Greetings from Brugge (Bruges in English). I’m currently sitting in a tiny bar where the server doesn’t speak any English, but never fear! I successfully asked if she had tea, she showed me the choices, and I asked where the bathroom was, all in Dutch. She asked if I also speak French, so I paid in French, even though I’m confident I would have recognized the numbers in Dutch too. It’s soooo interesting to sit here listening to local Belgians speaking with their regional accent. It’s very different than what I’ve heard elsewhere in Belgium, but I already knew this would be the case in West Vlaams, since I’ve heard this regional accent from Dries (of past adventures on this blog). It’s so cool to now hear it in Belgium. But…back to the Netherlands for this blog…
Tilburg Tour: Nighttime Edition
March 10, 2023
When we left off, I was shivering in not-enough-clothes-for-unexpected-freezing-weather, disappointed to leave my new bike behind and trying to warm up on the train headed toward Tilburg, in the North Brabant region of southern Netherlands. I got stuck for awhile in Utrecht after a train was canceled, but finally made it to Tilburg. I love leaving a train station in a new place, glancing briefly at Google Maps, and walking confidently in the right direction without looking at my phone much. I was able to do that in Tilburg, and before I knew it I’d arrived at the home of Niels on Wheels!
Niels connected with me through a platform I was trying for the first time, BeWelcome. Niels, who had been on Couchsurfing before BW, saw my post about my trip and messaged me with a strong case for visiting southern Netherlands. It almost didn’t happen; if I hadn’t bought a bike in Utrecht I would have chosen to stay at the cat-sitting position a few days more – especially considering the snowstorm – and then gone directly to Belgium. The bike motivated me to leave Amsterdam early, since I’d travel slower on two wheels. So in a way, even though I had to leave it behind, I wouldn’t have gotten to see Tilburg and meet Niels if not for that bike.
Niels is a Tilburg local, born and raised. He has a fluffy cat named Kutya (pronounced koo-chya), which means “dog” in Hungarian. She greeted me in her own time, and she is friendly and cute! Niels served hot tea made fresh from his garden, and we got to chat a bit. Niels is a major film buff and skilled artist with an extensive wall of DVDs, homemade plant pots created from old VHS tapes, artwork he made out of VHS tapes, etc. My favorite was a motorcycle painted on a VHS tape, with the wheels matching where the holes in a VHS are.
After getting to know each other a bit, it was time for a Tilburg tour! After all those hours shivering in the cold, I don’t know how I would have survived more hours outside with just the layers I brought, so I was happy to temporarily represent Niels’ inline skating program with an official “Niels on Wheels” sweatshirt to borrow. Awesome!
Niels describes Tilburg as a hidden gem, and I have to agree. It was so cool (literally and figuratively) to get Part 1 of this Tilburg tour at night; it gave the experience a really hip vibe, and I’m happy to say I was warm enough to handle the weather thanks to the extra layer. Niels is very knowledgeable about his hometown and presents information in a way that makes it interesting and memorable (in a good way). Here are some fun facts I learned:
- Vincent van Gogh history:
- Van Gogh took his first drawing lessons in Tilburg. He lived there from age 11-13 to attend school, and there is a plaque outside the house he stayed at.
- Also outside the house he stayed at is a statue of…his brother. It was supposed to be a silhouette of him, but it was modeled after a photo of his brother by accident.
- Also also outside that house is a “social sofa.” This is a public place designed for people to sit and talk to one another. Niels told me that he used to sit on it often, and random people would also sit and strike up a conversation. Now this concept and particular style of bench art is common worldwide, but it started in Tilburg.
- Bike history!
- Tilburg is home to the Netherlands’ first “Demonstration Cycle Route,” a car-free bicycle path through the middle of the city (where five streets intersect in Tilburg today). It was opened in 1977, followed shortly by another in The Hague.
- WWII history:
- Tilburg was home to “The Jew Hunter.” Piet Gerrits, their chief of police was notorious for riding his bike on the same streets every day, hoping to catch more Jews. Tilburg had a decently-sized resistance movement, and some of the leaders of the movement decided to organize an assassination. Niels took me to the very spot where the men waited for Gerrits to pass, but unfortunately he must have been tipped off about their plan because he rode his bike from the other direction and caught them. It’s illegal to be out after curfew, so the tale has a sad ending…
- Tilburg has its own Anne Frank, though she doesn’t have the same fame. Her name was Helga Deen and we know her story through letters she wrote to her boyfriend while in hiding.
- City quirks:
- If you know where to look, you can find a crosswalk light in Tilburg with interesting figures on it. When the light is green, there is an image of a person holding a jar. When the light is red, an image of someone pissing in a jar!
- During the four days of Carnival each year, Tilburg residents proudly bear the badge of “Jar Pissers.” I say proudly because it’s an homage to the city’s history. Tilburg was known for its wool production, but wool factories needed a way to clean and prepare the wool. They realized that urine worked well due to the ammonia in it, so they started a system. Woolmakers asked residents to piss in alcohol jugs after they were done drinking from them, and they’d buy the jars. It was a win for everyone!
