As most churches
are still closed for their members and they only stream services, in spite of
Ascension Day, there is no impediment to go out early and enjoy the day.
Fresh young leaves
Wonderful beech trees
One other
aspect of spring is the enormous difference in shades of green, the new translucent
light yellow green leaves of the beech trees, the bronze of the poplars, the light
purple of the red beeches, a variety of colours which changes quickly into a more
uniform green once spring turns into summer. Tree branches are still visible, framing
the young leaves. The entrance gates to the Oude Loo
Art least
twice a year I walk in the park and woodland area behind Het Loo, a palace in
Apeldoorn, a wooded part of Holland. The palace is usually open to the public,
but has been closed for some time now due to restoration work. Apart from this
palace, there is a castle in those grounds, Het Oude Loo (the Od Loo). This is
a real 15th century castle, surrounded by a moat, and not open to
the public except in April and May. This is because of the rhododendrons, which
are supposed to be in bloom in April and May. The back of the castle
White rhododendrons
The castle is amazing, and is still used as a holiday home for the Royals. It wouldn’t be a bad place to write a book, secluded and quiet, except for the birdsong which we were surrounded with.
Behind the waterfall
The maze
We thoroughly
enjoyed seeing the castle and its grounds, including the maze. Unfortunately,
spring having been far too cold so far, the rhododendrons were not in full
bloom yet, except for the white ones and the occasional purple or pink one. Perhaps
there is still time to go again and see the grounds before the castle closes
its gates for the public on May 31.After enjoying this with many families, we set out for our walk through the parkland, the lakes populated by Egyptian geese, loudly and noisily chasing each other, the small canals with the clear water from the many springs lazily trickling through them between the steep banks, and the many wooden bridges crossing the narrow canals.
A small waterfall on the estate between two lakes, flanked by lions
Below: on eof he many canals fed by a spring
A few of the bridges across the canals
All in all,
we had a marvellous day. Unfortunately, the tearoom and its terrace were closed,
and so we decided to find a place to have something to drink as we were really
parched. In the end we found a place in Hoog Soeren, a beautiful small and
rural village loved by cyclists and tourists. There are lots of cafes and
restaurants here, but all the sitting areas were full. Because of Corona no customers
are allowed inside the restaurants and cafes, and outside seating was limited.
But we were given two seats under a blossoming apple tree, festooned with
lampoons, our table being an apple crate, quite romantic! It was a bit cold not
sitting in the sun. But at least we enjoyed something to drink and some nice
things to eat with it.We left around 6, closing time for all the restaurants and cafes under the corona restrictions. When I entered my street, the first drops of rain came down, quickly changing into a downpour. But I was safely home, having enjoyed a walk of 13.5 kms on a glorious and sunny day out.
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