JUNE 2021
In May I spent a long and cold weekend at the just opened campsite The Buitenpost in Twello near Deventer. The Buitenpost is located at the old terrain of Hof van Twello and the campsite is currently being revamped by the owners of DAVO, the well known pub in Deventer. Unfortunately we didn’t have good weather so we couldn’t enjoy everything that the Buitenpost has to offer, but we did do some small trips to sights nearby. I was really impressed with the rhododendrons at the Sallandse Heuvelrug, a sight not to be missed! Of course we also visited Deventer and we brought a lovely visit to Castle Rosendael.
The Buitenpost
Hielke and I brought the campervan to the Buitenpost and were able to park it in a spot next to the vineyard for € 26 per night. Everyone who stays at the Buitenpost gets unlimited access to the shower and the “bloten voeten pad” (bare foot path). My mother, sister and her boyfriends stayed in a glamping tent, with fixed beds in two separate sleeping compartments. On regular days this costs € 85 per night and during the holidays it is a bit more expensive. We booked relatively late and stayed over the Pentecost weekend, so we were very happy to have found a place to stay as pretty much everything in NL was booked up. I discovered The Buitenpost at Instagram as it had just opened up. In certain areas you could tell that they had just opened, because it was still a bit unfinished. The shower building definitely still needed work, so that was a downside of staying at the Buitenpost. However, the restaurant, which is located in a beautiful greenhouse, was amazing. The Buitenpost is owned by the owners of pub DAVO and another owner has several restaurants in Amsterdam, and you could really tell that! The food was so good, that we skipped cooking and ordered different dishes from the menu every day. The asparagus, steak, flammkuchen, roasted sweet potatoes and the charcuterie bord were absolutely delicious! We didn’t eat in the beer garden of the restaurant, but took the dishes to the tent because that was easier with little Hugo. Another surprise was the Buitenpost wine from their own vineyard which was really tasty as well. Of course you could also tasted the several sorts of DAVO beer. I am sure that the restaurant and beer garden will be the hotspot of the area when the weather is good!
You can also buy plants at Buitenpost 
The restaurant is located in a greenhouse 
The local specialty store 
Buitenpost wine!
Things we did near Twello/Deventer
I wish we could have done more activities. We didn’t even get to do the bare foot path, because the weather was so unpredictable. Still, we made the most of it and we did the following activities:
Deventer: Twello is located only a few kilometers from Deventer, so it is very easy to bring a visit to this beautiful city. I found Deventer very charming, I loved the boutique style shops and cobblestone streets. You can find many streets with original shops surrounding “De Brink”, where you can also admire the beautiful “Waag”. We entered Deventer through the “Walstraat”, which is a very charming street, with specialty shops and colorful houses. The “Grote overstraat” and “Kleine overstraat” are particularly lovely as well. Deventer offers a great range of restaurants. Terraces had just opened up when we visited and even though the weather wasn’t amazing they were fully packed and had a great atmosphere. Even though market squares usually don’t have the best restaurants, in Deventer De Brink offers plenty of good options. We took a seat at Love Bar Bistro because of the original lunch dishes on the menu and because we could get a seat for five (six if including Hugo). The lunch was delicious and the price-quality was very good. I also took a peak on the inside and it is gorgeous from the inside, mixing exposed bricks in the cellars with industrial and velvet styles. We were a bit too early, but if you visit in June you will see many houses overgrown with roses, if you venture off the Brink for a little bit. This adds even more atmosphere to this already very picturesque city.
The beautiful chestnut trees at De Brink 
Castle Rosendael: Since May 19 the gardens of Castle Rosendael are open again. Access costs € 6 per person. When we visited the roses were not in bloom yet as it was very cold the weeks before. I am sure the premises are even more beautiful when the garden is in full bloom! I mainly wanted to visit for the “Schelpengallerij”, a baroque artwork from 1722. This piece made me feel like I was at Lake Como living La Dolce Vita, absolutely gorgeous! Another fun artwork is “de Bedriegertjes” a Baroque fountain that tries to trick you into walking over it just to spray you with water. Opposite Castle Rosendael you can find “De Orangerie”, we had lunch at the terrace overlooking Castle Rosendael. The prices were very reasonable and the food was very tasty and they had lots of options.
De Schelpjesgallerij 
De bedriegertjes 
View of Castle Rosendael from the Orangerie 
De Orangerie – perfect spot for lunch
National Park de Sallandse Heuvelrug: You may know I am a big fan of National Park de Veluwe. De Sallandse Heuvelrug is the Overijsselse equivalent. In August/September the moors here also turn purple offering spectacular sights. What is very special about this national park is that has an enormous rhododendron wall next to the moors. This wall was in full bloom when we visited. I absolutely recommend to put a reminder in your agenda for next year May, just to plan a visit to the Sallandse Heuvelrug. We navigated to the Palthetoren and were able to park our car in the parking near the entrance path. When you walk to the Palthetoren from the parking lot (about 15 minutes) you will pass a maze of rhododendrons on your left. Some of the rhododendrons unfortunately were damaged, but it was a fun visit nonetheless.
