The tiny Dutch village of Lonneker is truly a community. Frank, the miller apprentice at the town’s windmill, said it took the townsfolk two years before they would greet him, and, as I pedaled my bike around the village on a cloudy afternoon, families came to their windows to stare at me in worry while I snapped photographs. Read More »
“It’s the most beautiful windmill in the Netherlands,” Frank tells me as I stand behind the structure, staring up at its gears and debating if I would get in trouble were I to climb the hill under the mill so as to get closer. Frank is the keeper of the Lonneker Molen, c. 1851, a type of beltmolen, or mountain windmill. Read More »
Details from today’s picnic and wandering in Ledeboerpark.Read More »
At 10th place in the top 53 things to see in Enschede is the Enschede Synagogue, which has supposedly earned the title of “The most beautiful synagogue in Western Europe.”
The synagogue is located but a block from us, so we thought it a great place to visit when we got a late start on the Netherlands’ cultural days last month. Similar to the <<Journées du patrimoine>> that we enjoyed last year while living in Montpellier, France, the “Open Monumentendag” is a day when otherwise closed or otherwise paid monuments and historical sites are open and free of charge. Read More »
For as English-speaking focused as the Dutch are we are finding it surprisingly difficult to find information about our new home that is in English. Much of this is likely due to the fact that our little city of Enschede is not exactly a tourist destination nor is the region surrounding it, the province of Overijssel. We did locate a book about the 53 places to see in Enschede, which, though mainly in Dutch, contains a short paragraph about each place in English, giving us a starting point for our adventures in the city.Read More »
“I think those people are naked!” I exclaimed as I hauled my bicycle over a fence obviously designed to keep bikes out of the beach area in front of me. “But it’s only 60 degrees,” I pondered. Behind me, the Frenchman scrambled around, eager to get a better look. In front of us were several couples and older gentlemen, all completely nude and enjoying a manmade beach in the middle of the Dutch countryside. We backed away, slowly, hoping they did not hear our giggles or see our bewildered stares.Read More »
