Bon matin from Brussels! I’m currently enjoying a slow morning at my friends’ place in the Schaerbeek neighborhood, where singer Jacques Brel was born. On good advice, I started the day with a Jacques Brel soundtrack to get the mood right. Later I’ll go exploring, then join my friends Maud and Etienne to see a play in French at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles. But more on that another time, today we’re going back in time to Tilburg!
Connection
Sometimes when traveling, you meet people and think “They’re cool, it was nice hanging out. We won’t keep in touch but I hope they have a good life.” Other times “They were a good host, now I’m moving on” or “Meh, we didn’t connect but I appreciate that they hosted me.” Sometimes you think “We could be friends if we lived closer, but oh well,” or you keep in touch online, plan to visit again, and/or consider them a good friend even if your relationship is mostly virtual. And sometimes it’s the combination of place and person collectively that you connect with, that draws you back.
There’s an understanding that connections among travelers are fluid; there isn’t an expectation to keep in touch every day or visit each other, but if you vibe in the right ways you can pick up where you left off any time with no hard feelings if it has been months or years; you’re welcome at their place, they at yours. Here I am right now as I write this, staying with cyclists I spoke to for maybe 20 min. at a campground one year ago. When the vibe is right, you know you can reconnect.
Sometimes you click in other ways. It’s not “I’ll visit this person again sometime in the future” but more like “Oh, we vibe, I need to do something about this.” Sometimes you extend your stay, cancel your flight home, or alter your trip to hang out more. You keep in touch long after you’ve left, and maybe even make a music video when two of those special people get married to each other during COVID. These deeper connections are rare, but they’re genuine, wonderful, and part of the reason I love being a traveler rather than a tourist. Often the connections are platonic, sometimes romantic, always the stuff of story books. What new connections will I make today?
Return to Tilburg
Suffice to say, I had one of those “Oh, we vibe, I need to do something about this” interactions when I went to Tilburg, paired with the charm of the location itself. You might recall that I was there less than 24 hours on my visit, and I had a super time touring the city with Niels on Wheels. When I was leaving, it seemed natural to say “I’ll be passing here on my way back to Amsterdam in April,” while he said “Do you want to leave anything here, so you don’t have to carry it on your trip?” Yeah, I was definitely coming back (I didn’t leave any stuff, btw, to stay fully in control of my travels).
We kept in touch after I left. I can’t say I’d ever burnt my fingers keeping in touch with someone before (read that story in my Brugge entry), but there’s a first time for everything. You can’t burn your fingers swapping travel stories with someone and NOT see them again! So two weeks later, when I wasn’t having an amazing time at the Workaway and he had Friday off, it seemed only right to wrap up my work early on Thursday and hop on a bus to begin a five-hour trek to Tilburg for a weekend of adventures!
Sidenote: There was a volunteer at the Workaway named Bas, who is from Tilburg’s “rival” city, Breda. Niels has a cat whose name translates as dog, Bas has a dog named cat, both of them independently said “It’s Brabant humor” when I remarked about the name choices. When I told Bas I was going to visit someone in Tilburg he remarked: “How is it possible you know someone in Tilburg? Nobody goes to Tilburg!” I had a lot of fun dropping Tilburg facts at the Workaway, serving as self-appointed Tilburg ambassador while Bas shook his head in disbelief. 🤣 (PS: Tilburg is legitimately a cool place; as ambassador I recommend that you visit).
Aldous Harding
March 23, 2023
“Is there any chance you could be arriving at tilburg central station around 6pm ???”
Hmmmmm what was this? If I could get to Tilburg by 6, there was surprise waiting. What could it be? If you do some detective work reading this blog you’ll solve the mystery, like I did. At 1 PM I left the brewery with a smile on my face; I was going to an Aldous Harding concert in Utrecht!!!
Or was I…? Hours later, the engine stalled on the train I was riding, and I was stuck meters from where I had to transfer. The first time I went to Tilburg my train was canceled because of a snowstorm, now my train was stuck with a stalled engine. Dutch trains don’t make it easy to get to Tilburg! Eventually the train restarted, reached the Breda station, and – after a few minutes of the conductors trying to get the doors open – I sprinted as fast as I could to the transfer. Phew – made it!
I happily reunited with Niels at the Tilburg station. We grabbed food, ran into two of his friends who happened to be going to the concert, and then we were off!
Aldous Harding is an indie folk singer-songwriter from Lyttelton, New Zealand.
