's Hertogenbosh, June 13

This city of about 135,000 is known as the birthplace of the famous painter Hieronymous Bosch, most famous to my generation for the painting on the cover of the first "Deep Purple" album cover, but also is home to Sint Janskathedraal, one of the finest churches in the Netherlands. It was started in 1336 as a Roman church but over 200 years of construction it gained a second tower and became one of the best examples of gothic architecture we've seen.






It is currently undergoing restoration, something that happens on a regular basis, so one section is covered in the most amazing scaffolding you've ever seen. It has to be specially constructed to take the tremendous weight of the stones being removed and replaced.


We wandered around the interior with the usual neck-craning posture.

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After lunch we took the guided tour up into the tower, getting a good, up close look at the mechanism of the clock and the carillon and a bird-eye view of the town.

In keeping with our "Tours of the Organs of Europe" theme, we attended an organ recital at the church Saturday afternoon. The "Hendrik Niehoff" was originally built in 1622 and after several restorations through the years still sounds magnificent!

Our friends Aaron and Betsy, who have been with us since we left Kudlestaart, are going to be heading home on Monday so, since there's a train station with good connections to Amsterdam just down the street, we'll be staying at least until Monday, although insurance paperwork could keep us in town a little longer. It's a beautiful town with about a jillion restaurants so we should be able to keep ourselves happy. Also, the passanten is pretty new, and at €13 per night for us, a pretty good deal. Showers are nice and nearby, water and electricity are available. Almost like home!

Something is happening with my formatting here but We're just tied up along a bank waiting for a lock. I'll take care of it later.