After stopping by the former queen’s estate – though we didn’t get to see anything beyond the gate – and a castle-turned-events site, our next stop for the day was this other queen’s residence — Soestdijk Palace. It reminded me somehow of the movie Somewhere In Time. Luckily this time, they did allow us a peek inside where we saw a weekend market that catered to a pretty diverse crowd. From rural chic, wooden decor for someone’s weekend rest house in the mountains, to car-pulled luxury caravans, to souped up Land Rovers – for when you have to visit Queen Elizabeth when she’s in Balmoral. It wasn’t your regular Sunday market, and some members of the crowd were interesting to say the least.
I heard the castle was only open for a few times a year and apparently only to raise funds for renovation work. Sad to say, the interiors weren’t up to snuff, and in a lot of places it looked rather rundown. Lots of history though and a very nice diversion on a lazy weekend.