Tilburg

Wednesday 18 July

Today is another travelling day. This time to Tilburg to see Cathy and Frank. As we were leaving the hotel this morning we met a couple who had arrived the night before and were looking for the nearest tram station. We got talking to them. After making the embarrassing mistake of asking them which part of Australia they were from, we found they were, in fact, West Coast farmers enjoying a few weeks break. Oh well. We were helpful and could show them a few things we had enjoyed during our five day stay,  as we trundled towards Amsterdam Central Station.

It was easy enough to find tickets and the right train. Again we found ourselves travelling through a town we’d seen before. This time Utrecht. We changed trains at some point and didn’t even need to change platforms during a ten minute break. The train that was to pass through Tilburg came on time; perhaps even slightly early.

The Train trundles in ...

Cathy and Frank picked us up in their car and took us to their home on the outskirts of Tilburg- another quite forested area of The Netherlands. We took a walk after lunch through a nearby park. In the centre was a piece of artwork known as the grotto. It’s actually a tearooms, a dark glass structure with impressive reflections of the park which makes it almost disappear. Inside is like a real grotto, a cave-like structure. We stopped and had a coffee and watched the dogs playing for a while. We walked around a pond and headed back along the forest trail.

We settled to a very convivial meal together this evening which both Cathy and their son Mark had prepared. We listened to selections of Diana Krall and Elvis Costello. Later on, we retired to the attic room, conscious of the very narrow and typically Dutch winding staircase. It’s a sweet room with traces of Mark’s passion- his guitars and mixing gear.

Thursday 19 July

We decided today we’d head to the renowned Pont Gallery. It’s a modern art gallery built in an old textile factory. We’d been dropped off early by Frank, so we decided that instead of waiting in the cool wind and showers, we’d head down to a textile museum. What a great idea. Here we found old working looms, spinning wheels, design machines, vats for dyes, samples of carpets, fabrics and blankets and even a modern laser cutter.  Now this factory operates on a smaller scale and also appears to allow volunteers and hobbyists in to design and create their own fabrics and carpets. We came across a man, for example, who was gluing the backing to a mat based on a painting his daughter had drawn when she was five. This was a major factory for blankets between 1910 and 1940 so I guess had a large part to play during both wars. I was particularly impressed by the fineness of the linens so bought a wee souvenir sample.

The Pont Gallery is impressive in quite a different way. We loved the space and the way some of the exhibits interacted with the environment. I've taken a few shots to give an idea.

After two museums, we had worked up an appetite. There was a lovely lunch place where we ate turkey salad (Cathy and me) and seafood salad (S). The weather wasn’t trustworthy enough to sit outside, so we found a window seat which looked out over the deck and large kiwifruit vine.

After lunch we walked towards the centre of town where the setting up of a large fair was in process. Very large. There were people setting up at least two roller coasters, a ferris wheel, a number of merry-go-rounds, a ghost train, dodgems, and many other playground rides; all of which looked rather incongruous against the 400 year old church and various other buildings making up this historic part of town. Cathy lead us to a small van Gogh museum where the artist trained as a young boy. Up another windy Dutch staircase we entered the actual room where he would have sat and learned some basic drawing skills.

Cathy had a last favourite café to show us before we met Frank and headed back “home.” Cathy has suggested pizzas tonight. A great idea. We’re finding things very relaxing and are looking forward to another convivial night in.