Afternoon light in Ootmarsum

That was after spending the morning in Bad Bentheim in Northern Rhine-Westphalia, over the border in Germany! We went to see the castle, which we explored thoroughly, but the light was not perfect at that point. Parts of the original castle were rebuilt in the later 1800s-early 1900s, so they were in the Neo-Gothic style, because that was felt at the time to be "very German". I particularly liked the intricate wooden carvings in St Catherine's chapel, and the modern stained glass in the unfinished Knights' refectory. Also magnificent was the view from the various towers over the surrounding countryside.

After a thoroughly German lunch of schnitzel and remoulade in a poppy seed roll, hot chocolate and apple cake, we drove back to Holland, noticing how very much more intensively the land is used in Holland, and how neat and tidy everything looks (particularly in contrast to the UK!). The low afternoon light was glorious, and as we drove through straight avenues of gold-leaf trees, past fields with cattle grazing, and children cycling home from school, I felt we were driving through an extended series of postcards. We stopped in the town of Ootmarsum as I'd heard it was 'arty', and found that every second place was indeed an art gallery! I never found the street with the 'normal' shops in it, though there is one, apparently! Sculptures seemed to be everywhere. This building must be a church, as it has the alpha and the omega over the door, but it is not THE main one. I was too full of lunch to try hot chocolate with rum, which is a shame...

After getting home, I watched half of Monsters Inc. on the sofa with the boys, and then their mum skyped them from Vienna, where she is doing a course. We then demolished a chicken dinner, and some chocolate pudding I'd brought from Stroud farmer's market! Culture and food today, basically. I want to 'explore some nature' tomorrow, but we have no definitive plan as yet.