Zombie Parent's Guide: Openluchtmuseum, The Netherlands, Part I

The Openluchtmuseum or Open-Air Museum in The Netherlands is just north of Arnhem and gives a flavor of life in that country for the past couple of hundred years. The museum was founded in 1912 and comprises a wide array of buildings from different regions. Farmhouses, windmills, bridges, shops, breweries, and more are on display. The park is so large it has its own train that circles the perimeter!

Openluchtmuseum, Arnhem, The Netherlands

Our first stop was the blue farmhouse from Harreveld, which dates back to the time farm animals would live with the farmers. The family cooked over an open fire, which allowed the rye harvest to dry in the rafters but did cause health problems.

The blue farmhouse

Kitchen and living area

L shows where the animals were kept

Rye drying

Farm implements

Outside are a small clay oven, which eventually took over for the indoor fire, and a wheelwright workshop, where the farmer would work in the winter to earn extra money. The workshop had a fellow inside making wheels and talking to the visitors.

Outdoor oven

Wheelwright at work

Wheels made in the shop

An oil mill from Achterhoek shows how horses were used to turn a millstone and thereby extract oil from rapeseed. The horses are only film projections at the mill and sadly didn't show up in my pictures.