Venlo and goodbye to Vluyn
Thursday, January 17, 2008 by Reece Harley
Today we all went to the Netherlands, not by boat, train or flight, but with a simple
20 minute drive down the autobahn at speeds of up to 195 km's per hour... (not joking!).
Driving to the Netherlands (now part of the E.U.) needs no passport and the former checkpoint is now a flower nursery. The small town of Venlo is the town nearest to the border of Germany and so many of the signs, menus and timetables are all written in both of the two languages...
What struck me first about venlo was the bicycles. I have never seen as many bikes in the one location. The town is largely void of cars as stylish women and their friends ride around the cobblestone streets at a cracking pace. Bicycles, cóffee, cobblestones, jewlers, sho shops and bakeries overwhelm the senses. I would go back to Venlo in a flash if I could.
From Venlo, back across the border to Vluyn and then Margaret was kind enough to invite us to see her studio about ten minutes away in an old farmhouse in the german countryside.
From here Margaret can get some peace and quiet and create her amazing artwork. There are three other artists who have similar studios
within the grounds of the farmhouse and we met an artist (whose name eludes me) who specialises on intricate, post-modern woodcarving. He is currently contracted to a local church and is creating 12 modern 'Stations of the cross'.
We are so lucky to be able to have experiences like these that other travellers would find almost impossible to have.
We then performed our last and largest concert so far in the church in the center of Vluyn. It was, of course, completely full with much of the
standing room taken up as well.
Tommorrow, our last day in Vluyn and a sad farewell to our Gaestparentes who had been so generous and accomodating... Next stop, Magdeburg!
20 minute drive down the autobahn at speeds of up to 195 km's per hour... (not joking!).Driving to the Netherlands (now part of the E.U.) needs no passport and the former checkpoint is now a flower nursery. The small town of Venlo is the town nearest to the border of Germany and so many of the signs, menus and timetables are all written in both of the two languages...
What struck me first about venlo was the bicycles. I have never seen as many bikes in the one location. The town is largely void of cars as stylish women and their friends ride around the cobblestone streets at a cracking pace. Bicycles, cóffee, cobblestones, jewlers, sho shops and bakeries overwhelm the senses. I would go back to Venlo in a flash if I could.From Venlo, back across the border to Vluyn and then Margaret was kind enough to invite us to see her studio about ten minutes away in an old farmhouse in the german countryside.
From here Margaret can get some peace and quiet and create her amazing artwork. There are three other artists who have similar studios
within the grounds of the farmhouse and we met an artist (whose name eludes me) who specialises on intricate, post-modern woodcarving. He is currently contracted to a local church and is creating 12 modern 'Stations of the cross'.We are so lucky to be able to have experiences like these that other travellers would find almost impossible to have.
We then performed our last and largest concert so far in the church in the center of Vluyn. It was, of course, completely full with much of the
standing room taken up as well.
We were given 5 standing ovations and had to do 3 encores before the audience were satisfied... That's my kind of audience! Then dinner at 'Alt Vluyn' Brauhaus (Old Vluyn Brewery) for Wiener Schnitzel and Pilsner.
Tommorrow, our last day in Vluyn and a sad farewell to our Gaestparentes who had been so generous and accomodating... Next stop, Magdeburg!
