Geldrop & Den Bosch

September 27, 2014

We needed to get out of the house today. We are just too anxious waiting for the baby to decide if it’s time to come out of the womb yet.

Jackie had read that there was an exhibit on the liberation and Operation Market Garden from the big battle in this area 70 years ago at the Castle Geldrop, 20 mintutes away. We drove over to the Kasteel Geldrop, which is basically a big mansion originating from the 17^th century with a moat around it. 

Unfortunately I did not read that the exhibit was not open until 2pm so we could not visit it then. We walked for awhile among the park gardens. They were setting up for a wedding event later that day. There is a playground and small animal petting zoo-like farm area.

There is an excellent lunch restaurant we both decided to stop at. Joe enjoyed a cappuccino with a brie, ham and sun-dried tomato Panini while Jackie had some tea and a cup of leek soup.

Next we drove up to Den Bosch (the short form name for the town of ‘s Hertogenbosch), which is about a 30 minute drive north of our home in Eindhoven. It is the capital of our province, Noord Brabant in the Netherlands.

We parked and walked to Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) which was constructed from 1220-1530 and is best known for its Gothic architecture.

It was a richly decorated interior.

Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) main nave

Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) transcept 

Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) choir 

Saint John’s Cathedral’s (Sint Jans kathedraal) large pipe organ is a monumental piece from the Renaissance. 

Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) beautiful stain glass windows

Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) nave ceiling 

There was a nice Maria Chapel to the Madonna.

We both agreed it would be great to come back here one Sunday for mass.

Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) Gothic exterior 

Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) Gothic exterior around the ambulatory chapels behind the choir in the back of the church 

Saint John’s Cathedral (Sint Jans kathedraal) beautiful side entry door at the north transcept

During restorations in the past few years, 25 new angel statues were created, one with a modern twist. The last angel is wearing jeans and holding a mobile phone. The phone has one button, to dial directly to God.

Den Bosch survived WWII relatively unscathed which its historic heritage intact. The old city is surrounded by continuous ramparts still intact. Hidden below the old city is a canal network. There were boat tours through the subterranean waterway system.

We walked back to the car enjoying some ice cream cones.