Day 7

Today we ventured out to s’Hertogenbosch. After walking around a bit, enjoying lots of cobblestone roads once again, we went on a really neat boat tour through the Binnendieze. The tour was about 50 minutes, taking us thru the city by water, thru some really beautiful arch ways that originated in 1475 (since been re-done). It was an enjoyable ride, seeing some beautiful gardens on the walls, some neat statues and just the peacefulness of being in the middle of the city without much of any “city” noises around us.

The boats we took on the tour

Cool lizard drinking from the waterspout

The bridges and tunnels went on and on

After the tour we enjoyed sitting outside having a coffee and bossen bollen. Mmmm…for those who are not sure what these are, take a look at the pictures and let your stomaches grumble – cause – mmmm….they were soooo good! When we asked if they had them in the restaurant, they said no, but were willing to get some fresh for us from a bakery near by. Well worth the extra minute for them to go and get them!


We also visited the Saint Jan’s Cathedral in s’Hertogenbosch. The foundations of this Church were laid in 1185, and of course, like anything this old, it has been restored since then. All I can say about my first impressions were “WOW”. The Church was absolutely, incredibly beautiful. When we walked in the doors, my breath was taken away. I think the sheer height of the ceilings is what caught me first – the detail (and that was from what we could see from the bottom) was unbelievable, all the way up the walls to the top (either statues or paintings). I have to say that as much as I would love to be a part of something like this (artistically speaking), I would much rather remain a little closer to the ground…wouldn’t want to be the one at the top!!

Super high ceilings, tons of detail all the way up

Another ceiling shot

Inside shot as you first walk into the Church

Now this is an organ!

The detail is incredible, even on the outside

Beautiful shot of the Cathedral rising above the trees

We did a little walking around after looking at the Church, really cool cobblestone roads again(lucky me!), and we also noticed that the trees are really big in Holland in general - so we got a good shot of that too (there seemed to be a layer of moss on a lot of the trees too, it made everything very green).

Cobblestone!

HUGE tree trunks - and look at the moss on this one too!

Today was also the day where Alvar found his souvenir! We found a nice toy store that was FULL of model cars, trucks and pretty much any other vehicle imaginable. Alvar had already decided that a DAF model truck was what he wanted. I'm pretty sure we spent close to an hour in that store looking for one he could afford! Well, after much deliberation, he found the one that he liked (and a truck for Caleb too!). I think even Caleb liked Alvar's more than the one he got...if Daddy has a toy truck, it must be a really, really fun one to play with!

Alvar and Caleb's truck

Close-up of Alvar's DAF truck, isn't it a beauty?!