March 28, 2019 | Posted by misfitwanders | Adventures, Lifestyles, Traveling, Trekking
The weather had been on our side, but not for long. Clouds swept over the sky and it became darker. The sun kept fighting to shine, but it wasn’t working. Once we were on the bus to Hoge Veluwe National Park, the rain abruptly came down. It felt nice to be in a warm dry area as we watched the raindrops pelt down on the windows. About an 1/2 hour to an hour passed, then we were at the park.
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We had been lucky! The rain stopped just before it was our turn to get off. My hubby and I scanned our tickets before stepping off the bus. Here in the Netherlands, it is the way their transportation system works. You must scan the ticket (check in) before riding on a bus or a train. Then once you’re going to get off, you have to scan it again (check out).
Before venturing in the park, the two of us talked with the lady in a small office with big windows. She was an older lady that had a kind face. She helped us understand all the things that laid within the park. It was pretty huge, so there was many museums and nature. To our surprisment, we found out we could rent bicycles for free! The best things seem to always be the stuff that is free! At least, that’s what I think. As long as we purchase tickets into the park, we can use them for free. My man was ecstatic! He had been talking about riding bikes here, even before we left!
My balance is best when I’m on my own two feet. I know how to ride a bike, I just have a problem trusting my two left feet. My wobbly self is a untrustworthy thing when it comes to balance. Since we planned for rain, we geared up. Waterproof jackets, pants, and gloves, check. All we need to do now is choose which bikes we want to ride out of the plethora of identical bikes.
We begin our journey. They have specific paths for bikers, and boy do they get mad if you ride on the pedestrians path! We learned that quickly. The ride went smoothly. This made me realize that here in the Netherlands, it is filled with flatlands. No wonder it is so common to see the streets covered in bicyclists!
The wind picked up and the rain began again. But it was warm droplets that fell down on us. The only bad thing was the wind. It would fiercley blow and then abruptly stop. Throughout our ride, we stopped to check out some of the museums. We had seen three of them. The first one was a little one called Museonder filled with knowledge about nature. A friendly worker told us about the other museums. So we decided to ditch the bikes with all the other bikes at this spot that are ready for the taking.
We strolled through the second museum, which was an outdoor statue/artwork museum walk. The art pieces were phenomenal! Even with the sporadic rain, I managed to take some photos. My heart dropped, as I saw up ahead, a tall tower. I took a photo and as we crept closer, I began to realize that it wasn’t that at all! It was a staircase that reached high up in the sky and played tricks on the eyes. Both of us were excited to climb the neverending stairs. Once we came to it, I saw a locked gate and a sign that said it was closed. My hubby, being as he is, just went around the gate and began climbing the cement steps.
My adrenaline began pumping as I followed him. It felt as though if went on forever. The higher we got, the more the wind picked up speed. The last 1/4 of the staircase was made out of wood. That’s when I realized why they had it closed. The steps were covered in ice! I held tightly on the railing with each step now. The wind blew fiercely at us. Finally, we made it to the top!
The view was spectacular! If only we could see it on a clear day. But both of us felt this was well worth it. At that moment, little pieces of hale started coming down on us. Quickly, we took some photos and hurried down the slippery steps. As we descended, the hale let up. The wind didn’t feel as threatening either. I was back on flat ground. Phew! That little journey reminded me of my fear of heights. My legs kept shaking as we started walking through the park again. I like to keep on pushing myself out of my comfort zone. That is how I get better within myself. Yes, I’m still afraid of heights. But I will not let that hold me back from new experiences. Keep trucking on!
The last museum, Kroller-Muller, was the one that held Van Gogh paintings. It looked gigantic! Once we came in the doors, I felt like a walking swamp rat. I was drenched and I could see the puddles underneath my feet. Each step we took, there were wet footsteps behind us. A man working inside, stared at us in horror. He could see that we were soaked from head to toe. Droplets kept falling off of us to the floor as we walked towards him. He quickly pointed in the direction where they had a closet for our wet clothes.
I felt better having my waterproof outfit off. A heavy sigh of relief came out of me. The two of us started walking towards the man from earlier. He looked pleased that we weren’t covered in water anymore. This time, he had a smile on his face as he stood there in his professional looking suit. As we asked him where the museum begins, he pointed and nicely asked us some questions. More people started to show, so we let him help them, and off we walked.
There was room after room of paintings. It became overwhelming! Hunger began pulling at me. Just then, we stumbled upon an elegant lunch room. Yay, right on time! This trip to Hoge Veluwe National Park was definitely worth it! As the two of us traveled in the Netherlands, this was our favorite part. Oh beautiful nature, how we love you so!
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