Den Bosch

04 december 2016

Though it was 5^o C but because it was a sunny day, we decided to go outside Den Haag. There are some towns that not far from Den Haag that we want to visit, such as Breda, Dordrecht and Den Bosch. But because we plan to visit Dordrecht when it has Christmas Market (which is 2 more weeks) and Breda is smaller than Den Bosch (maybe we can combine Breda with another town), so we decided to visit Den Bosch.

As usual, we always take train when travel in Netherlands. The train ride took 1.5 hours. Den Bosch train station was quite big, there were Hema, Albert Heijn, Burger Kings and many other shops.

Den Bosch is a city that can be explore by foot. First, we went to the Lepelstraat to see the famous statue Zoete Lieve Gerritje. This statue is related to the famous Dutch song. It means Sweet and lovely little Gerrit. It becomes one of Den Bosch’s icons.

From there, we walked to VVV (tourist information). At that time, there was an open market. It was nice to see a lot of fresh things, such as fruits, flowers and smell a fresh breads and kipbellings. They also sell other things, such as textiles and electronics. Because the street were covered with stalls, we missed the VVV building twice. But finally with the help of google map, we found it. This VVV is special because it is located at the Moriaan, the oldest brick house in Netherlands. It was built in 13^th century and had several different functions through the years. The VVV is located next to City Hall, where we can see another historical building, the Stadhuis.

From City Hall, we continued to Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Janskathedraal). This Cathedral was a highlight of our visit. The façade and the interior are both breathtaking. As it has Gothic style, we can expect the detailed ornaments. The huge stained glass windows are also amazing. The church was build at around 13^th century.

Next, we wanted to visit Jheronimus Bosch Art Center. On the way, we stopped for our lunch. We saw a small and cozy suriname resto, Tante Wonnie. We tried the Suriname’s soup (peanut soup with banana and meat, and chicken soup with rice) and Suriname bread. It was a good choice. The food were excellent, especially the bread. We tried the satay filled bread.

In Jheronimus Bosch Art Center we can see the works of Hieronymus Bosch, a famous Dutch painter who was born in Den Bosch. He is known for his unique religious theme paintings. This year marks the 500th anniversary of the death of Hieronymus Bosch. So we can see things about him everywhere in Den Bosch.

Next place was Museum quarter, the Stedelijk Museum and the Noordbrabants Museum. Apart from the collections, the architectural of these museums are unique. They are two different buildings with two different styles. One from 18^th century style and the other from modern style. They just connected these buildings by adding a glass corridor. We entered the museum from Noordbrabants Museum. It has the “old” style. It has collection of Brabant region history & culture, Roman era exhibits & southern Dutch art from 1500 to the present. As for the Stedelijk Museum, it is a museum for modern art. At the moment we visited, there was an exhibition from   

Claire Morgan with title the Sound of Silence. These museums are very big and need quite some times to explore all the areas. Luckyly, they have a nice restaurant where we can rest and enjoy the famous Bossche Bol with warm drinks.

On the way back to the Station, we passed Minderbroederstraat, a shopping avenue with lots of shops and cafes. It seems that every café in Den Bosch has Bossche Bol and since the most famous is the Boscsche Bol from Jan de Groot Bakery, so every café put the Jan de Groot Bossche Bol in their menu. Because it is a must to try the Jan de Groot Bossche Bol, we bought it from Banketbakkerij Jan de Groot, which is located near the train station. Lucky, we only need to queue for a short time to get this famous dessert.  From Den Bosch train station, we went back straight to Den Haag.