Breda is the larger town where we live. We technically live in a small village called Bavel, that is right outside of Breda. It was a beautiful weekend, so we decided to check out Breda’s city center on Saturday. We also decided to get there via the bus instead of taking the car. Taking a car can give you pause here in Europe. It’s a strange feeling coming from a city that is utterly bike and pedestrian UNfriendly. A car in Houston is your lifeline. Here it can be a nuisance. If you have a bigger car, it’s a pain to park. Then you have to pay to park almost everywhere you go, and the streets are narrow and windy. So it’s usually just easier to bike or ride the bus.
But city centers here mean lots of shopping, cafes, and always the big church that defines a city’s center. If you ever find yourself lost….look for the tallest steeple and you will find the city’s center!
We ended up walking around for about 5 hours or so, and had lunch along the way. Here are pictures of our day. Hope you enjoy them.
Here’s the big church and steeple to help keep your direction.
Strolling through the street and the shops…
Some European fashion…
Some Pubs and Cafes to quench a thirst and satisfy your hunger…
We stopped for a snack, and got a frikandel (a coveted Dutch snack). Looked hideous, but is quite delicious!! Also, it’s very common to get lunch and/or snacks out of vending machines. Quite the opposite of the ever-scary food vending machines in the states!
And there’s always flower shops with the most gorgeous arrangements!!
We were hungry and stopped for some lunch. Here, when you order iced tea – it’s carbonated! Strange, but good. The sandwich was a Ham/Kaas/Ananas Tostie (ham/cheese/pineapple toasted sandwich). These are VERY common for lunch. Then we grabbed a Belgian beer afterwards…it was quite tasty!
And there are dogs EVERYWHERE here! This pretty girl was Ika, and she was just chillin’, watching people as they passed her owners belt/shoe shop.
This building is outside of the city center, but I thought it was very interesting to look at.
And I guess if we had a hankering for something ‘American’ we can get our fix! Hahaha!
From Here to There - A Move Across an Ocean 