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Fall Itinerary - thoughts, please

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We are starting to plan a fall trip to the Netherlands, prior to cruise to Northern Europe . Last fall, we spent a week in Amsterdam (though there are still things to see!) and so, this time, are focusing on other areas. We are great history buffs and hope to see some of the WW2 sites. We have 13 days ands, tentatively, have planned a circle that we can take by train -

Haarlem 5 nites
Day 1 arrival late in the day/stay in Haarlem
Day 2 walk Haarlem - Museum Van Loon
Day 3 Frans Hals Museum AND Corrie ten Boom House
Day 4 Teylers Museum AND/OR De Hallen AND Grote Kerk
Day 5 Amsterdam or Haarlem OR Day Trip to Leiden

Arnhem/Osterloo???? 4 nites
Day 1 train from Haarlem/Airborne at the Bridge,
Day 2 The Battle of Arnhem / Operation Market Garden - Airborne Museum Hartenstein/Villa Hartenstein/Oosterbeek, AND Arnhem War Museum (outside Arnhem) and Airborne War Cemetery
Day 3 train/bus to Vrijheidsmuseum/Freedom Museum, Wylerbaan 4, 6561 KR Groesbeek
Say 4 Kroller-Muller Museum/Otterloo.

Delft 3 nites
Day 1 train to Delft/walk the city
Day 2 Oude Kerk, Prinsenhof, Nieuwe Kerk, Lambert van Meerten Museum, Museum Nusantara
Day 3 train to Rotterdam - visit Delfshaven, Pelgrimskerk, Old Harbor, Maritime Museum
Day 4 Depart Netherlands

So….
Stay in Arnhem or Osterloo???? What do you think? Rick says to stay in Osterloo but we wonder if Arnhem would provide better access to WW2 sites
Is this a good breakdown or would you suggest more/fewer days in various places?
Changes you would suggest?

Thank you SO very much!!

Posted by
77 posts

Museum van Loon, I think you are referring to, is in Amsterdam (https://www.museumvanloon.nl), so not sure that it would fit in your walk through Haarlem. Also, be aware museums in Haarlem are closed on Mondays and the Grote Kerk on Sundays. Best to check the opening hours.

Posted by
1596 posts

I’m sorry but I don’t know what you mean by Osterloo. There is an Osterloo in Belgium, but there is no such place in the Netherlands.

Posted by
8059 posts

Dutch_Traveler, I believe the OP is referring to Otterlo, since that is where the Kroller-Muller Museum is.

crooney55, your itinerary looks very interesting and well thought out. I can't help you with the overnight issue as I am not familiar with Arnhem or Otterlo, but hopefully someone here can.

I can recommend a day trip to Leiden, though. It's a beautiful city and well worth a visit. I loved my day trip there, and plan to go back some day.

Posted by
8059 posts

I will say with regards to choosing Arnhem vs. Otterlo, that Arnhem is a city and would give you far more choices in hotels than Arnhem would. So that might be a consideration, and is probably why Rick recommends it. Here is one post from Trip Advisor that talks about the pros and cons of staying in each.

Posted by
264 posts

Whoops! Yes - I meant Otterloo ! And, to clarify - Rick recommends that you stay there, not Arnhem. I would have thought that Arnhem would be better, as it is a larger city with better train connections - but Rick likes Otterloo for overnight,. Do you???

Posted by
334 posts

Otterlo is a small, charming village on the edge of a beautiful national forest, with a small handful of nice hotels and restaurants. Regular bus service gets you in and out, but there’s no train station. In contrast, Arnhem is a good sized city with a busy train station, a nice pedestrian area, plenty of hotels and restaurants.

Last spring, my husband and I spent 3 nights in Otterlo primarily to visit the Kröller-Müller and the Hoge Veluwe park with a day trip to Arnhem. Otterlo was quiet and serene, offering a really nice contrast to the busy, big city stays we also had planned on that trip - what we like to call “travel texture”.

Since your itinerary skews to sites in and around Arnhem, I would stay there and day trip to the K-M. Arnhem also has a very good Open Air Museum that you might add to your agenda.

Posted by
264 posts

Thank you so very much. Otterloo sounds absolutely charming but, perhaps, not best for our travels. I very much appreciate your help!!

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