This morning we were thrilled to head off to Utrecht to a real Dutch Boat Race! Jerry had been chatting with his co-workers at their lunch table about all the things we do on the weekends (and as is typical, most of them haven't been to half the spots we have--so true in our own hometowns-yes?!) and Toon Bonekamp mentioned that his rowing team had a race. They follow a 10 K loop around the canals, and they are rowing old style fishing boats. Of course we thought it sounded very cool. So after Jerry managed to get a haircut and some money-we set off. When we arrived in the city of Utrecht we found a parking place right away(miracle!) and walked 2 minutes to a bridge. We saw boats going by with teams of women, and within 5 minutes Jerry said he thought Toon's boat was coming...and there they were! We had a cheer planned, and as they passed under the bridge and out the other side we all started chanting "Let's Go Bonekamp,clap,clap,clapclapclap!" Just like we were at a football game! Now I don't think they usually do this kind of thing because the rowers were pretty surprised and Toon looked very excited. We dashed down the block to the next bridge and got to cheer them on again. And that was it. The race went on for another hours or so, but we felt we had seen what we needed to see. The boats looked quite tough to row--those teams have to be strong.
Next stop was the town of Doorn, originally called Thorheim,which means home of Thor, God of thunder! The terrain was very different in this area, with large trees and forests that reminded us of what you might see in Germany. Our destination was Huis Doorn.
Huis Doorn has become known as the last residence of the last German Kaiser, Wilhelm ll.
After the German defeat in World War l, Wilhelm flees to the neutral Netherlands and he lives on this estate in the Utrecht Hills from 1920 to 1941. In Doorn he surrounds himself with objects reminiscent of the past.
In 1919 he buys Huis Doorn, originally a 14th century moated seat, converted into an elegant country house at the end of the 18th century.
Wilhelm has the house adapted and fitted with all modern conveniences. He also makes some changes to the park (35 hectares), laid out in the English landscape garden style.
The furnishings in Huis Doorn come from the palaces in Berlin (he had 4!)and Potsdam. He had 50 other palaces in Germany. Splendid furniture, paintings and silver enable the royal asylum-seeker to keep up his former lifestyle. The weekend after he bought the home a train engine pulled into town with 57 cars attached bringing his things from Germany. A little background...
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia was born in Berlin on the 27th of January 1859 as the first son of Crown prince Friedrich and princess Victoria of England. Through his grandmother, queen Victoria of England, W. is closely related to almost all the governing royal families of Europe. In 1914 W. considers it his duty to support Austria when this ally comes into conflict with Serbia after the murder of the heir to the throne Franz-Ferdinand in Sarajevo.
Serbia is supported by Russia with France as an ally. By invading France through Belgium Germany also incurs the animosity of England that had guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium. When other nations enter into the conflict World War l is a fact. In 1917 the U.S. join the war and that is a turning point for Germany. The imminent defeat is seen as a personal failure of the Kaiser. The Imperial Navy rises in revolt and in Berlin the revolution breaks out. The allies want W. brought to trial as a criminal of war, but he flees to the neutral Netherlands, where he is granted political asylum. On the 29th of November 1918 he signs his abdication at Amerongen Castle, where he stayed during the first 18 months of his exile. Then he bought Huis Doorn. His first wife died after a year, and he remarried. He had six children, and they visited frequently along with other guests, but the rules of his acceptance for asylum in the Netherlands stated that he could not travel(and he had been a world traveler) indeed, he could go no further than 15 kilometers from Huis Doorn. So though his life was opulent he did remain a prisoner in a matter of speaking. There was even a Dutch Army officer who remained on duty 24/7 in the house, and a team of others who patrolled the grounds.
He was never to see Germany again. In accordance with his last will his bodily remains have been laid to rest in a mausoleum on the estate. His son, Crown prince Wilhelm, asks architect Martin Kieszling to design a mausoleum amidst his much loved rhododendrons in the park. Here Wilhelm finds his last resting place. On the roof is a brass ball with a cross on top of it, made secretly by a Doorn blacksmith from old copper cooking pots from Huis Doorn’s kitchen. During World War ll all copper had to be turned in to the German occupier, who used it to make guns.