- Visit the public water fountain in Tilburg and you’ll notice something odd: It might be green or another color from food dye, or it might be completely sudsy from laundry detergent. This is an ongoing prank in Tilburg; that fountain will probably never run clear again!
- Tilburg has its own Banksy! If you know where to look, you can find public artwork high up on a wall, or half hidden in a corner. Not everyone knows who leaves these mysterious paintings, but I do 😉
- Language:
- People in the Noord-Brabant region speak differently than those in Holland (northern Netherlands). Their style of speech is almost more Flemish, with softer g’s and r’s, and less intense speech overall. I quite like those softer sounds of the Flemish dialect, so this was a nice change after hearing Dutch in northern Netherlands.
- Even more specifically, Tilburg has its own local dialect. If you speak it, Dutch people from even just 5 km down the road might not understand! Unfortunately this dialect is dying out as more people adapt a more standard Dutch. Even Niels – who speaks the Tilburg dialect – said there are words his grandmother used to say that he never learned.
- Nuns:
- Tilburg is home to a unique building; a monastery (not a convent) for nuns. Nuns in general have a pretty badass history in the Netherlands, and the same is true in Tilburg.
- The King:
- The school that Vincent van Gogh attended is named after King Willem II, who ruled from 1840-1849. King Willem II did a lot of things that were considered good for the Netherlands, but there was one problem…he was gay. Northern Dutch people tended to be very unaccepting of this, while southern Dutch people (especially in Tilburg) felt like “He’s doing good things for the country, who cares about what he does personally.” For this reason he spent a lot of time in Tilburg, and wrote that he felt more free and comfortable there. The white palace in the photos below was built on his order as a hunting palace, but he died before it was finished. He donated it to the people of Tilburg with the request that it become a school bearing his name.
I’m sure there were more fun facts, but those are the ones most fresh in my head. There is also tons of interesting architecture in Tilburg, many of which is pre-art deco of the late 1800s, which I’ll share in photos. Niels was great about pointing out different styles and time periods in the architecture. The most interesting to me is when buildings have clever designs holding the bricks together, instead of the more standard metal bars you see on some buildings.
During the tour I also learned more about Niels’ life as an inline skater and instructor, and when he asked if I wanted to see the indoor skatepark/community center where he volunteers, of course the answer was yes! Super cool to visit it and hang out for some Belgian beers and conversation before we began the walk back. We even crashed a concert for a few minutes! I felt like I got a really good introduction to Tilburg in just those first few hours.
The Story Continues
March 11, 2023
I wound up talking to Niels late into the night after we got back, so Saturday was a day to sleep in. When I finally awoke, the sun was shining bright – the first time on my entire trip! With the warm sun guiding the way, we went to the Saturday market to eat “kibbeling,” a Dutch specialty of fried cod with special seasoning and sauce. While I’m not a big fan of fried foods, it was cool to try something local; it was by far the most popular item at the fish stand.
I witnessed a little show when two women sat at a table near us with raw herring. “Watch this, they’re going to eat it the traditional way,” Niels predicted, and I gaped as one woman proceeded to tilt back her head and put the entire fish in her mouth. Apparently this is the true Dutch way to eat herring. It’s served raw on a bed of chilled onions, and you stick your head back and hope a seagull doesn’t swoop in as you lower the fish into your mouth. I’ll stick to kippeling, alsjeblieft 😝 The market also has a cheese vendor with a 1€ cheese table, so though I’m not a huge fan of cheese, I bought some to sample and share.
Next, a walk to the harbor, the park, and even a local thrift store. I bought a 2€ warm sweater to combat all this freezing weather, and I had a great time deciding on a children’s book in Dutch to buy, for practice. I chose Nijntje Vliegt by the famous Dutch writer Dick Bruna. Niels found a Nijntje book written in the Brabantic dialect, which he was thrilled about. He read me some of the Nijntje books in the shop and I knew I had to bring one home. Later when we got back to his place we had a full-on reading fest; I read my book aloud slowly and asked what words meant, then he read the whole thing at regular speed and explained the story as he went. Same with the Brabantic book, except with extra moments of laughter and amusement at some of the word choices. He suspects it was written by someone from Amsterdam trying to write Brabantic style, not a true North Brabant native.
My visit to Tilburg was only one night, since Lente’s parents were awaiting my arrival in Morstel. I had such a good time from start to finish and am definitely glad I made the trip to Tilburg. When other Dutch or Belgian people hear that I went to Tiburg they are always surprised, since it’s not exactly on the radar of tourists. I’m really glad I did; it was a side of the Netherlands I would have missed completely if not for this stop.
Dank je wel Niels (en Kutya) voor alles. You rock. Houdoe!
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