Travel Tips

Whenever there's a monumental building and more somewhere in The Netherlands "out of place" the Dutch Open Air museum delivers a possible solution. It started with some great and typical farmhouses and windmills that were endangered by buildingprojects and so stone by stone removed from that place to be rebuilt stone by stone in the museum in the Northern forests of Arnhem. This way the Dutch Open Air Museum offers a great collection of typical Dutch styles and way of living from centuries ago.

In the museum there are several windmills. Being the DUTCH Open Air museum, these buildings can of course not be missed. Nice is to see the various types of them, from the elegant "Wipwatermolen" until the strong tall "Stapelmolen". By the way, most windmills in The Netherlands are used for shifting water from lower canals into higher canals and not for grinding!

In the museum there are many wonderful farmhouses to be visited. It is explained where it came from and who lived there. The interiors are realy most intresting as they give a lifely view on life in those longforgotten times. In high season there are demonstrations, when people dressed up in cloths of these times play the role of inhabitants of the farmhouses from all provinces in The Netherlands.

Lately the Open Air Museum has added more modern buildings and things, but still those of past times (I wouldn't wonder if once my car will also end up here - (-: ). Most intresting is the steam-dairy-factory Freia, that offers a moving view on how around 100 years ago milk was turned into butter and especially cheese in the first industrialised way. The steamengine is magnificent and the process is enlightened by a slideshow.
Don't forget to look outside into the garage, where you will find a realy beautiful oldtimer.

Also in the last decades the Open Air Museum added some other items to their collection. There was already the traditional clothing showed in a special part and the archeological section where one can find oldfashioned tupperware (-:

The park got a real nice transport facility when the ring tramway was created on which oldfashioned trams drives you around between five stops on various places in the park. On the tram, dressed up in equally oldfashioned clothes, are the conductors that sell you the tickets.

The Dutch Open Air Museum is situated in the forests just North of the town Arnhem. Therefor it has a real special surrounding and a quite large space to expand. Walking along the farmhouses, windmills and other intresting sites is best - of course - on a beautiful sunny day, but ... the pictures you see here are taken on a rainy day and the good thing then is that it is not too busy with people. Inside the houses one sees the details of the old days and rain drives you there automatically.

At the entrance of the park there is a special feature that shows you a "dramatic" travel through The Netherlands. This "Hollandrama" is a 3D (life) journey through specific dutch landscapes, happenings, interiors and generally time. It is really wonderfully done and the machine that makes all things happen is a state of the art technology. Don't forget to take this ride.

Here I add a map of the Dutch Open Air Museum. It shows you that the park is quite extensive, but getting around is therefor eased by the tramway that circles around the farmhouses and museumpark parts. Enjoy your stay in the museum and if possible, I would be glad to guide you around. Just contact me through VT and we''ll see what's possible.

More information you can also find on the website of the "Nederlands Openlucht Musuem", the English website can be found under:
http://www.openluchtmuseum.nl/Algemeen/engels-01.html