122 Days in Europe: Romans, Midevil times, and WWII

Day 86: Nijmegen and Arnhem

Well this morning we (Brittany, Jessica, and Me) woke up at the butt crack of dawn for a grand adventure! We got on a train at 5:30 in the morning to get to Brittany's city, Arnhem, by 8ish. The only probably with this, we quickly remembered, is nothing opens in the Netherlands until at least 9 9:30. So this left us with nothing to do for an hour so we wandered around the town. We stumbled upon a park then saw a windmill in the middle of town. So went towards it to get a picture, but got so much more! We got a private tour and were able to turn the windmill for free! This windmill is run entirely by volunteers and it makes flour. The process of turning a windmill is simple, but hard work. You have to turn this huge wheel that looks like it came off of a ship then you have to make sure that it is at the right place to catch the wind. Then after you turn it you have to decide if you need the "blades" (i don't know what the fan pieces are called) need to have the fabric let out so they catch more wind. This is only done on days that it isn't too windy. We got to see this done and were offered the chance to climb up it and let out the fabric, but as I, and the rest of the girls, are afraid of heights I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Me inside the windmill.

Me and Brittany turning the windmill!

After we got done at the windmill we booked it to the train station to make it to Nijmegen in time to meet Mark, our history teacher, for our tour. The tour was great! We walked all over Nijmegen and literally travled through time. Ok not literally but it was kind of like traveling through time. The best way to illustrate our tour is through pictures. So here you all go!

Me in the train station excited that we made it to Nijmegen!

Me and Marc- The leaders of the tours!

The old city wall.

The oldest shopping street in the Netherlands. It used to be shopped by the Romans.

Waal Bridge- In the movie "A Bridge Too Far" you can see the way this bridge was taken back by American and British Troops in WWII.

The Waal river is one of the most travelled rivers as it links up to Germany. This day it was quiet, only one coal boat was going through.

Because of the river there is a constant battle with flooding. They have this wall in place to prevent a lot of damage from happening.

Here is a memorial to the fallen Jews in WWII. The other side is dedicated for the survivors.

This cafe was were the indigo diers would go to get a drink during the days this was a major industry here.

St. Peter's Church. You can see the architecture from year to year here.

Everything is painted white because of the time period this church went from a catholic church to a protestant.

The saying "You Rich Stinky Bastard" came from the middle ages when the rich were buried in the church and stank up the church as they decomposed.

The oldest school in the Netherlands.

The old side of town.....

The new! In 1944 Nijmegen was bombed by "accident" and this entire side of the street was demolished.

This was a loan survivor in this area during the bombing. 24 children and 8 nuns were killed here as they were playing outside during the bombing.

A 7th century chapel that still stands in the middle of Nijmegen right next to the market square. The pillars are from the Roman empire.

To keep this reception hall in tact the city people put roman tiles in it to prevent it from being torn down as they made it historical. The hall is from the 12th century I believe.