Leonland - Leon Barnard
Chapter 7 > Return to the Netherlands
From July to December of 2000 I worked at Mars, B.V. in Veghel, a small town in the southern part of the Netherlands. When most people think of the Netherlands they think of Amsterdam - wild, uninhibited, coffee shops, the red-light district, etc. Veghel was nothing like Amsterdam, it was a very conservative agricultural and industrial area where people spoke about Amsterdam with disdain, if they spoke about it at all. I feel fortunate to have experienced a side of the Netherlands that most visitors don't see. When I moved to Europe in 2007 one of the first places I wanted to visit was the Netherlands. I wanted to show my wife all the places I got to know and relive some of my experiences there. You can see pictures from my life there in Chapter 2.
Visiting Amsterdam was always a treat for me when I lived in Veghel. It was about 2 1/2 hours away by bus and train. Our flight arrived in Amsterdam, so we spent a couple of days there before exploring the rest of the country. It was a delight, Amsterdam is a beautiful, dynamic city.
Many of the houses there are a bit off-kilter, making them even more interesting to look at.
The trams are nicer than when I lived there.
Vondelpark. An oasis.
You can probably guess where this was taken.
If you go, you should try the fries with mayo. Very tasty.
Lots of good cheese, too.
At Amsterdam Central Station, waiting to catch the train to Den Bosch.
A very pleasant, relaxing ride.
Getting oriented in Den Bosch.
Being at the train station here brought back lots of memories. I used to take a bus here from Veghel almost every time I wanted to explore somewhere new.
My first sight of Veghel, Castle Heeswijk, where I went to a party once.
Was this same map here 7 years ago? I think maybe it was.
The street I used to live on! Weird...
And a sculpture near the nicer houses in my neighborhood.
A cool sculpture in the center of Veghel. I think it has to do with the traditional Dutch system of bartering.
Another nice statue. This one also brought back a lot of memories.
The church in the center of town.
The buses are nicer, one of the few things that seems to have changed since I lived there!
Next up was Eindhoven, where I also used to spend a lot of time. It was the other city that had a train station that I could get to by bus.
Dino's, where I used to meet up with other expats on Friday nights. It recently closed down, how sad.
Once, I visited Culemborg, a small city just south of Utrecht, while I lived there and had always wanted to return.
We were there on a Sunday morning and the city center was dead quiet. The view from the one restaurant that was open then.
Waiting for the train to Utrecht.
Utrecht is a lively city in the middle of the country that's home to the largest university in the Netherlands. Even on a Sunday there were quite a few people about (although you can't tell from this photo).
I never got to try any of the many restaurants along the main canal that runs through Utrecht. Maybe on my next visit!
Posted by Leon on October 28, 2007 02:23 PM [Top of page]