Lyttelton…when Niels revealed this surprise I got goosebumps. I’m doing this EuroTrip partially in memory of Andrew, a friend I met while couchsurfing in Lyttelton, NZ, and I’m going to Austria later this month to visit my friend/his widow Marlene to give her a long-overdue hug in real life. Needless to say, it felt extremely special when Niels invited me to a concert by a folk artist from the town where I met the person I’m doing this trip in memory of. Dank je wel times a million, Niels, and rest in peace Andrew.
The concert was amazing. I loved being there live, and everything about the entire experience. “Old Peel” is my new favorite Aldous Harding song.
The train ride back featured an amazing conversation about Tilburg history and Dutch language dialects. For those interested, check out this amazing website Niels’ friend shared with regional dialects and recorded conversations. What a treasure trove!
Cycling, Trappists, Movie Night
March 24, 2023
Gooooood morning! In advance of my arrival, Niels recommended some bike adventures we could do (sidenote: I am always SO HAPPY to find people with adventurous, outdoor-loving spirits similar to mine; it’s sort of rare and awesome when I don’t have to wonder if my itch to explore is too much). The area around Tilburg is rich with natural beauty, and on two wheels you can reach beautiful places. Sadly we ran out of time/good weather to see everything on the list, but I hope to return and explore more.
We began the adventure by walking around the city and finding more symbols of Tilburg’s kruikezeiker (“jar pisser”) pride. A statue of the iconic jar pisser image in someone’s front window, a big “kruikezeiker” statue near the station, a plaque, and stores displaying Tilburg’s orange and green colors from recent Carnaval celebrations (when Noord-Brabant cities embrace their historical nicknames full-force). We rented a bike for me, stopped at a grocery store for picnic supplies, visited a lovely community garden, and rode a nice cycle path to a lake. After cycling through the woods we enjoyed a tasty lunch and hiked around the lake. We found wild mushrooms, a cool beetle, a tiny frog, birds, bees, and lovely trees. Happiness 😊
After the lake we continued on bikes to La Trappe Brewery/Brouwerij De Koningshoeven, one of only two Trappist monasteries in the Netherlands – and 11 worldwide – where monks brew beer on site. Also the only Trappist monastery that allows you to tour the grounds? I found conflicting sources about those numbers, so take them with a grain of salt. La Trappe was founded in the late 19th century by an order of monks who left Northern France to escape anti-religious sentiments and settled on a space consisting of three farms and a sheep pen in Tilburg in 1881. They constructed a brewery in 1884 to earn income to build an abbey on site, which they completed in 1894. The monks don’t keep any extra money they make from their beer; they use what is needed to sustain the monastery and donate the rest to charity.
Niels and I strolled the grounds learning the Trappist history. It’s a lovely place to stroll (seriously, this is a place to enjoy your surroundings and take your time). Then we visited the tasting room. We ordered bread and cheese the monks make on site using their own beer, plus traditional Dutch bitterballen, essentially fried cheese balls (typically these include meat, but meatless for me). If there is one thing I’ve learned about Dutch cuisine, it’s that it’s not very healthy; tons of bread, cheese, fried things, beer, and sugar 😝 I got the “Puur” organic beer to go with the meal, and Niels helped me translate a poem on the menu about living in the moment and appreciating silence. Wise advice. It was an enjoyable afternoon in good company 🙂
Before wrapping up the adventure we cycled to a graffiti tunnel. Niels sometimes gives graffiti workshops and knows many local street artists, so he shared stories about some of the tags on the wall, then we tried to climb an artsy stairway that seemed to appear out of nowhere. I think we could have gotten up, but the drop down would have been a bit much for me. Drat! Then Niels taught me how to jump on and off my bike Dutch-style, which was awesome. I have to practice, but I’ll get it!
This was a fun day. I’m always happy riding a bike and hiking outside, and it was cool to learn more Tilburg history too. Niels is a big movie collector (over 2000 DVDs!), so to wrap up the day – after getting over his shock at how few movies I’d seen from his collection -, he made a delicious dinner and we watched The Shawshank Redemption on his projector with his cute cat Kutya (“Dog” in Hungarian). I understand why this film is a classic; if you haven’t seen it, check it out!
