Saturday, the 10th

We were in store for a three-day weekend since Monday was Whit Monday. We decided to head out to Gelderland Province to see some of its sites.

Saturday morning, we took off and arrived in Apeldoorn. Apeldoorn is where William of Orange built the Paleis Het Loo. William enjoyed hunting in the woods that surrounds the area and it became the royal family's country home. It was inhabited by members of the royal family until 1975. Het Loo is sometimes referred to as the "Versailles of the North."

We stayed at the Bilderberg Hotel de Keizerskroon, which was conveniently located a block from Het Loo.

While waiting for check-in at the hotel, we strolled over to check out the palace. No pictures were allowed from the inside, so we took a bunch on the outside. The enigmatic orange tree was right outside the front entrance.

After check-in, we headed downtown and enjoyed some beers at an outdoor cafe. We then ate dinner at a small Turkish restaurant. I was delighted because the kofte (meatballs) tasted exactly as I had remembered from a trip to Turkey.

One thing I remarked about Apeldoorn is that it seemed like every window on every home had been cleaned that day. They were all utterly sparkling. In traditional Dutch manner, all of them had their curtains open.