Rest Day in Ommen, September 19

We slept well and had a great breakfast. There is a living room in the basement where we sat for a while and read. Then, at 11, we set off for the town. This is a walk of about 2 km so not great for a rest day. We are back at the B and B and my Fitbit says I walked just under 8 km today. 

However, what a charming town Ommen is. There is a cosy car free downtown and we quickly found a place to have a cappuccino. While Jeff looked at his phone I read a Dutch newspaper, the Telegraph. 

A bit later we had a marvellous lunch at the old townhall right on the Vecht. We sat outside but soon had to take shelter under a canopy because of sudden, but brief, heavy rain. While eating our croquette and uitsmyters we heard band music playing. Eventually, we made our way to the gathering and saw at least 300 people or so with a red rose in their hands. It was a somber business. I asked the woman next to me who was being remembered. She told me that it was a national memorial event for parents who had lost a child through violence. She said her own son was stabbed 5 months ago. I impulsively put my arm around her and said, "I am so sorry." The memorial so happened to be in Ommen this year. The band played all kinds of familiar hymns like "Abide with me", "O Sacred Head Now Wounded", " Great is Thy Faithfulness", etc. I thought that was interesting considering that Holland has the reputation for not being that religious anymore. Jeff and I both were quite taken with the whole thing.

Now we are back in our room and the sun is shining. In the field behind us is a herd of Lakenvelders, those cattle that are black except for a thick white band, like a wide saddle, over the top.