A Brush With
BOSCH Hieronymus’ hometown offers a palette of Dutch treats BY DIANE DANIEL
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY SELINA KOK
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ecalling the surreal and sometimes nightmarish imag es painted by acclaimed Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, you might be surprised to discover how dreamy and inviting his hometown of Den Bosch is. This year, this offthe-beaten-path destination (officially named ‘s-Hertogenbosch) takes the spotlight as it marks the 500th anniversary of Bosch’s death with a major art exhibit and other events. While the global attention is deserved, no fanfare is needed to enjoy the city’s charms. I fell under Den Bosch’s spell after my recent move to the south of the Netherlands, when I started to scout quintessentially Dutch cities to show to my American friends already lining up to visit. My go-to place would contain a little bit of everything—but not so much as to be exhausting—and one that was an easy train ride from Amsterdam for people wanting to meet up on a day trip. Den Bosch turned out to be the perfect place. I had visited briefly a decade earlier and found the medium-size city an hour southeast of Amsterdam to be thoroughly delightful. On my return trip, I found that hip restaurants and trendy boutiques had opened, adding extra flavor to the medieval city center. My first guest hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m happy to let you test out my custom tour. To keep things simple, let’s start at the train station, where you’ll have an easy five-minute AAA.COM
walk into town. If you’re up for a serious sugar rush, stop at the popular Jan de Groot pastry shop for a famed Bossche Bol, a softball-sized pastry filled with fresh whipped cream and dipped in dark chocolate. As you continue on into town, you’ll cross a picturesque stone bridge over the Dommel River. Den Bosch is situated on a marsh between the Aa and Dommel rivers, whose tributaries combine to make the Binnendieze, a narrow waterway that threads through the town’s canals, situated below street level. If you’re here from April to October, start your exploration with a boat tour. Even JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
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At the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center (above), guide Gerda van Os interprets the symbolism in a reproduction of Bosch’s famous triptych, The Garden of Earthly Delights.
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Den Bosch delights include (clockwise from above) the canal that runs alongside the city’s fortified walls; the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center’s 30-foothigh astronomical clock; the market square, home to a year-round Saturday market (the white house above the pink sign is where Bosch lived and worked); St. John’s Cathedral, the pride of Den Bosch; and exuberant Carnival festivities. Boat tours on the Binnendieze waterway (below) are popular in warm weather.
better, time your visit to see the floating Bosch Parade, a fantastical feast for the eyes held on the Dommel every June. Nothing here is on a grid, so meander the maze of winding brick streets as you follow the signs to the VVV, the tourist office. It’s housed in the 13th-century Moriaan building, one of the oldest brick houses in the Netherlands. If you stand atop the few stairs at the entrance, you get a good overview of the triangular, brick-surfaced market area, surrounded on all sides by elegant baroque buildings. The most important guy in town—Bosch, of course—is depicted in a nearby statue. The oftlamented irony here is that the city knows few details about the artist’s life and holds none of his work. Much of it was acquired by Spain centuries ago and is now on display in Madrid’s Prado Museum, including Bosch’s most famous painting, the triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights. That makes this year’s exhibit, just up the street at Noordbrabants Museum, all the more special. Bosch’s entire known body of art comprises only 45 pieces, and some 20 paintings and 19 drawings by him will be on display February 13 to May 8. Year-round, however, you can enjoy a full series of Bosch reproductions, down to the frames, at the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center (which uses the Dutch spelling of the artist’s name). Time your visit to see the center’s whiz-bang astronomical
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In addition to hosting the Bosch anniversary exhibit, the neaby Noordbrabants features artifacts from Roman times to the recent past. It contains a first-class collection and is the only location in the province to exhibit Van Goghs. Here, a collection of the famed Dutch artist’s work includes images of his father’s parsonage, the peasant women he also featured in The Potato Eaters, and the landscape of Brabant, where the artist spent his childhood. In the last few years, the museum was renovated, enlarged, and joined by a contemporary counterpart, the Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch,
clock, a 30-foot-high reconstruction of a 1513 clock once housed in the city’s cathedral. On the hour, two sets of figures move, one on a trajectory to heaven, the other to hell. Take the elevator to the sixth floor for a view of the city from 131 feet up. Before heading from the square to the Bosch Center, pop over to the Bastion Oranje, one of Den Bosch’s bastions along its fortified walls, first erected in the 13th century to protect the city from enemies and flooding. The walls, built up over centuries before falling into disrepair, are now being restored. At one time, more than a dozen windmills stood atop the fortification. But now, sadly, the city doesn’t have a single molen left, though there is a move afoot to rebuild one. AAA.COM
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connected through a hallway. The Stedelijk, which focuses on craft, offers an attention-grabbing interior featuring wavy walls of stacked plywood. At this point, my friends would say, enough culture, let’s eat (and then shop). As luck would have it, the outstanding museum café, the Museumbrasserie, features a cozy art-filled interior and a patio spilling onto a lovely courtyard. As for shopping, just outside is Verwersstraat, a centuries-old street lined with boutiques and galleries. I’ve saved the best for last. Den Bosch’s highlight is the architectural masterpiece St. John’s Cathedral, one of the best-known churches in the country. While many people think of the Netherlands as a Protestant country, the south is largely Catholic, which Den Bosch proves with its rollicking annual carnival. The church, adorned with 600 statues inside and out, was built between 1380 and 1530. The exterior is decorated with dozens of wondrous creatures reaching toward the heavens and imposing gargoyles looking down. The best view in town is from outside of the bell tower, which you can reach on a 218-step tour that will take you past 11 large bells—the heaviest weighs 5.5 tons. The tower is 239 feet high, but public access stops at 141 feet, plenty high for fantastic views. After all this climbing, walking, and standing, I have just the remedy for your aches and pains—head to Mariapaviljoen, a lively restaurant housed in a wing of the former city hospital. The airy rooms are tricked out with all sorts of medical artifacts, from tables made of gurneys to framed anatomical charts and odd illustrations. I’d like to think that Hieronymus, who once lived around the corner on the market square, would have approved. Diane Daniel lives in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, and writes for The New York Times and The Washington Post.
A Garden of Earthly Delights Information on boat tours and museums is available at vvvdenbosch .nl/en. Bosch anniversary events are posted at bosch500.nl. SLAPEN/SLEEPING If you prefer to stay in the middle of the action, Golden Tulip Hotel Central, right on the market square, is the place. Rooms are modern, service is friendly, and breakfast is bountiful. Doubles start at about $118. hotel-central .nl. The Hotel ‘t Keershuys, once a 14th-century candle factory, is now a boutique hotel that beautifully blends historical features such as exposed brick and beams with contemporary amenities on a lovely street in the town center. Doubles start at about $142. keershuyshotel.nl. ETEN/EATING Take your sense of humor to Mariapaviljoen, whose medical theme hails from its past as a hospital wing. The menu of small plates make it best for lunch and afternoon snacks, including sandwiches, crostini, and cheese plates. Lunch prices start at about $10 per person. mariapaviljoen .nl. The one-Michelin-starred restaurant Sense excels in modern, clean, and light French and international dishes, such as scallops with truffle sauce and steak tartare. Dinner options start with a four-course meal at about $53. senserestaurant.nl. You can’t leave town without a stop at Jan De Groot to sample a Bossche Bol, the cream and chocolate pastry originating from Den Bosch. One softball-sized pastry, about $2.50. bosschebollen.nl. At press time, the exchange rate was $1= €0.93. Your AAA travel agent can provide trip-planning information. Visit your AAA branch, call (800) 814-7471, or go to AAA.com/explore.