His favourite dogs are buried there too. The rest of his family including both his wives and children are in Germany but he vowed he would only go back when Germany restored the monarchy, so he is still in Holland. The house is extremely well kept and everything is original. After WWII the house became the property of the Dutch Government and was made into a museum. The tours are in Dutch and German(we don't get many English speaking people here!), but our guide could of course speak perfect English and translated for us as we went. We learned so many interesting little facts,that really bring the history of that time period alive.
We really loved this out of the way tourist stop, some times the off the beaten path places are the ones that you end up liking the most!
Next stop was the town of Doorn, originally called Thorheim,which means home of Thor, God of thunder! The terrain was very different in this area, with large trees and forests that reminded us of what you might see in Germany. Our destination was Huis Doorn.
Huis Doorn has become known as the last residence of the last German Kaiser, Wilhelm ll.
After the German defeat in World War l, Wilhelm flees to the neutral Netherlands and he lives on this estate in the Utrecht Hills from 1920 to 1941. In Doorn he surrounds himself with objects reminiscent of the past.
In 1919 he buys Huis Doorn, originally a 14th century moated seat, converted into an elegant country house at the end of the 18th century.
Wilhelm has the house adapted and fitted with all modern conveniences. He also makes some changes to the park (35 hectares), laid out in the English landscape garden style.
The furnishings in Huis Doorn come from the palaces in Berlin (he had 4!)and Potsdam. He had 50 other palaces in Germany. Splendid furniture, paintings and silver enable the royal asylum-seeker to keep up his former lifestyle. The weekend after he bought the home a train engine pulled into town with 57 cars attached bringing his things from Germany. A little background...
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia was born in Berlin on the 27th of January 1859 as the first son of Crown prince Friedrich and princess Victoria of England. Through his grandmother, queen Victoria of England, W. is closely related to almost all the governing royal families of Europe. In 1914 W. considers it his duty to support Austria when this ally comes into conflict with Serbia after the murder of the heir to the throne Franz-Ferdinand in Sarajevo.
Serbia is supported by Russia with France as an ally. By invading France through Belgium Germany also incurs the animosity of England that had guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium. When other nations enter into the conflict World War l is a fact. In 1917 the U.S. join the war and that is a turning point for Germany. The imminent defeat is seen as a personal failure of the Kaiser. The Imperial Navy rises in revolt and in Berlin the revolution breaks out. The allies want W. brought to trial as a criminal of war, but he flees to the neutral Netherlands, where he is granted political asylum. On the 29th of November 1918 he signs his abdication at Amerongen Castle, where he stayed during the first 18 months of his exile. Then he bought Huis Doorn. His first wife died after a year, and he remarried. He had six children, and they visited frequently along with other guests, but the rules of his acceptance for asylum in the Netherlands stated that he could not travel(and he had been a world traveler) indeed, he could go no further than 15 kilometers from Huis Doorn. So though his life was opulent he did remain a prisoner in a matter of speaking. There was even a Dutch Army officer who remained on duty 24/7 in the house, and a team of others who patrolled the grounds.
He was never to see Germany again. In accordance with his last will his bodily remains have been laid to rest in a mausoleum on the estate. His son, Crown prince Wilhelm, asks architect Martin Kieszling to design a mausoleum amidst his much loved rhododendrons in the park. Here Wilhelm finds his last resting place. On the roof is a brass ball with a cross on top of it, made secretly by a Doorn blacksmith from old copper cooking pots from Huis Doorn’s kitchen. During World War ll all copper had to be turned in to the German occupier, who used it to make guns.
His favourite dogs are buried there too. The rest of his family including both his wives and children are in Germany but he vowed he would only go back when Germany restored the monarchy, so he is still in Holland. The house is extremely well kept and everything is original. After WWII the house became the property of the Dutch Government and was made into a museum. The tours are in Dutch and German(we don't get many English speaking people here!), but our guide could of course speak perfect English and translated for us as we went. We learned so many interesting little facts,that really bring the history of that time period alive.
We really loved this out of the way tourist stop, some times the off the beaten path places are the ones that you end up liking the most!
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