Hieronymus Bosch' Birthplace

Today, my good friend and ex-colleague P, who lives in Zutphen, and I decided to meet 'halfway' across The Neth in the Brabant provincial capital of 's Hertogenbosch, or Den Bosch.  Neither of us had been there for ages and wanted to see what it looked like now.  We were not disappointed.

This is the house where Hieronymus Bosch, or Geronimus Bosch, or simply Jeroen Bosch, one of the most well-known 16th-century Dutch painters, was born.  It belonged to his grandfather.  Jeroen died 500 years ago this year, and Den Bosch has been celebrating this in style.  The Jeroen Bosch exhibit has sold out to record-breaking crowds and everyone is still clamouring for more, including P and I, who were months too late for tickets.  The entire city is decorated with either entire murals of Bosch or little bits and pieces from his more famous works, one of which is called The Garden of Earthly Delights, which looks very inviting in pictures.  As you can see here, the house is now a souvenir shop.  Somewhere in front of it, and behind me, is Jeroen's statue.  Someone hung a sign nearby ... 'Jeroen, welcome home!'  By the way, 'de Kleine Winst' means 'The Small Profit'.  Very Dutch, hmm?

Actually, this house barely escaped disaster.  A few months ago, the house directly next to it exploded while it was being renovated and a great fire broke out.  Investigators still don't know what caused the blast but that this house was spared is considered to be nothing short of an overload of good luck.  Of course you can no longer see the damaged house here as it had to be completely demolished.  I posted the spot as my entry to the past week's Flickr Weekly Alphabet Challenge, the 'O' for 'Out of Order'.

P and I had a grand day, despite the chill later in the afternoon.  Took about 150 shots while we both caught up with the latest news, as well as with news we decided was no longer relevant.  She said I should visit her place, Zutphen, which is about 210 km. away to the northwest, actually close to where I used to work and where she still works -- Dutch Police Academy headquarters in Apeldoorn.  Am planning that for a free week, but only if the temperature rises.  The cold makes me tired and a 2-hour drive will already take up quite a bit of energy.

Back to the MOOCs when I got home.  Loads of work done there, and loads of progress, which is my intention as classes begin next week again.

Oh yea ... hubby passed his bridge arbiting exams with an 9!