Rainy Day in ‘s-Hertogenbosch

Well, as promised after the Divas Day Out in Den Bosch I finally got around to working on the photos.  I am glad I didn’t bring my good camera, but they didn’t turn out too bad with the point and shoot.

There was shopping. Lots and lots of shopping… It started at LUSH where Paule and Penny were quite keen to visit.  I spent the entire time poking at and playing with the Shower Jellies, weirdest things ever.  I thought it was all a bit expensive for what you get.  I’m not yet convinced.

There was also more jewelry shopping, where I got some really cool stuff I will write about later.  Bijou Brigitte is my favorite place to shop for jewelry.  Cheap, funky jewelry… love it!

We also visited St Jan Cathedral, which was under construction at the moment but still very beautiful.

Getting photos from the outside was quite tricky, as it was raining, but I had to at least try.  I wasn’t as worried with my point and shoot as I would have been with my more expensive camera.

Even Penny and Paule got their cameras out for this one.  Though I suspect we’ll not see those photos anytime soon!  They aren’t really a shutterbug like I am.

The inside was quite lovely, but it’s being renovated which has everything a little scattered.  The dim light made for a photography challenge with my little Exilim!  It was strangely cold in there too, you could see your breath even.

As with a lot of these old churches, there was no short supply of stained glass… I wish I’d taken the time to get more photos of the windows.  I will make a point of that on my next visit!

The candles always make me think of my grandmother and all the other loved ones I’ve lost over the years. Even though I’m not at all religious something about it still touches my heart.

I wish I had gotten more photos from in and around the city, but it was so rainy that we spent most of our time dashing from shop to shop.  It was beautiful there though and I can only imagine what it’s like on a sunny spring day.  We are already making plans to return to really get a better view of the area.

I also want to get more photos of the train station.

I managed to take these photos quickly just after I arrived there in the afternoon, and just before I left in the evening.  The station is quite cool with a mixture of really modern aspects and glimpses of the old as well.  It’s a fairly big station, the first photo is just the platform where I got off my train, after you go up the escalator there is a long walkway with some shops and places to get food.  The walkway leads to more escalators that you can see in the lower photo, which lead out into the city center.

From what I can tell ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) is a very cool city.  It has a great balance between the old architecture but some really interesting modern shopping areas as well.  I’ve heard that there are boat rides you can take under the city.  I cannot wait to see what that is all about.