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October has rolled around once more and we wave goodbye to the summer sunshine and get the brollies out. But never fear, autumn (herfst) is here in the Netherlands. And that can be an awful lot of fun too! Here are ten autumnal activities you are sure to enjoy.

1. Visit a Dutch castle

The Netherlands is endowed with its fair share of fairytale like castles, so put on your walking shoes and head out and explore one near you. Or venture out further afield to a part of the country you are yet to explore. If you haven’t been to Kasteel de Haar, then that’s certainly one I recommend for your list.

2. Catch a show

The dark evenings tend to push us inside earlier, so why not at least spend the evening inside a theatre. Take your pick:

• Harry Potter en het Vervloekte Kind – AFAS-Circus theater, Scheveningen
• & Juliet – Utrecht
• De Kleine Prins – touring various theaters around the country
• Piaf – touring various theaters around the country

Share your show recommendations in the comments.

3. Practice the art of gezelligheid

Autumn is perfect for practicing the art of gezelligheid – the height of cosiness as the dark evenings draw in earlier and earlier. Get the blankets and candles out, stock up on kruidnoten and a herfstbok or two.

Better still, order a shopping delivery so you don’t have to venture out at all. If you aren’t familiar with Picnic, the supermarket on wheels, then this is a great time to get acquainted:

Use this code and get €10 off your first order – AMAN2748

4. Museum

Dive inside a museum as the weather outside turns grey and wet and the pavements and bike lanes fill with sodden leaves. With over 600 official registered museums in the Netherlands, you are sure to find one to tickle your fancy. In fact, you are even guaranteed to find a museum close by:

My personal recommendation is MuZIEum in Nijmegen. It’s an experience you won’t forget in a hurry.

5. Start a creative painting project

Now that the sunshine is leaving us for a while, it is the perfect time to stay home and tackle that painting project. Perhaps your woonkamer walls are in need of some TLC, the downstairs loo could use a refresh with a lick of paint over the tiles or the kitchen cabinets are crying out for a freshen up.

Or perhaps a smaller creative project is more your cup of tea. This is my latest WIP. I decided to give my home office some colour, after winning an online interior design advice session with The Space Coach. I got some real decluttering done (many boxes went to the kringloop!) and so I decided to go a step further.

I’ve been using Miss Pompadour paint the past few months and I highly recommend. If you are looking to add colour to your home, then use the link below. You get €10 off your first order (when you spend min €40).

Either way, get the paint in and get going.

6. Go kabouter spotting

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise – kabouters! They are out in force in autumn. Look out for their houses scattered around the woods. Honest guv.

And even if they’re too shy to make an appearance whilst you are around, at least you have had a nice walk in the woods, taking in the leaves changing colours before your eyes and seeing the numerous mushrooms.

7. Learn how to make stamppot or hutspot

Looking for hearty Dutch comfort food for autumn? Then get cracking with your masher and a sack of potatoes. You’ll also see ready cut potatoes and prepared vegetables in the cooled section of the supermarket: packs for stamppot or hutspot. But you can certainly prepare the ingredients yourself.

Stamppot is usually mashed potatoes with kale (boerenkool) mixed through them and hutspot is carrots and onions added to the mashed potato. But at the end of the day, you can add whichever vegetables and bits and pieces that take your fancy.

Bacon and endive, for example. Or hete bliksem (apples, bacon, mustard). Yum.

Or simply add the traditional rookworst and gravy.

Whatever combination you choose, you have Dutch autumn food sown up. Easy peasy right?

8. Restaurant for an autumnal themed meal

If you aren’t one for faffing around in the kitchen yourself, no fear, you’ll start seeing stamppot on restaurant menus at this time of the year.

Autumn menus start popping up everywhere – wild game, root veggies, pea soup (erwtensoep or snert) served with a piece of dark rye bread and hearty stews (like hachée). Washed down with a herfstbok (autumn bock), perfect.

9. Go pumpkin crazy

It’s not USA levels of mania, but pumpkins do start making an appearance in the Netherlands in October. You can harvest them, pick them, buy them, decorate with them. All shapes, colours and sizes. More and more Dutch people also decorate their porch with a carved pumpkin for Halloween too.

If you are looking for a pumpkin farm, have a look here.

10. Appels plukken – go apple picking

The apple orchards are now open for plucking business. You can head to your local apple self-pluck establishment and get your apples straight from the trees. We went to Olmenhorst a few times, when we were living on that side of the country but there are various places across the country. You can also skip the plucking and just buy apples, or apple products, and head home and get an apple pie in the oven. A fitting dessert to follow your stamppot!

Over to You

What’s your favourite Dutch autumn activity?

The post Guaranteed fun: 10 Autumnal Activities in the Netherlands appeared first on Turning Dutch.