417: Going Dutch (Part I)

Last Friday I flew from Stansted to Amsterdam and took a couple of trains to get from Schipol airport to Arnhem (via Utrecht). The double-decker Dutch trains are comfortable and run at quite a reasonable speed.

 

I like Holland and I particularly like Arnhem. My 3* hotel (Arnhem Central) was a 2-minute walk from the station. It was perfectly adequate for the 2 nights I was there. Enjoyed a very nice carbonara mirada in an Italian restaurant called Pinocchio, named after he of the ever-lengthening nose. It appears that over the years a lot of people have drunk a lot of wine as the ceiling is full of empty wine bottle containers (aka ?)

On Saturday morning a fleet of buses carried thousands of people from Arnhem bus station to Oosterbeek ready for the Airborne walk. This takes place every year on the 1st Saturday of September and commemorates the part played by airborne forces in Operation Market Garden.  I heard estimates of more than 30,000 people taking part in the walk. They were walking either as individuals or as part of a group, over distances of either 10, 15, 25 or 40 kilometres. Just like last year I chose the 15 km route but I'm sure it was longer this time. It certainly felt like it towards the end. Motivation was improved at the end by tucking in behind one of the many bands. It is always uplifting 'marching' to music.

I walked some of it with my namesake Des Buckley and his wife Hilda. Unfortunately we lost each other during a toilet stop not far from the beginning and never met again until the end. Turns out I walked slowly waiting for them to catch up and they walked faster in a bid to catch up and, somehow, we missed each other in the crowd and they finished before I did. But at least we found each other at the end, where thousands of people were enjoying a well-earned beer, or two. The park was full of people lying (not Pinocchio this time) on the grass enjoying the beer and the sunshine. I knew it would be more difficult standing up than it was getting down, and so it proved. 

One more picture, to prove I was really in Holland! This is the cycle park, under the train station in Arnhem.Bikes, as you would expect, were everywhere.

For today's video I have included the film 'A bridge too far', the 1977 film with Sean Connery and Robert Redford. It tells the story, albeit in Hollywood style, of Operation Market Garden. For copyright reasons the you tube police may not allow me to include this film. My apologies if it has been removed.