Relaxing in Den Bosch

We have had a very nice day here in 's-Hertogenbosch (locally called and much easier to pronounce as Den Bosch) and we kept saying to each other, "We really like this town". Then Terry said "Why? it's not that much different than others". Well it does have a unique network of small canals under the city and a good little tour run by volunteers, a grand Cathedral (of course) but one of the first not made out of brick and more ornate as it stayed mainly Catholic, and a pretty intact set of walls as it was once an impregnable fortress town surrounded by marshes until the attackers diverted the river, built a long dike and drained the marshes – only the Dutch could do that. We were here on a Saturday which is market day and the weather was nice and everyone was out and about. All the cafes, and there are many, were packed with people sitting outside and meeting friends. It may have been our mood but it seemed that people were even more relaxed and easy going than other places in Holland, which is not to say the others aren't as the Dutch seem to be uniformly happy and friendly, it just felt good. We also had a very nice dinner in a modern restaurant, and we still got fries as a side. So we'll stay today (Sunday) get some washing done and relax some more.