Three years ago, a planned visit the city of s-Hertogenbosch was thwarted by the terrible terrorist attack on Brussels’ airport. We finally had a chance to put the city back on our travel itinerary however, this time we bypassed Brussels and instead flew into the city of Eindhoven. The flight was pleasant and we were able to catch a train from Eindhoven to s-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch as it is colloquially known). Our hotel, The Golden Tulip, was situated right in the middle of the city and we lost no time in setting out to explore our surroundings.
Den Bosch is a picturesque walled city with a large market square and a number of canals winding throughout. It was a pleasure to wander the cobble stone streets and we enjoyed browsing the market stalls in the square. Michael particularly enjoyed sampling the herring on offer at the fish stalls (I stuck to the frites).
The Jheronimus Bosch Art Centre is housed in the former St James’ church and, while there are no original paintings there are prints of everything that Bosch painted. This meant that you could get up close to the prints and really appreciate every detail. There were also a number of models of Bosch’s creepy creatures hanging from the ceiling and scattered throughout.
One of the highlights was a reconstruction of an astronomical clock, which used to stand in St John’s Cathedral back in 1513. The clock shows moving figures depicting the Last Judgement and the visit of the Magi to Christ. The most fascinating component was the scene depicting the virtuous souls ascending to heaven and the doomed descending into hell. The church building itself is stunning to look at with a massive dome and beautiful stained glass windows. We were able to take a lift to the tower and admire the view over the city.
We also descended into the old boiler room of the church where there was a recreation of Bosch’s art studio. The whole experience was fantastic and we spent a couple of hours there to ensure that we saw everything.
One of the highlights was a reconstruction of an astronomical clock, which used to stand in St John’s Cathedral back in 1513. The clock shows moving figures depicting the Last Judgement and the visit of the Magi to Christ. The most fascinating component was the scene depicting the virtuous souls ascending to heaven and the doomed descending into hell. The church building itself is stunning to look at with a massive dome and beautiful stained glass windows. We were able to take a lift to the tower and admire the view over the city.
We also descended into the old boiler room of the church where there was a recreation of Bosch’s art studio. The whole experience was fantastic and we spent a couple of hours there to ensure that we saw everything.
Michael and I also visited the Cathedral Church of St John, which dates back to 1220. The Cathedral has an interesting history, starting out as Roman Catholic and then switching to Protestant in 1629 when Catholicism was banned. Napoleon was responsible for restoring the Cathedral to the Catholics. It has been extensively restored over the years and is luxuriously decorated with statues, arches and large windows.
One of the dishes that we were advised to try was a Bossche bol. Imagine a huge profiterole filled with whipped cream and coated entirely with dark Belgian chocolate. They are absolutely delicious and we made sure that we tried one each day!
Another highlight of our stay in Den Bosch was a boat trip on the Binnendieze, the collective name for the century-old system consisting of all the waterways within the city walls. The commentary was in Dutch so whilst we couldn’t understand the guide, we could appreciate the beauty of our surroundings.
People built their homes and shops over the water so the boat took us through various tunnels and we saw where the bats lived. It was a very relaxing ride and it showed us a different perspective of the town.
People built their homes and shops over the water so the boat took us through various tunnels and we saw where the bats lived. It was a very relaxing ride and it showed us a different perspective of the town.
We also managed to fit in a visit to the Het Noordbrabants Museum, which houses paintings by Van Gogh as well as an impressive collection of Brueghel works. The museum itself is set in the most beautiful gardens, which were visible from most of the gallery’s windows and made for a lovely place for us to have our lunch in the sunshine.
Michael and I reluctantly said goodbye to Den Bosch and caught the train back to Eindhoven where we would spend two nights. The contrast between the two cities was marked with Eindhoven being a very modern metropolis. A large section of the city was destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing in World War II, and the post- war reconstruction left very little historical remains.
Still, it was a pleasant enough city to stay in and Michael located a brewery where he was able to sample different beers.
Still, it was a pleasant enough city to stay in and Michael located a brewery where he was able to sample different beers.
We took a day trip to Maastricht, which was only a one hour away by train from Eindhoven. This was a beautiful mediaeval cobbled old town on the banks of the Maas River. It was a lovely and sunny and we spent the day alternating between wandering the streets and sitting in the sunshine in one of the huge town squares.
It was Easter Monday and we were fortunate enough to see a Sacramental Procession through the city.
One of the more sobering sights were the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), which we saw in front of various shops and houses. These stumbling stones are little brass plaques mounted onto a concrete cobble stone inscribed with the name, date and concentration camp to which a victim of the Nazis was sent. They serve as a reminder to the horrors of the past and we have seen them in a number of European cities along our travels.
It was Easter Monday and we were fortunate enough to see a Sacramental Procession through the city.
One of the more sobering sights were the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), which we saw in front of various shops and houses. These stumbling stones are little brass plaques mounted onto a concrete cobble stone inscribed with the name, date and concentration camp to which a victim of the Nazis was sent. They serve as a reminder to the horrors of the past and we have seen them in a number of European cities along our travels.
Michael and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Netherlands and look forward to exploring more of this wonderful country someday.
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