80th ANNIVERSARY WWII LIBERATION SUMMARY

Day 1 - It had been a while since I'd done such a long flight. The personal screens not only let you select from a wide range of movies, there was also an amazing flight tracker which allowed you to "watch" your plane from many different angles. I was enthralled by this!

Day 2 - After watching several movies, sleep continued to elude me on the overnight flight. When I landed at 9 am the next morning, I had to hit the ground running. After conveniently meeting my sister at the neighboring gate, we dropped our luggage off at the hotel then began wandering the streets and canals of Amsterdam. In the afternoon we visited the Verzetsmuseum (about World War II and the Dutch resistance). Dinner was at an amazing little place called The Pantry.

Day 3 - Today was another full day in Amsterdam. We started out taking a stroopwaffel (a traditional syrup waffel) class! Other sites included a cheese museum, the floating flower market, a ride on the tram, a visit to the Royal Palace, the Anne Frank house, countless bridges over charming canals, dinner at another wonderful restaurant (De Blauwe Hollander) and an evening stroll through Vondel Park.

Day 4 - Yvonne rented an great little hybrid, a Hyundai Kona, for the next two weeks. Our first stop was Haarlem. We wandered around the historic buildings, visited Bavo church and got to climb a windmill (Molen de Adriaan). Then it was off to the flowers of Keukenhof. Unfortunately the main tulip fields had already been harvested and were gone, but there was still plenty of spectacular color to see. We headed to our hotel in Delft and had a lovely Italian dinner along a canal.

Day 5 - In the morning, we explored the wonderful city of Delft, complete with beautiful canals, amazing architecture and spectacular churches. We even made the stressful climb to the top of the tower of the New Church. We then made our way over to the windmills of Kinderdijk where we took a boat ride. Our hotel was in the small quaint town of Haastrecht.

Day 6 - Today we visited Gouda, the city of cheese! We enjoyed the mechanical puppet show on the side of the town hall (of Floris V who granted Gouda its city rights in 1272) and saw another windmill (De Roode Leeuw - The Red Lion). In Amersfoort, we visited many historic city gates and walls. Most of the cities and towns were decorated with Dutch flags and orange banners (in honor of the royal House of Orange). Today was the solemn Remembrance Day (May 4th) and tomorrow would be the more celebratory Liberation Day. Upon arriving at our aunt and uncle's home in Geesteren, we watched the King and Queen honor all fallen Dutch soldiers on tv.

Day 7 - We started out the morning with a traditional breakfast... chocolate sprinkles on bread. We drove out to the historic town of Zutphen and took a boat ride along some of the outer canals. We cruised the countryside and found a few more windmills... the Nooit Gedacht in Warnsveld, the Hackfortsche Molen in Vorden, the Lindesche Molen, and the sawmill Agneta in Ruurlo. Throughout the area, there will still many banners and flags. Dutch flags were even flown from the tops of the windmills. In many streets, small brass tiles were embedded among the cobblestones with the names of local Jewish residents who had been taken away to concentration camps. Very few had survived.

Day 8 - We popped over the border to Germany for the day. It was great fun exploring Bentheim Castle! There were narrow uneven stairs leading up to towers and rooftops, a walkway along the fortress wall, an old church, a large main castle filled with magnificent rooms, a former dungeon set up as alchemist's laboratory, and even a resident ghost. We swung through the town of Ochtrup, wandered the grounds of Welbergen House, and briefly explored Gronau. In the evening, we walked around Geesteren (complete with windmill) and were entertained by some very lively little goats.

Day 9 - In the morning we went with family to Laag-Keppel, where we saw another windmill as well as a watermill. Lunch was at the Golden Carp in Hummelo, where I had a cheese and fried egg sandwich. We then went to the historic city of Doesburg, where we explored the old streets, were amazed by the church, and sampled some delicious ice cream. Again we took a long evening walk through Geesteren and the countryside.

Day 10 - We set off for Maastricht to spend a bit of time with some friends, Ilja and Ivo. Along the way, we stopped at Nijmegen, with its historic St. Nicholas Chapel, old towers and large face mask sculpture. We crossed into Belgium and explored Maaseik (including more ice cream!). Dinner was a delicious homemade cheese fondue!

Day 11 - After enjoying a fabulous breakfast in a small restaurant on a hill overlooking the city, we walked with Ilja through a former limestone quarry. We crossed a bridge and found ourselves in Belgium. We then walked to Chateau Neercanne which sat on the border. Once back in The Netherlands, Ivo joined us for lunch and we spent the rest of the day touring Maastricht. Along with the endless amazing buildings, there were also some catacombs as well as an old church that had been converted into a bookstore. And let's not forget sampling all sorts of unique flavors of peanut butter! We made it to the Maas River where we enjoyed some yummy beer. In the evening, we drove back to Geesteren.

Day 12 - Today was the main reason for ourt trip... the big liberation celebration in Voorthuizen. On April 17, 1945, the town was freed by Canadian troops as part of Operation Cleanser. A group of people reenacted one of the skirmishes, taking down a German anti-aircraft gun. Afterwards we wandered through various encampments, including a field hospital. We then went to the cemetery where our grandfather, one of the resistance fighters who had been killed in the war, was buried. His grave had been decorated as a local hero. We also found the headstones of a great-grandmother, a great-great-grandmother, and several other relatives. We met up with some of my sister's friends and went into Arnhem. We saw some of the sites and had some beverages at a cat cafe. At the church, there were statues of (normally) microscopic viruses and tardigrades!

Day 13 - We started out the day with a visit to Borculo, the neighboring town with its waterwheel. Lunch was out in the countryside, at a farm restaurant called Erve Brooks, where we had poffertjes (tiny pancakes). In Zweip, we climbed another windmill, saw the infamous White Witches, and sampled some delicious hazelnut liquour.

Day 14 - For the first part of the day, we toured around visiting small towns such as Eibergen, Vreden (in Germany), Winterswijk (where I had another cheese and fried egg sandwich) and Neede. We collected several more windmills: Bataaf mill, Sevink mill, and the Old Mill in Neede. In the evening, we had a lovely family dinner at the watermill restaurant in Borculo. We topped that off with a large ice cream sundae.

Day 15 - We drove to Schiphol (the airport in Amsterdam), dropped off the rental car, then headed to our respective gates. It was a long flight home to Colorado as another wonderful adventure came to a close.