I don’t even know what day it is. Not because I’m on vacation but because I’m in a game of ping pong history with our Dutch guides [DG] and my American co-Tourists [AT].
DG: The 808 richest people in the world lived in this Dutch city in 1452.
AT: Were the Nazis here? Did this town get bombed?
DG: This Dutch port controlled all the mustard in the world in 1553.
AT: How close were the Nazis? Is that building new because the old one was bombed by the Nazis?
DG: We dug this canal with the bones of our ancestors in 1600.
AT: Was that canal used by the Nazis?
The Husband toured me around the little town of Nijmegen. He gave me a 10 minute tour and managed to cover everything he learned in the hour and a half guided tour. 
We later took a bus from Nijmegen to visit the nearby Kröller-Müller Museum which houses a giant collection of Van Goghs. That’s Van Hhhhaawk if you’re Dutch. My theory, though not widely accepted, is that he moved to France because he hated the way his name sounded in Dutch. 
The enormous Kröller-Müller statue garden was especially amazing.
On the way to Kröller-Müller from Nijmegen we crossed a bridge too far. I mean, we crossed A Bridge Too Far. You know, from the Second World War. 
AT: The Nazis weren’t here? How far were they from here?…
A Pierman Sister 
Alison, reading your posts makes me sincerely miss when I worked for you! I try and channel you when I have tough decisions to make on my job. Your updates are a bright spot in my day.
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I love your reasoning as to why Van Gogh left! Brilliant 🎉🎉😂😂
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You know I’m sniffing at the truth, yes? 😁
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When AT’s come to Austria, they know nothing about the Nazis. Why is that? Is it because there was no Austrian Anne Frank? Or is it the von Trapps and the Sound of Music?
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How is that even possible? We earn our AT reputation as “the loud and uninformed” don’t we. The Anne Frank story is so tragic not because it happened to her but that it happened so many times over (even to Austrian girls, say). I learned so much about the Dutch and their influence. I’m sad to admit how “uninformed” I was this trip.
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I’m fascinated by your fellow travelers obsession with the Nazis. Was this a tour of WWII sites?? 😉
My husband pronounces Van Gogh as Van Gug or Van Guck. He’s French 🙂
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It was not a tour of WWII but my fellow travelers out aged me (is that a thing?) by about 20-30 years so they were of the era to have watched all those John Wayne movies. It was laughable really. The Dutch have so much interesting history and our group got stuck in that 5 year period. Gug or Guck is still better than Hhhawk!
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There a many, many Americans who think of Europe this way. People who go to France want to go to Colleville-sur-Mer, to Omaha and the rest of the beaches, to the American cemetery. WHile it’s true that France was a blood bath, there is so much more to it. Like Paris isn’t la Tour Eiffel…
Best wishes. M
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I would love to go to Normandy someday but in the 30+ times I’ve visited France I have chosen to visit other places “first”. It is a spectacular country. Can’t wait to get back.
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Indeed it is. Takes a lifetime to discover it all, and then there’s the rest of the country;-)
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This was another beautiful tour and showed your sense of humor again! 🌟🎆❤️
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Thank you for always saying such nice things and for following.
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you are so pretty you upstaged the statue 🙂
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Ha! It was a genuine smile at least because the sun had come out!
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Thanks for following my posts.
Went to the K-M museum about 20 years ago and loved it. There was snow on the ground and the little canals and stumpy willows we passed were all frosted over. Would like to return.
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I loved the Netherlands. Would go back in a heartbeat.
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