After the movie Niels gave me a sneak peek of what I’d see at a place called De Efteling, because…
De Efteling
March 25, 2023
Once upon a time when I was first planning this trip, I stumbled across De Efteling online and thought “Oh, I’d like to check that out.” Visiting a theme park alone isn’t my idea of fun, so I posted on a Facebook group called “Solo Female Travelers” to see if anyone wanted to join. A few people said “De Efteling is awesome, definitely go!” but no one could make it, so I gave up the plan. But then…
When I knew I wanted to go back to Tilburg, I’d looked on the map to see what cool things were nearby, and to my surprise De Efteling was practically next door! I texted Niels about it and he basically exploded with excitement, as did every other Dutchie and Belgian I mentioned it to; everyone seems to have fond memories of this iconic theme park. It was only right that we plan a day to visit De Efteling, and Saturday was the winner! As we were walking out the door I mentioned that it reminded me a little of Epcot. Try explaining Epcot to a non-American who only knows DisneyWorld as an overall concept; it’s hilarious. “You know, the place with the giant golf ball…No, there isn’t anything about Mickey Mouse, but you can learn about technology in the golf ball and visit different countries…” 🤣
If you go to De Efteling, I highly recommend bringing a Dutch or Belgian person; watching Niels get excited and nostalgic about different parts of the park was so entertaining! We had fun riding roller coasters, attempting poses for cameras on the coasters, and even going on classic kiddie rides. There is an iconic theme song which will be forever stuck in your head after riding Carnaval Festival; it’s essentially the Dutch equivalent of the “It’s A Small World” ride at Disney and it’s a very sticky earworm. In addition to the rides, De Efteling has a fairy tale forest. It was interesting to see classic fairy tales portrayed and getting another reminder of how casual Europeans are about nudity; Ariel doesn’t have a shell bra in this version of the Little Mermaid! There were stories I was unfamiliar with too, like the tale of the dancing red shoes.
De Efteling is smaller than the average American theme park (what isn’t?), and with the size difference comes smaller, less epic roller coasters, but also shorter lines! I laughed when Niels said we might have to wait on some long lines; turns out a long line at De Efteling is a short line at most American theme parks. 30 min. was the longest we waited, and he said on busy days the wait can be up to one hour – still short compared to a long wait at a US park. The one exception was waiting to ride the wooden roller coaster. We waited in line until we were up to the coaster itself but never got a chance to ride; the wind kept shutting it down.
The small size of De Efteling has another perk: If you lose the pouch containing your passport, credit card, and cash, no need to panic, just go to the food court where you think you left it and the staff will have it for you. Holy moly, I am very grateful it was there, with nothing missing! (I keep another ID, spare cash, and card in a separate place in case of this exact situation…never put all your important stuff in one bag!)
We wrapped up the day at De Efteling by sharing a plate of ‘t poffertjes – small Dutch pancakes with powered sugar. Niels was insistent that these were not true poffertjes; not all poffertjes are created equal. I guess I’ll have to try them again, but first I need to eat more fruits and veggies. It’s difficult to eat healthy here!
De Efteling is a fun place. I see why it’s popular, but I think its theme and art style would fail in the US; the average American wants more flashiness and cartoon-iness. In fact, when I posted photos of the park on my Instagram, it was only Americans who commented on the “old” style of the statues.
My main criticism of De Efteling is the portrayal of Arabs in one of the older rides, in which you ride a boat while an evil sorcerer laughs and points a wand at you. As you ride, you pass scenes depicting some generic Arab country, with all the men looking evil, and a few women acting as eye candy to dance for them. At one point you go by a scene of a man forcefully pulling out another man’s tooth while he moans and pleads from his position locked in a chair. Then a man points a rifle at you and starts shooting while laughing. It was interesting discussing this cultural portrayal with Niels, since he has been to the park many times since childhood and never thought twice about it; he’d seen it so often that it never crossed his mind to question it. For me it was a bit shocking to see this, especially on a kiddie ride. There is a newer “Arabian Nights”-inspired ride that is not evil-looking, but this one caught me off guard. Maybe it’s time for an update, De Efteling?
Regardless, I had fun at De Efteling and it was worth the visit. I wish we’d gotten to ride the wooden roller coaster and that we could have ridden other coasters more than once before the wind shut them down; we still have to master our sleeping-on-the-ride pose! It was a fun day and I’m glad I got to experience this Dutch classic.
We had one last ride from the station to Niels’ place: Dutch style cycling on one bike! Niels taught me a trick so I could jump on and off the bike rack at stoplights. Again, something to master with practice. Now I just need to learn to sit sideways on the rack like the Dutch girls!
