen before when they had traveled to Chicago or Denver perhaps, but it was like seeing an old friend to experience them again.

Conveniently, we ran out of energy just about the same time that the museum was to close (at 5 pm). But it was a short walk to the bus stop, and the rain had arrived. By the time we got to the bus shelter, we were pretty soaked.

We got back to our hotel room, peeled off the wet stuff and warmed up a little before going to dinner. We opted for a simpler meal tonight at a restaurant across the street which served pizza, pasta, salads and Turkish dishes (Dōner Kebabs and Shawarma, etc.). We shared a mixed salad and a mushroom and prosciutto pizza.

Afterward, we walked back to our room and started making plans for tomorrow. The weather forecast calls for rain most of the day with temperatures in upper 50's. We don't have a long ride tomorrow but it seems that we should expect to ride at least part of it in the rain.

Tomorrow's route goes from Otterlo to Amersfoort.