We spent the day in s’Hertogenbosch with Willem’s old friends, the Salas. I had met them years ago while on a business trip to the Tennant office in Uden, and we also saw Dick in 2014 on our last trip to Rotterdam. It was lovely to catch up with them and spend some time just chilln’, which we did.

s’Hertogenbosch is a quaint, medieval town that dates back to the 12th century. We started out at Jan de Groot’s, a local patisserie famous for Bosche Bollen, a favorite that people come from all over to enjoy. It’s obvious why this is so. They are made from a thin pastry shell that is filled with whipped cream and covered in chocolate. They are big and round and just as good as they sound.

The “boys” talked while Marie Louise showed me around the market area. We also went to the seventeenth century cathedral, looked at the old walls of the city, and walked through the “parada”, an area where an ancient battle took place between the Spanish and the Dutch. The “parada” is now a beautiful park, with whimsical images of figures like those used in the art of Jeroen Bosch, a fifteenth century local artist.

We all met up at the Pumpke, a brasserie, where we sat outside (they had patio heaters) for hours, had wine, beer, traditional Dutch snacks, and talked about the years gone by as well as those we are living right now. The weather even cleared up, the sun came out, and the temperature went up a couple of degrees. Prima!