The Netherlands 5 Arnhem - the Lint, the Landgoed , the Lint- Tuinen , the Platland and the Dorp

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We boarded the tiny tram again and set off along the tracks which followed the woods. In the distance we could see a windmill or a bakehouse and yet another farmhouse . Sometimes people got off the tram and wandered around before catching the next one . At other times they sat there going round and round . On our way round we were busy reading the literature which told us we were passing the Tower Mill saved from demolition in Delft . We alighted at Lint- Tuinen as did a number of other families . There was in this part of the park quite a number of different dwellings. A tin chapel rescued from Heerenhoek, a prefabricated bungalow donated by Norway . Inside of the prefab along with other houses felt like a trip to the past . To a world we remembered and sometimes chose to forget . Washing dolly tubs outside reminded us of our childhood where every house had a dolly tub, a washboard and a clothes horse or clothes maid. Washing was no different here than it was back home . Monday was washday and my mum prayed on a Sunday night for enough coal to light the fire in order to get enough water to wash the clothes and for enough wind or sun to dry them.

Inside were the furniture we remembered . Rag rugs , no electricity, no central heating just the basics. A kitchen, a mixed matched front living room and a coal fire to warm ourselves on. A bed set into the wall like a cupboard . Outside were archery ranges, a brewery saved from Ulvenhout and a workers houses from Tilbury . Each house was different and reflected a change in style and comfort as we moved from the early part of the 20th century to the 1970's. Rag rugs replaced by carpets. More modern electrical appliances . An inside toilet rather than an outside privy. A wayside shrine had been dismantled and re-erected along the road . This had come from Margratan . How I wish in a way that some of the places had been left where they stood . Here although fascinating some seemed too clinical , too clean, too precise and artificial . Yes the buildings were saved but somehow they felt too much like museum pieces without life . A woman sat in one - sadly a dummy rather than a real person . A real person could have been stoking the fire, cooking in the kitchen and looking after the baby. I would say dont get me wrong it was fascinating but I felt they were missing so much in telling the story of the movement of the buildings and the context . Half timbered barns and formal gardens completed the scene .

We moved on a found barns full of dark rooms . Sometimes it was easy to see what was inside . One told the story of how escapees from prison camps risked their lives trying to cross from Holland to Belgium . Electric fences were set up to try to reimagine the scene . A village school was set up to tell life for children at school . I guess we seen the same kinds of museums so often that we are blase about the content after a while . A dairy factory , a wind driven drainage mill and a nodding donkey had been procured from Rotterdam . They all told a story about life in the Netherlands . Herb gardens to walk through .

We had arrived at the Plattland with its Spidermill, peat hut and a number of farmhouses of all shapes and sizes .

Our last stop of the day was to the Dorp - the town. Probably this was my favourite as when we planned this trip I had wanted to see Dutch bridges and windmills in situ . With Amsterdam and other towns going out of the window I was never going to see those bridges . Nor were we able to get to see the famous windmills of the Kinderdyke . So this had to suffice .

The area called the Dorp was created around a very large pond . It was approached via the prettily painted Ouderkirk dutch bridge . Ducks swam in the water around the bridge and a boatyard featured heavily in the plan. On all our sides were windmills of different colour and design. A drainage mill from Noordlaren , a wind driven sawmill rescued from Numansdorp and various fishermens cottages and a small drainage mill from Gouda . I guess the different mills represented different usage and different localities . We could see inside some of them but none were working which was a shame . It would have been good to see the mill machinery in action and perhaps have been able to buy some stone ground flour to make bread back home. There was an eel pedlars shack showing the diversity of the trades and occupations in the Netherlands . A paper workshop and a weighbridge . A large post mill rescued from Huizen. This area was probably proving to be after the trams the most interesting of areas showcasing so many windmills that otherwise would have been lost .

After our walk around the windmills and the working harbour we found ourselves back inside the cafe trying to sort out lunch . The cross between all the fast food chains became more and more evident as we perused the small menu. Frites and burgers . Soup of the day and bread . Salads of an indiscriminate nature . There was nothing that looked remotely appealing . We sat over a shared bag of frites whilst Glenn chewed his way through the burger . As probably the last meal of this trip it was not that appealing nor one we would remember for all the right reasons .

We escaped the car park and headed for our last overnight stop. Probably the last sleep ever in Gabby . A dark car parking area somewhere near to Antwerp and near to a sports complex . There was room for a few vans and there were a number already parked . We slept well all things considered and woke early . It was pitch black as we drove to the Tunnel arriving in good time for our train . I kept thinking last breakfast - a croissant and hot coffee in the Eurotunnel terminal . We can always come in the car and stay in a hotel or a gite but somehow ten years of motorhoming had left me in particular with a hatred of noisy hotels and lack of home comforts that Gabby had provided us with . She was getting too small as we got older . Getting in and out of her bed was proving a more difficult option than five years ago . We lacked the comfort of a full sized bed . As we waited for our train - no early option today - we pondered on what was coming next . A call to the company we bought Gabby from . They bit our hands off and offered us a good price . They wanted Gabby with all her extras . Just needed sorting when we got home .

We were quiet coming home . But then it was the end of the holiday and a short one at that . It felt like the en d of an era rather than the beginning of the next one .

Yet again as it had over the last few days the calendar came up with the answer "I live by letting things happen" A saying by Dogen that summed up what I should be thinking . Gabby was going whatever happened and I need to let it happen and move on . The next few days were a whirlwind. We were doing the opposite to what we did 10 years ago when we bought our first motorhome Suzy Sundance .

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Comments

[Home and Away]

You sound a bit down...
and you should be. Ending and era, especially due to getting older, is very difficult. But we have to look forward to the new era with the many adventures that it will bring. Both Linda and I are in a similar situation, so we empathize.

[JenGog]

moving on
Hello Bob - yes I have felt very down losing Gabby. I think we are both a bit emotional. The house is full of her bits and pieces and I have been trying to throw out what we will not need . We will get there . Glenn is loving his new car . He is finding it easy to drive and a lot less hassle than Gabby. I know its the right thing and we have been talking of trying Eurostar to Amsterdam at some point so yes there is a change coming up. Life moves on and we have to move with it . Will get used to it . I am looking forward to hearing your adventures in the next year . Travel goes on doesnt it .