A walk around Het Loo, near Apeldoorn.

The Palace Het Loo was built in the 17th Century y Willem III, and has a long history of being used by the Dutch Royalty.  Queen Wilhelmina, who lived from 1880-1962, spent most of her life in Het Loo.  She almost had it torn down after the Germans abused the palace during world war II, but fortunately changed her mind and had it restored to its former glory.

Today's walk goes through the beautiful park next to the palace. Highlights are the "Willemstempel", whch was completely built using very thin tree trunks.  The "W" at the front of the building pertains to King Willem I.  Further on is the horses cemetery, where dozens of "royal" horses and ponies are buried. The property has several large lakes which are fed by a large number of small canals. De Hoge Veldvijver (lake) has a beautiful tea pavilion, which was a favorate spot of Queen Wilhelmina.  Nearby is  the blue boathouse where the royal rowboats were stationed.  On the return towards the parking area you walk through the "Hertenkamp", which has a large number of deer, some with impressive antlers.

Back at the car, I was tired and pretty cold from the 9.5 mile walk through this forest with a lot of history.  I still need to go see the Palace itself, which unfortunately is closed for the next few years for renovation.