Mike Strachan’s e-mail journal — Entry #33, from Netherlands

Received 26 May 2008

Travels for May 24/08 — Deventer

After an 8:30 breakfast I'm off to my new B&B via the passenger ferry. The fare is €1.35 return, and takes less than 2 minutes. I have no problem finding the house, and my room is actually a very nicely appointed large room on the top floor. My host offers to drive me to Wilp tomorrow morning, near which there is a plaque to mark the crossing of the Ijssel River by Canadian troops:

After settling in I head for the train station via the main square. It's market day again and in the square is a mobile calliope playing ragtime music. I have to stop and watch, and get a couple of photos, as I love these mechanical wonders. Since I'm this far I decide to go and do e-mails at the library as it will be closed tomorrow at 4PM. Then back to the market for a hot waffle. I notice I am slowing down on the military trail as I get closer to the end, and it's just as well with my sore foot.

The train to Zutphen leaves at 12:44 and takes only 12 minutes. The agent tells me that the small towns of Gorssel and Epsen are not on the railway line, so I decide not to visit them. Zutphen was entered on about April 2, 1945 then shortly thereafter the 1H and QOR were in Deventer. The VVV is near the station in Zutphen and an agent shows me on a map the 15 minute walk to the Canadian Bridge, used by Canadian troops to take the town in April/45. It's a short bridge over a narrow canal, next to a little park. Next is a photo stroll, and I get a photo of a statue of Phillip Sidney, 16th century adventurer, on which someone has put an orange straw hat. It's market day in the town square here too, and guess what - another calliope. Then back to the station to catch the 2:34 to Deventer. I'm just in time to catch the 3:03 train to Apeldoorn, and it's a "Stoptrein" - it stops at all the stations along the way; Twello, Apeldoorn Osseveld, and Apeldoorn.

The VVV is about 6 blocks from the Apeldoorn station, just off the old town square, and no surprise - it's market day, but no calliope. The market is huge, filling every space in the square. I ask at the VVV if there are any WW2 sights to see in the neighbourhood, and the agent tells me about the statue of "The Man With Two Hats". It's on the way to the Loo Palace on the map she gives me. On the way there I get some interesting photos such as street signs Canadalaan and Loolaan, birdhouses on all the trees lining the street, and a church being used as an office building. The "two-hats" statue is quite large, standing on paving stones which have maple leaf emblems in them. There is a Canadian flag on one side and a Dutch flag on the other. The plaque, placed by the Monuments Board of Canada, briefly describes the liberation of the Netherlands by the Canadian Army and the special relationship which exists between Canada and Holland.

Just up the road is the Loo Palace of William and Mary, but it's closing, so I only get photos of the stables. My foot is sore again, and the #10 bus driver waves my fare and is very interested in my trip. At the station the train back to Deventer leaves in 15 minutes, and I and all the tourists from the Loo palace are taking it, and we all get seats.

It's a slow walk back to the ferry, and a short walk to the B&B, where I have a nice quiet night. Tomorrow — Holten and Almelo.

Cheers,

Mike