Arnhem Open Air Museum

These Molens (windmills) were moved to the Openluchtmuseum

Another beautiful holiday* weekend. We drove to the Nederlands Open Air Museum near Arnhem for a walk through Dutch history. We especially enjoyed learning about the technology of the past, such as this horse-powered commercial laundry:

We watched many craftsmen at work, including a wheelwright, a blacksmith, a baker, a brewer and a miller as well as other, more homely crafts. The weaver was absent on the day we visited, but we saw her handiwork:

For rail buffs, the park is worth a visit just to ride the tram, which runs as an alternative to walking through the sprawling grounds of the museum. There is an authentic tram station featuring a completely restored tram car originally used in Arnhem, until after WWII when the system was replaced by buses.

There are also many historic bicycles, including some rubber-wheeled penny farthings for kids to try, and this cheese and butter factory delivery fiet:

Imagine how difficult it would be to pedal this with cans full of milk!

Making our way to the Protestant Church, we learned that a concert was about to begin, featuring baroque music played on period replica instruments. With a dispensation for a later meeting time from our daughters, Tim and I sat down to 45 minutes of beautiful music performed by the Zutphens Barok Ensemble.

Highly ornamented music in an unadorned setting

We capped off our day with Sunday lunch at the Herberg de Hanekamp cafe, one of several inside the museum grounds. There we enjoyed a delicious meal including many organic and local foods, and a glass of Pilsner made in the on-site brewery.

Another to add to my list

*Although the Netherlands is in some ways a very secular country, many public holidays seem connected to the ecclesiastical calendar. In this case, our three day weekend was due to Pentecost, or Pinksteren as it is known here. Sunday feast days (such as Pasen and Pinksteren) are observed over two days - Sunday was "First Pentecost Day" and Monday was "Second Pentecost Day". People seem to celebrate the bonus day by shopping (many sales are advertised and some store are open additional hours), or as we did, by traveling; the Open Air Museum was fairly crowded the day of our visit.