The World of the House of Orange

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Geo: 52.2163, 5.96462

Het Loo Palace is imbued with the lives and history of the Dutch Royal family. It was the favorite place of William III and Mary II, and later Queen Wilhelmina. On a beautiful warm day like today, its not hard to see why. Natalie and I have visited many castles, royal residences and palaces since our arrival in Europe. We were both in agreement, that todays visit to Het Loo may have just about been our favorite of the lot so far. Whether it was the perfect weather, excellent audio tour, intriguing history, relatively low crowds or beautiful green gardens that made it so enjoyable, were heading home happy.
We arrived around 1pm after lunch, and three or four happy hours just rolled by. On arrival, we noted the majority of text and information was in Dutch only. So on arrival in the main entry hall of the palace, we decided to pay for an English audio tour. It proved to be 3€ each very well spent. This was definitely the most interesting and engaging audio tour Ive done to date. We went from room to room through the apartments, learning the story of the Dutch Royal Family over the years, from the stadtholders William I to V, to French occupation, and return of William Vs son, to become King William the first.
After enjoying the elegantly decorated palace, out into the sun to enjoy the beautiful Het Loo gardens. Trimmed hedges, monuments, bright green grass, and the refreshing spray sound and sight of grand fountains made for a relaxing stroll in the sunshine.
There was time for a cool drink and croquette in Hendriks old garage turned cafe, before heading for home.
Joke cooked us a delicious pasta dinner, and we stayed up late playing Scrabble! Nat snatched victory from me by a single point!

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Photos

A Reasonable Warning
If theres a sign, someone somehow pulled it off..

Comments

[Dad]

I think I've visited most of the places youve been to but I have never been to the Palace. Looks great.