Photos and Stories from Arnhem, Netherlands

After five days in Amsterdam, we set out to discover more of the Netherlands. We traveled east by train 100 km to Arnhem, a city of approximately 160,000 people near the German border.

Arnhem is a middle-class community that’s pleasant and safe but not particularly remarkable. Our apartment was located in a residential neighborhood of brown brick row houses, probably built in the first half of the 20th century. Most of the houses appeared to be duplexes, including ours. The interior had been updated and was sufficiently nice and well-appointed.

So why did we choose to visit Arnhem? It certainly wasn’t for its restaurant scene. No place within walking distance appealed to us, and the few restaurants downtown seemed overpriced. So on both nights, we bought our dinners at the local Albert Heijn grocery store (a popular chain in the Netherlands) and ate at home.

We chose to visit Arnhem to see the Nederlands Openluchtmuseum (Open Air Museum) and the Kröller-Müller Museum, located within the massive De Hoge Veluwe National Park.

Netherlands Open Air Museum

The Netherlands Open Air Museum is just over 100 years old. Since its founding, they have relocated old farm buildings, houses, pubs, windmills, and more from various locations throughout the Netherlands to recreate Dutch life over the past several centuries. Costumed staff members wearing period clothing demonstrate farming, crafts, etc. It was a fascinating and immersive way to experience and appreciate Dutch history.

There was a beautiful garden with plants representing various areas of the Netherlands. 

Fifty grape vines planted in 2020 are of the new souvignier gris variety developed in 1983. It has good mold resistance and the grapes ripen early.

The visitor’s center at the Open Air Museum featured an indoor exhibition called The Canon of Dutch History. This multimedia chronology illustrated the most important events, people, and objects over at least five centuries that have helped shape the Netherlands.

The Kröller-Müller Museum

The Kröller-Müller Museum is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park near Otterlo, north of Arnhem. It was founded by Helene Kröller-Müller, an avid art collector who was one of the first to recognize Vincent van Gogh’s genius and collect his works. In 1935, she donated her whole collection to the Netherlands. In 1938, the museum opened to the public. The sculpture garden was added in 1961, and the new exhibition wing opened in 1977. Most of the works in the museum were painted by Dutch artists during the late 19th century and early 20th century – the period when Ms. Kröller-Müller was most active as an art collector.

As usual, we didn’t take many pictures of the artwork. Photos of art rarely do the work justice, and we prefer to simply enjoy the art in the moment. Plus, if the museum is crowded, it’s difficult to get a good shot anyway.

We did take a few pictures in the sculpture garden. The most fascinating work was the Needle Tower, by American sculptor Kenneth Snelson. 

The Needle Tower is made of aluminum rods connected by stainless steel cables. Only the three largest rods rest on the ground; all the others are suspended and rely upon the tension of the cables for support and to stay in place. We sat in the chairs placed directly under the sculpture to view the tower from the bottom looking up. 

If traveling to the Netherlands to view the Needle Tower isn’t feasible, the same sculpture is also on display at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC.

Here are a few other sculptures from the garden.

We dubbed this one the “Monument to the Steelpan.”