enschede/twente

I will be in enschede  (NL) next month, and wondering what one can do around there. I will have 1-2 days and would like to visit something very nearby (I will have plenty of opportunity to see other areas). Mainly into old town, churches and so on. If the weather is good, a nice walk is an option (provided it's easy to get to by public transport on a sunday, and provided it is signposted because I wn't have much time to prepare).

If it's old towns and churches you are looking for, you are bound to severely dissappointed by this part of the Netherlands. All towns have kept fairly close to their village roots. Historic Enschede is 3 streets radiating from the old market square, nearby Hengelo has absolutely nothing historic, and the locals in Almelo joke that they have an hour long historic walking route through the downtown area: 60 laps around the old church.

Local humour aside, if you want to see historic towns, hop on a train to Zutphen, Deventer, Zwolle, Kampen or Munster. Much more rewarding. Enschede does have a pretty vibrant nightlife though, those four downtown streets are filled with bars and clubs, courtesy of 25.000 college students living there.

Twente is a bit of an odd place if you compare it to the rest of the country. Although a lot of it is urbanized it feels really rural, and retains a lot of traditions dating from the time Saxons still roamed the land: there is a local language, different from Dutch or German; many houses have a stiepelteken on their gables; next moth you'll be able to hear the midwinterhorns everywhere. Do try some krentenwegge.

There are several nature parks around Enschede, best reached by bicycle. Aamsveen (about 3 km from downtown) and Buurserzand (12 km), both to the south, are 'wild grounds', having never been cultivated. Bordering the city to the north and northeast are the large Hof Espelo and Hooge Boekel (but both are not particulary spectacular). there are signposted hiking routes everywhere. If you opt for a biking only trip, try going north towards Losser, Denekamp, de Lutte and Ootmarsum. There are a number of scenic routes. You can get a map at Enschede's tourist info.

Dr_Who, I though the best joke about Almelo was the song by its famous comedian Herman Finkers:
"Een stoplicht springt op rood, een ander weer op groen
In Almelo is altijd wat te doen"
("A traffic light turns red, another one turns green
There's always something going on in Almelo")

An uncle and aunt of mine live in Losser. We once went cycling nearby in a beautiful area with lots of special birds, I can't remember what it's called.

Another time we visited the (Border History) Smuggle (and Textile) Museum (Smokkelmuseum) which I loved. It depicts all kinds of smuggling methods, for example during the war people transported coffee inside a bike frame. It displays various 'passports' (more like personal letters of recommendation, with pictures) from the days when passports hardly even existed (early 1900's). And many more interesting artefacts.
It is at the same time a textile museum and you can see old weaving machines at work.
The people working there are very enthusiastic and love explaining everything to you (in fact they won't stop! It was hard to leave :-)).

Otherwise I don't know the area very well, but this is Enschede's Tourist Info bureau.

Veel plezier!
Cécile

For cycling, Twente is top of the bill. There are 'knooppuntenroutes', the Belgium-developed way of finding your way. But November....
Visisiting a historic town: Deventer or Münster.
And see Dr_Who.

Ootmarsum is probably the nicest old town in Twente, though it's pretty small. The best way to enjoy the area is to hire a bicycle and follow one of the scenic routes (contact the local VVV - tourist office - for more info). The larger towns are not that interesting, as said above Deventer (about 45 minutes by train) or Zwolle (not sure, suppose around 1 hour) have more to see and do.
Cecilia: I was born in Almelo (before you feel sorry for me: I spent most of my childhood in a nearby village which was much more pleasant) and have heard that joke so often - basically everyone in the Randstad who sees my POB brings it up - but there is some truth in it. While I think it's not as bad as Hengelo (but then that place must be one of the ugliest towns in NL), it is indeed boring and not that pretty. Heracles Almelo is still my favourite football team though.
My favourite description by Finkers: "Almelo, daar blijf je voor thuis" ("Almelo, makes you want to stay home").

Enschede is not bad, it has a small historic center that is pretty nice. There is a tourist-information office, across the square from the train station, that has maps for self-guided walking tours.

I second Aribo's suggestion to make a trip to Deventer, if you have the time. But if you have to be in Enschede, I'm assuming you're coming for the university.

Love the Herman Finkers jokes in this thread.

Aribo, you're born in Almelo? I lived there for a decade or so. Small world... My 2y/o niece has been taught the Heracles club song and she can sing it along now. I still feel like kidnapping her and brainwash her ;-)
end of threadjack

google for "pieterpad" if u want to hike for a day or more

#6 I was indeed, but moved to a village nearby when I was 5 y.o. I used to have a seizoenskaart in the old Heracles stadium when I lived with my parents. Actually I spent last Friday in Almelo and I must say it was good to be back. It still isn't the greatest place on earth, but at least the people are way more relaxed and easy-going than here in the Randstad.