jspen

My husband has business in Enschede in July, and we will be spending about 4 days there. Anyone know of any interesting things to do in the general area? We will have our two kids with us (ages 7 and 11) and will likely have a car. We plan to travel there from Bruges (after spending two weeks in the UK), so would also love to know if there is are places we should see/stop on the way from Bruges to Enschede? Thanks!

PalenQ

well Germany is just a few miles away to give them the experience of another country - Kroller-Muller is a short drive - the huge numbers of Van Goghs may not excite the kids but there is a nice outdoor statue garden to putz around and it's all in a huge national park (Hooge Veluwe) of sand and trees. You can ride bikes free from the entrance to the park the few miles to the museum area.

Keep topping - Hetismij lives in Holland and may well know some kid-friendly attractions as well.

hetismij

For the kids you could stop at De Efteling http://www.efteling.nl/
or maybe Beekse-Bergen www.safaripark.nl on the way.

The Kröller Muller museum in Hoge Veluwe National Park is not far off your route. You can use the free bikes to explore the park a bit.

Twente is a lovely area, with lots of beautiful countryside around. Enschede and Hengelo are twin towns there, both with an industrial past, and present, but nice places nonetheless. My Husband currently works in Hengelo, though we don't live anywhere near there. I don't go there that often I'm afraid.
There is a good technical museum in Hengelo which your children may enjoy.
Germany is right next door as Pal says. You will hardly notice you cross the border, except the roadsigns change.
Most of the tourist information websites are only available in Dutch or German sadly.
There are several nice villages around such as Denekamp which have both wind and water mills.
Not too far away is Adventurepark Hellendoorn www.avonturenpark-hellendoorn.nl/.
It is also an area where salt is extracted and you may spot the old salt towers. there is a salt museum in Delden.

There is a museum train which runs from Boekelo to Haaksbergen (both places worth visiting!) www.museumbuurtspoorweg.nl but you need to check whether it will be running whilst you are there.

If you enjoy cycling you could rent bikes and get a route from the local tourist office (the VVV) to explore the area that way. I would suggest on your arrival in Enschede you ask your hotel for direction to the VVV to get more ideas of the area.
Sorry I can't offer more concrete suggestions for Twente.

jspen

Thanks both PalenQ and hetismij! These suggestions are great. I hadn't thought about going across the border to Germany while we're there, so that's helpful to think about, and the national park sounds great. We will be crossing through Germany after our stay in Holland, as we're continuing on to Copenhagen (via Legoland) and Lund, Sweden. But we weren't planning to spend much time there, so it would be nice to add on some day trips from Enschede.

The suggestions for the area around Twente are also much appreciated! And I'm glad to hear that it has some nice countryside--I haven't found much online to describe what it's like there. The Adventurepark and museum train both sound like good choices for the kids, though we don't feel that we always have to entertain them (!). And biking is always great. Are there other day trips (within an hour's drive or so) that would be interesting? Any other thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks so much!

PalenQ

Hetismij once gave a good run down of some places in the Zuider Zee area that offer old Schooner sailing rides - not sure it is your cup of tea or for kids but thought i'd mention it as it could be a swell thing.

jspen

Thanks again for all the suggestions--after looking into some of these, I now think that the Hoge Veluwe Nat'l. Park will be a big hit with the kids. We looked at the web site, and they loved the idea of the free bikes, wildlife, and underground museum. They're also pretty good about art museums, so they will probably enjoy the Van Gogh exhibits/sculpture garden as well. Is there a town near the Nat'l. Park that would be a good place to stay for a night on our way to Enschede from Bruges? It seems like it might be a good stop-over, but I couldn't tell from maps where the best entrance to the park might be. Alternatively, we could go on to Enschede and visit the park on a day trip--would that be do-able in one day?

Also, in looking at some of the sites mentioned (the Zuiderzee, I think), I came across some information on "Hanseatic cities" (ie, Deventer, Zwolle), some of which don't seem that far from Enschede--are any of these better/more interesting to visit than others? Is Deventer worth a trip?
Thanks!

hetismij

Both Deventer and Zwolle have nice old city centres. Deventer is probably the more interesting of the two. Also Kampen is interesting, or maybe you wuold enjoy visiting Staphorst, a deeply religious village where some of the ladies, still wear their tradional costume. Don't plan on going there on a Sunday though, and don't just take their photo - they don't appreciate that, but if you ask you may get permission.
Blokzijl is also not so far away and is a lovely village with 17th century houses around a central harbour. I lived just outside Blokzijl for 18 months and love it.
It is on the edge of the new land, the Noord-oost Polder, which you could also visit - Urk is a former island and fishing village, again some ladies still wear their traditional costume (very different to the Staphorsters). Schokland is a UNESCO site, and a former island now surrounded by land, which is also interesting to visit. There is even an old lighthouse completely surrounded by land near the village of Kraggenburg.
Also near Blokzijl is the Weerribben National park, and Giethoorn, which has canals instead of streets is also close by. You can go for a boat ride through either using a "whisper" boat - and electric boat. A boat trip through the Weerribben is magical.

Have a look at http://tinyurl.com/ad2bn9 for some hotels near Hoge Veluwe, also have a look for hotels in Otterloo and Hoenderloo. I know there are several hotels in Otterloo, which would be very convenient for the park.

jspen

Hetismij--This is fabulous information--just what we're looking for! We like the idea of seeing small towns and countryside, and some of the places you mention sound like just the thing. My 7-year-old daughter would love to see people in their traditional costumes, and I know the kids would enjoy a ride on a "whisper boat." Thanks so much for all your insights. My husband was concerned that there wouldn't be much going on in that part of Holland, but it sounds really lovely. Now I'm wishing we had more than 4 days! I think we will try to see the Hoge Veluwe on the way from Bruges, so we have more time for other outings while we're in Enschede. Thanks so much for all your help.

hetismij

You're most welcome.
I love it when visitors dare to venture beyond Amsterdam and the other "Randstad" cities, and find the real Netherlands.
Enjoy your stay!