Day 6 - Into the Netherlands

I said goodbye to Brussels, the home of the Smurfs, this morning. I am pleased to report that the Smurfs remain fully supportive of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals though.

My train to The Hague (Den Haag) today required a change at Breda, so I decided that I would stop for a few hours there to see the sights on my way. It was an excellent decision, and I would highly recommend Breda to anyone passing.

Having thankfully been able to store my rucksack at the station, I had a lovely stroll through a park into the centre, stopping off at the castle (where I got my first Dutch geocache!). The main square was filled with lovely restaurants, and the sun shone brightly as I enjoyed a delicious lunch.

I had heard it was possible to go up the tower of the Great Church, so obviously decided to do that after lunch, given that I do like to go to the highest point possible when visiting a place! It was only 287 steps today, with a couple of stops to see the bell tower in action. I can confirm that the bells work, and also that the views were very much worth it.

My only issue today has been that my Dutch is VERY limited. ChatGPT has been very useful (especially to translate geocaches!), and enough people speak enough English for us to muddle through. I might do some Duolingo Dutch tonight…..

Anyway, after a cup of tea back in the square after my trip up the tower, it was back to the station for the final bit of the trip to Den Haag - just 40 minutes or so away. I’m looking forward to a quiet evening when I get there!

Countries: 🇬🇧🇧🇪🇳🇱

Distance by train: 705km

Belgium 🇧🇪 Geocaches - final total: 7 trads, 12 virtuals and 144 AdLabs

Dutch 🇳🇱 Geocaches - 1 trad, 12 AdLabs

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