So, remember when we took grandson Nicholas to see Fort Vuren (and the Loevestein Castle and the Woudrichem windmill) in July?
Well, that reminded me that I had never found a "round tuit" to make a post on Fort Vuren when Astrid and I were there alone in April. That visit, actually, was the main reason why we wanted to take Nicholas.
So, for the record, here's what we saw 5 months ago. And it's only 1.5 km from home (Gorinchem)!
Every time we passed the sign while driving along the dijk of the Merwede river,
we said we needed to stop and visit this fort, part of the Dutch waterline.
Now we plan to take all our guests there, if possible.
The fort dates back to 1844 as a fortress on the river against any enemy.
Today, since 2013, you can use it as a B&B. How ironic.
They even hold weekend concerts there.
And as we often do, we first stopped for a nice break in the cozy café...
...where we both had a delightful uitsmijter, accompanied by the café's own beer:
De Drie Mutsen = The Three Hats.
Fully satisfied, we then took our own self-tour of the underground fort.
I don't know how to adequately express our shock/surprise at what we saw.
I've decided it's one of the best-kept secrets of the Netherlands!
There are TWO levels that keep going and going, from room to room.
You'd need a map to figure it out, though I suppose the soldiers were quick learners.
Talk about a photo-op...and it's all free.
As we left over the moat, we saw the Loevestein castle across the river.
A fort and a castle opposite each other!
I bet they were always saying to each other, "We've got your back."
As we drove away on the dijk, we looked back on the fort, surrounded by its moat,
with the Merwede river on the other side.
I wonder if the cows are old enough to tell the stories hanging in the air?
In this day and age...
which is why I needed to add this for the record!
