When we were approaching our hotel we were not in the best mood. I woke up at 4 AM to catch my flight, my husband had a long week at work and concerns about his mother, and we both spent the entire day in the hospice trying to be cheerful. When I was deciding which hotel to pick I focused on Den Bosch to be close to my brother in law and his family, but we were driving in the opposite direction. My husband wasn't happy until he started recognizing the area and realizing that he knows the place. Then he changed and it became the best location ever!
Castle d’Oultremont was part of the amusement park 'Het Land van Ooit'. The park was opened until 2007 when it went bankrupt and majority of the attractions were removed. The castle used to be entirely pink to honour the theme park, but it was recently renovated and now it is a lovely hotel that you should definitely visit when you're around.
The castle is not some prop of the amusement park. It dates back to the 12th century, and it had such a turbulent history that there is an entire book about it. You can purchase it at hotel. It lists all the owners, renovations, big events, etc. I went through the book quickly and it was too much detail, so I will simply tell you about my experience as always.
Castle d’Oultremont is a tongue-breaker for non French speakers, so we can use its another name which is Kasteel Steenenburgh. It was given this name in 1700 and it is so much easier to pronounce.
At the moment, the castle itself is not open to public, so you can only see the reception area, the restaurant and the bar. I have learned that it is privately occupied, but you can still walk around its gigantic grounds that used to be the amusement park. My husband went to the park before and was hoping to find some attractions, but there is really not so much left of it. However, the greenery was what we needed at that time and it was so nice to walk around.
These waterlilies made me laugh as I remember how my mom always used to say that when you go to the forest and you have to relieve yourself, but you don't have a toilet paper or a tissue at hand you can use the waterlilies leaves. Luckily, I haven't had to try it, but I do believe her 😊
This gate was closed at night which really didn't make sense as you could enter the grounds from any other side. I think it was more of a 'looking nice' thing than being practical.
The park was special as there were no rollercoasters or any other adrenaline attractions. It was a place where every child could feel noble for a while. A knight or a countess? You choose...
Het Land van Ooit had its own currency and government, and millions of people came back every year. However, there are so many theme parks in The Netherlands and Het Land van Ooit didn't survive the competition.
One of the last attractions still in place is 'The Soldiers of Waterloo'. There are 25 stone statues that reminds us of the battle. They are placed in the pond, and you should visit it during the day as in the evening you will be attacked by thousands of mosquitoes.
There are also plenty of frogs around here and they scream so much at night like someone would try to murder them. I had another image of the sound that frogs make. Or maybe these are just special frogs...
I don't know how the grounds looked like before the complex was bought by the investor who built a hotel here, but today, it's such a nice place to walk around. It is quiet, there are plenty of flowers, old trees, and many birds. I'm convinced that May is the best time to visit as everything is lush and fresh.
Water is ever present in The Netherlands. You could say the same about Switzerland, but the water colour would be very different 😊
There are many open spaces that used to be the attractions, and now they are either empty or there are some statues like this one. There is no sign, so I don't know what the artist wanted to say, but I can only interpret it as either friendship, love, community, or something else in this direction.
I didn't really want to get closer as I'm scared of ticks and the high grass seemed suspicious...
I found this tree impressive. It is taller than the castle!
These shrubs were everywhere. I thought they were Mediterranean, but I must have been wrong...
They were large!
The meadows were full of daisies and ragged robins. I remember those from the meadows in Slovakia and haven't seen them in Switzerland yet. It was nice see them again, and now I consider planting them in my garden.
Here you can see the new hotel building. The hotel was only open last year, and you can still see it as everything is new and unused.
The hotel was perfectly designed to fit with its surroundings. There are plenty of perennial flower beds and I got so much inspiration for my garden there.
I was also interested to see the grounds in the evening. The evening in Switzerland means 9 PM, but in The Netherland it was still light after 10! I was tired and wanted to go to bed, but I couldn't miss my chance to take some photos.
And it was worth it!
I loved it! There is a tree projection on the building and it looks like those tree crowns in the back belonged to it. It's a really nice feature.
My husband wouldn't leave if I wouldn't have taken the photo of the main building with the moon behind it. So here it is...
And the last glimpse of the castle before going to bed...
It's not only the surroundings, but the entire experience was nice and exactly what we needed at that time. I hope that one day we will be able to visit the castle itself too.
Thank you for reading and until next time...
