Fletcher Hotel Restaurant Paasberg Lochem

We went to Beekbergen strictly as a stop over before arriving in Amsterdam. We had one night remaining until our apartment was booked and we needed a campsite. The place was a little expensive but the campsite was pretty. We got our first private site which was completely surrounded by trees and bushes. We actually felt like we were camping! And there were ...

... a wonderful repast of cakes and coffee/tea (very good tea!). And then we visited the pen room! One can only view this room with admiration. Later, as I sat down and dug through Biggy’s duplicates, Pete and Bert went off on their own. Pete doesn’t speak any German and Bert not much English, but Pete said they had a very nice conversation and told me later about how Bert ...

... diverse people live in harmony... at least we try to. 

The Netherlands Youth and The Seaforth Highlanders are a no show. No mention is made as to why but I suspect that summer holidays make getting people out to organized functions difficult here just as they do at home. We meet a few families on vacation. Parents are bringing their children here to remember the sacrifice of Canadians- their Liberators. It seems "the torch" of remembrance continues to be passed here.

... a treat. He uses mannequins to set up a variety of scenarios, or life size dioramas. He has collected uniforms and artifacts from people in the area, who remember the Canadians as "lover boys and water rats." He reminded us that all the able bodied Belgian men had been shipped off to forced labour camps in Germany four years earlier, so when the Canadians arrived they were "warmly" greeted by the local female population. As a result, there are many Belgians ...

... and let him find his way home alone. Can you imagine that happening today?

In the interests of history, we explored the small Hengelo museum, which had an unusual cellar full of pickles and a Singer sewing machine. I bought an old photo postcard of the town, then we walked back to the van der Poel ice-cream shop. It claims to have 120 flavours, but we couldn't try them all. We certainly enjoyed the ones we did try.

... with horses and foals gambolling in the fields outside the windows. Sander and Renata are very friendly. They greeted us at the backdoor next to their metre-deep paddling pool. Despite the tepid temperature, the kids donned their costumes and leapt in, before we even got into the house.

After putting the children to bed, we talked for a bit. I had been on the go for 18 hours but I was having trouble sleeping. I guess the adrenaline was still pumping. Eventually I snuggled ...

... Church and the still functioning windmill. The Mill offers expert tours of the technologies and importance of the mill. Just across the street is a splendid museum that displays excellent geological samples collected, chiefly of the glacial erratics collected... The area is quite lovely, and the elevations of the town are built upon ...

... my password and information, I walked back home. I installed my internet and for the first time in the week I had internet to update every one. It was beautiful! Once I took care of updating e-mails and such, I decided to walk to the city centre again. I went with the goal of getting my temporary resident permit and buying some new shoes. I took a new way to town to experiment with different directions that were off the busy main road. The way I took was beautiful! There ...

... Saturday we came to Barchem by train with a couple of train changes on the fly. Boy oh boy these people are punctual! When they say the next train out leaves in four minutes, They Mean IT! We did make every change ok but it was close once. In Barchem we have a nice little bungalow rented and we are nice and cozy there. Warm and every thing, but our stay here comes to an end on Saturday when we head out to Arnhem. We want to see where "a ...

(Originally published at http://www.troysgonewalkabout.com)
< br>I was due to fly out of Amsterdam in the evening so our hope was to head west to the island of Texel, then south to Den Helder and onto Amsterdam, thus completing a whole anti-clockwise circuit of the country. After listening to our plan and doing his best to comply by looking at many different train and bus combinations, the man at the train station ...