2eHands
March 26, 2023
On a sleepy Sunday, we made our way into town for Tweedehands het Festival 2023, a second-hand thrifting festival. First stop: LocHal, the Tilburg library!
I have to pause here to emphasize this: I love libraries. My parents chose the town where I grew up because of the local library (voted the best on Long Island), and I have “library friends” who I met at the library. I frequent libraries and their amazing resources and programs everywhere I live, and they will always have a fond place in my heart. Libraries are wonderful.
Niels did not know this detail of my life, yet he thought it was important that we visit the library. Absolutely 100% yes, let’s go! With great pride he explained that LocHal was voted the best and most beautiful library in the entire country, and as he showed me around I understood why; it’s easily in my top five libraries, maybe even higher on the list. I wish I’d saved time Monday morning before leaving to hang out in the library; I’m confident I could spend many happy hours there.
We didn’t spend hours, but we did take time exploring, as Niels pointed out old railway steel beams, pulleys used to lift old train cars, train beds that the tables are built on, etc. The library stands at the spot in the Spoorzone that was once a glass and steel locomotive shed, and rather than tear it down, a studio called Civic Architects built the library using what was already there in 2019. It’s truly impressive, and every corner has something to see. We explored an exhibit in the Tilburg heritage section in which local residents recorded videos sharing memories about working at the old train depot. We also found an old magazine featuring information about the assassination attempt on “The Jew Hunter,” who I wrote about in my previous Tilburg entry, and there were interactive portions where we could suggest ways to improve Tilburg’s community programming and historical presentations. I wrote a response in Dutch with Niels’ assistance wishing for more linguistic accessibility for anglophone visitors (or they can hire Niels to translate for everyone, hehe). What a special place that library is! Click here to see photos and learn more.
Next stop: Hall of Fame, where the skate park I wrote about last time lives. Today the building was transformed for the festival, so we stopped in to have a look before heading to the palace, which was open to the public for the first time in I don’t know how long (a long time, because Niels thought it was a big deal). It was cool to walk inside and see the second-hand wedding dresses being sold (the palace is a popular place for weddings, so it makes sense that it would be the wedding thrifting spot for the festival). Upstairs we saw a film about how church spaces are being reimagined throughout the Netherlands, as less people attend mass. The film showed different churches from the same camera angle and weaved together a narrative that connected and highlighted each one: A trampoline center, a gym, a yoga class, storage for Buddhist statues, etc. It’s cool that the Netherlands is reimagining these spaces instead of tearing them down, and the film was an effective way to showcase what’s happening. On the way out we peeked at the rooms where Vincent van Gogh had his first drawing lessons. Super cool!
We wrapped up the thrifting tour with one last stop, where I bought a new Nijntje book for 0.50€, since I’ve mastered my first one (I had one last reading test over the weekend, which I passed 😄). Back at Niels’ place we had a Lionel Hampton listening party (another rare thing – not only does Niels know what a vibraphone is, but he is a Lionel Hampton fan!!), then ventured out past a “New York Pizza” place (lol) to visit a classic Tilburg bar [I’ll fill in this name when Niels confirms it…] that has been there 100 years! This was a very local bar with a few patrons who had clearly been there awhile. I made sure to say “Haleekes!” in Tilburgs when we left. 😄
To put a cherry on top of the day we ordered delicious Indian food (hooray to be able to order spicy food to share…no need for mild!) and watched a ’90s film about a Dutch family moving to New York City called Flodders in Amerika. I recommend only watching this with a Dutchie who can explain jokes that might go over your head. 😂
Haleekes…
March 27, 2023
Sadly, I had to leave early Monday morning to catch my bus back to the Workaway. I said “Haleekes” to Niels and Kutya, but I hope it’s not goodbye. For me, travel is not so much about visiting touristy spots, but making connections, experiencing cultural immersion, being outdoors, and saying yes to adventures with cool people when we click. I really enjoyed exploring in and around Tilburg with Niels and I hope there are more adventures ahead. Dank je wel Niels, en Kutya ook!
Some final photos from my journey back to Roesbrugge. I passed through beautiful Antwerp Centraal again and spent a few hours working at the local library (the same one I posed at with Lente’s parents a few weeks ago). This time I photographed the dove/hand statue I mentioned in the Antwerp entry 😊
Carolyn's Collections 