Hoge Veluwe National Park

Today I visited the largest national park in the Netherlands - the Hoge Veluwe. They provide free bicycles for use within the park so we did a big loop around the park while taking in views of marshlands, forests, and sand dunes. We started off at the south end of the park and rode about against the wind and uphill towards the middle of the park. My legs, which were unaccustomed to cycling, were struggling a bit. At the center of the park is a pretty good museum, the Kröller-Müller. We stopped here to fuel our stomachs and checked out the works of Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Manet, etc. There were also many absract art, as well as some strange pieces of work. After the museum, we rode up to the St. Hubertus Hunting Lodge. This was my favorite place in the entire park. It was situated near a lake and had nice gardens with blooming flowers. By now, the sun was high and we relaxed a bit by the lake. The ride home was much more pleasant. It was warmer, and not as much uphill. Over all, despite the lack of any splendor compared to the U.S.'s national parks, it was a very enjoyable day.