THE *BEST!* 36 HOURS IN DRENTHE (assen, coevorden, and emmen)

This video starts with Michelle and Alex finally fulfilling the Assen vlog they weren't able to finish last year, then staying in a beautiful, renovated city hall from the 1600s in Coevorden, and getting *amazing* apple pie (appeltaart) kroketten (and many other unique kroketten) in Emmen.

Episode 147 · Filmed on September 5 and 6, 2024 · Assen, Coevorden, and Emmen, The Netherlands

⚙️ Our filming gear (these are affiliate links and support our channel):

0:00 Why are we back in Drenthe today?
0:30 We found a real coffee shop in Assen!
1:39 Our first (second?) impressions of Assen
2:04 Picking up snacks for our bike trip
2:21 Our first time using OV-fiets (rental bikes)
3:17 Biking around Assen!
4:31 Baggelhuizerplas (a beautiful beach in Assen)
5:57 Trying the unique baklava from Bakkerij Alsady
6:39 Just chillin' (and plugging our Patreon, haha)
6:49 Drents Museum
8:36 Saying goodbye to Assen (and Bartje...)
10:07 We're in Coevorden! (...why tho?)
11:19 Vancouver is named after Coevorden?!
12:27 We're finally trying Chinese-Indonesian food!
13:00 Babi pangang (pork in sweet orange sauce)
13:37 Foe yong hai (egg in a sweet tangy sauce)
13:53 Kou lou yuk (sweet and sour pork)
14:21 Our favorites (and some clarifications...)
15:07 It's time to explore Coevorden!
15:38 Kasteel Coevorden
16:29 ...and the rest of the sights
17:39 Our amazing old city hall (stadhuis) stay in Coevorden!
19:59 And a full tour of the rest of the old city hall (stadhuis)
21:28 Welcome to Emmen! It's raining.
22:16 The most exclusive snack bar in the Netherlands
23:19 Wow, these are some unique kroketten!
24:11 Unique kroketten 1 and 2
25:16 Unique kroketten 3, 4, and 5
26:04 A mac and cheese kroket!
26:50 We rank the kroketten
27:15 Appeltaart kroketten!!!!!
29:06 THE SUN CAME OUT! (Rensenpark)
29:56 We love when old zoos become parks...
30:15 THERE'S A CAT IN THE PARK!
30:28 Are we breaking the law?
31:05 Our thoughts on Drenthe
31:34 Wrap up

#netherlands #expatlife #drenthe #assen #coevorden #emmen

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WHO IS BUNCHARTED?

We're Michelle and Alex, an American expat couple living abroad in the Netherlands. 🇳🇱

In 2020, we quit our jobs to travel the world, and... well, that didn't happen. So in 2022, we decided to make an even BIGGER change: to pack up our lives (and our cats 🐈) and move from Austin, Texas, in the United States, to the Netherlands. Subscribe for new videos like this every week!

[buncharted]

Thank you to our sponsor Saily. Go to saily.com/buncharted and use the code BUNCHARTED to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase.

[ronaldderooij]

When Americans in the Netherlands say that Drenthe is far really away, you know the assimilation worked.

[RobDam]

Jullie zijn zo Nederlands geworden. Drenthe verweg terwijl in Amerika dit maar een kleine afstand zou zijn geweest. 😂😂😂

[Robby]

Thanks for visiting our kroketten factory. It was nice to meet you. Till we meet again

[DutchDMaster]

The bicycle storage in the beginning is springloaded (when not broken) for the upper levels: pulling the rail towards you at some point makes it tip over like a seesaw and you can lower the back towards ground level, with the bike standing upright at an angle.

The diagonal chimneys might be to help with smoke getting pulled out of the chimney by the wind. By offsetting it, it ends up behind the top of the roof, where the wind can have a different draft than on the top of the roof. Next to this, some diagonally running chimneys also allowed placing a second fireplace in a different room if wanted.

[GewoonJantine]

I’m from Emmen and I’ve never heard of krokettenkunst. Definitely going to visit it next time I’m there

[uNexAPB]

Thank you for the video. It's rare that people visit Drenthe, let alone Emmen. My grandfather was an architect in the old zoo, and I am happy people can still experience the old zoo, albeit without a lot of the structures and of course the animals.

[thejohnnygsmith]

I didn't know they converted the old zoo into a park you can visit. That's so cool. I've been there many times as a child. Now I really need to go there someday and have a look.

[Claudiaatje]

Drenthe is my favourite province in NL, so much history! You definitely need to return and visit Kamp Westerbork, the hunebedden (the largest is in Borger), the open air museum at Barger Compascuum, the Boomkroonpad... Maybe when the archaeological section at Drents Museum reopens and the bog bodies are back?

Btw, I can't believe you did not know about Coevorden/Vancouver??

[wavybray]

When I see fellow American expats with Buienradar, I've got to give respect!

[mariarry]

Here's a proud Emmener. So proud of the peace, quiet and friendly residents of Emmen. Too bad you had so little time, because Emmen has so much more to offer. For example, hunebedden (dolmens), or the "onderduikershol" (a hiding place in the forest where Jewish people in hiding during the WW2. And the Broken Circle, land art project by the American artist Robert Smithson. So maybe a 3rd visit to Emmen? 😅 It's great you have put Drenthe on the map in this positive way

[klarameijer]

Yeah Assen, the place where I was born and grew up. People from Drenthe are the most easy going people I know. I am not living in Drenthe anymore, but I feel that even after not living there for more than 45 year.

[janmango]

Fun fact: the meaning of Coevorden: "voorde" is a wadable place through a river, "Coe" means cow in old Dutch spelling. It's a place where cows can wade through the river. So it's basically the same name as "Oxford" in England.

[Tammo]

You guys have to go to assen when the MotoGP - TT Assen is in town. The whole city changes it's amazing

[k-jellrl]

I'm glad you liked it in Assen. We also have a local market on wednesdays and saturdays. Everyone is in a good mood, and the smells are amazing (fresh bread being baked, cheese, etc). Hope you will be able to visit 'Het meisje van Yde' the next time you pay a visit to our cozy town

[daphnelovesL]

Buncharted you have visited more of the Netherlands then I did and I am Dutch!

[eltarb]

Wow another great video, luckily Emmen is not so far for me so I'm definitely going to test the kroketten myself 👍.
Thanks for testing it Michelle and Alex.

[remonnno]

I've been living in Coevorden my entire life. Good to see you made the effort to come visit! :)

[benvos]

21:49 Yeah, that about sums up Drenthe, as a Drenthenaar

[Kaatje]

Wow, I know Drenthe as 1 of the most beautiful provinces of The Netherlands, because of the nature. The walking and biking in the forests, the "hunnebedden' scattered around, the satellites and heather fields in Dwingeloo. But non of that in this video! You gave me a new view of my country, thanks. And that krokettenplace in Emmen! Really? If that shop/cafe was in Amsterdam, there would be lines with tourists. It would go viral on TikTok. But it is just a little place in Emmen, with amazing food, but such a sad surrounding. The concrete tiles, the plastic chairs, the sad overhang of the building. It gives me a dilapidated 70's feeling. But I will put it on my to do list, for sure!