| black = railway lines red = main roads blue = rivers Zutphen to Arnhem = 30 km The province of Gelderland consists of three regions - the sandy Veluwe West of the river IJssel - the Betuwe a rich fruit region South of the Rijn, SW of Arnhem - and the Achterhoek with numerous small farms, East of the IJssel where I lived. The border with Germany is about 45 km East of Zutphen, while the North Sea coast is a 150 km drive to its West.
Born in Zutphen, I moved in 1942 with my parents and sister to the country between Eefde (not shown) and Gorssel, about 200 metres East of where the old tram line (left black line Zutphen - Gorssel - Deventer) crossed the main road (in red). This lovely pitoresque tram line was unfortunately abadonned soon after the 2nd World War and converted into a bicycle path.
(Proper modern spelling of Gorssel is with double s.)
The thick black line Deventer - Apeldoorn is the Express railway line to Amsterdam (1hr) and to De Haag or Rotterdam (1.5 hrs). To my University in Leiden it took a little longer : 2 hrs.
Het Loo, just North of Apeldoorn, is the summer palace of the Dutch Royal family.
In my early teens I played with the Accordion Bands of Vorden and Hengelo. We also performed, I vaguely recall, in Brummen, Zutphen, Gorssel, Laren and Borkulo.
|
