I opened my curtains this morning (just like everyday) and to my surprise the sun shone down on me! Sunny days have been few and far between recently in the Netherlands, so today was a real treat. To make the most of it we decided, spontaneously, to head to a different Dutch city to explore the country more! We regularly pass through Den Bosch on the train so thought today we would actually get off and look around, and it was a really nice place! It has a huge towering cathedral and most importantly the only doughnut franchise in Holland.. Monkey Coffee!!
As soon as we got off the train we headed straight to the doughnut haven. It’s really hard to get a great one here, and they’re something I regularly crave. Last time I had a Monkey Coffee doughnut was in Maastricht where I chose a red velvet cake one, so this time I opted for something a little different and had the Kinder special. Oh my lord. Plonked on top of the doughnut was a full bar of Kinder chocolate, and the dough itself is soft and delicious like a yummy pillow of goodness.
Now it was time to explore, and of course naturally we were drawn towards the cathedral. It’s really big and Gothic in its architecture, which I really love. But interestingly the tower is built far more recently and looks slightly out of place, but makes for a unique figure in the skyline! Inside was adorned with intricate stain glass windows everywhere, heaps of icons and artwork and detailed sculptures. It really has it all as far as cathedrals go, and as far as European cathedrals go I now consider myself quite well seasoned! A real talking point in this one was a painting of the all seeing eye on the ceiling _*IlLuMiNaTi CoNfIrMeD*_ … (I’m joking, although the eye was actually there)
For lunch we played it safe and Dutch and bought *fries*– It kills me to not say chips but hey, I’m doing as the Dutch do. We sat by the river to eat which was really nice and peaceful. Den Bosch could definitely do with a few more cafes and eateries along its river though because I don’t feel like the true potential has been reached! The weather was still really nice so it was time for a beer, which we sat outside again to enjoy. I tried a Dutch beer I hadn’t had before which was pretty nice if nothing special. Throughout the day we’d walked round most of the central city, and even though there is loads more to do if we wanted, such as museums and parks etc.., I feel like I got a pretty good impression of the city.
All in all I had a good day and I’m pleased I acted on the weather and made the most of it! The sun is supposed to stay until at least Sunday so I think I’ll be making a trip to the Honig Complex in Nijmegen soon- an old factory now turned into various cafes- super cool, kind of hipster?
Thanks for reading!!
