Arnhem The Netherlands

     Monday, April 17, found us in Arnhem. It was a long sail from Rotterdam, east on the Rhine to a junction with the Neder Rhine and a turn back to Arnhem. We are learning a lot of WWII history on this trip. This town was the site of another famous battle, the battle for the “Bridge Too Far,” which was the bridge over the Rhine River and also a movie you could watch.

     However, we were not here to look at the town, but to visit the Kroller-Muller Museum and Sculpture Garden. It was about an hour bus ride from Arnhem and located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park. The museum contains the art collection of a wealthy couple who purchased art in the early 1900’s. They collected “modern” art which includes the second largest collection of paintings and drawings by Van Gogh. Also, Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondriaan, along with many others are featured.   We could have spent hours – but we only had a couple to take it all in. Even riding through the lovely Dutch countryside into the park was a delight. We saw beech and oak trees and a small herd of red deer. There are three buildings plus a huge sculpture garden in the beautiful gardens outside. Sculptures by Rodin, Moore, Lipchitz, and Oldenberg plus the art piece called Jardin d ‘Email by Dubuffett can be found here.

   

Don and Suzanne at the museum

 Later in the day we did have some time to explore Arnhem. It was very typical to many of the towns we have seen. The original wall was demolished in the late 1800’s, but the city still has the circular shape of so many other cities. We admired the original town gate; the church of St. Eusebius; the old Town Hall and the new City Hall built on a large modern square which has been recently refurbished; and the Weighing House with statues of Justice and Strength over the doors. We also spent some time shopping along the walk streets in the middle of the city.