Mon
17
Dec

Day 41: Reunion

Tilburg, The Netherlands



At the risk of offending millions of people – but since when has that ever stopped me? – I find the written Dutch language an endless source of amusement. If you can read English and German, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to make sense of a good bit of written Dutch, too. The shared lineage is clear to see in many words; the word for dog, for example, is Hund in German, and in Dutch, it’s the snigger-inducing hond. A British dog goes woof, whereas German dogs go wau, and Dutch dogs go… waf. Sometimes whole Dutch sentences can look familiar: ik drink melk en ik eet brood needs no explanation.

I left de boot early and cycled Ron from the rivier to the trein station to undertake a short diversion from my steady drift westwards. My destination was the small Dutch university town of Tilburg, not your typical tourist destination; but I had an appointment to meet an old accomplice of mine.

I had met Noesha randomly on my previous round-the-world trip on a puttering slowboat to Laos. We’d got on well, finding out we both had the same kind of destructively cynical sense of humour, and so ended up traipsing through Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia as well as a touring a number of hospitals together as a result of various tropical ailments. We’d stayed in touch since, on and off, and so I was looking forward to catching up with her again on her own Dutch turf.

At Tilburg I View Photo found a few friends for Ron to hang out with and met Noesha in the cafe above the train station – the social hub of Tilburg, and purveyor of a fine selection of tosties. It was great to catch up on old times and new travels with her whilst she gave me a guided tour of Tilburg’s highlights, including, er, the Apple Store, and later that evening we went out to eat where I was given a Dutch masterclass by the waitress, being corrected over my anglicised pronunciation of the beer Hoegaarden, which I now know should be pronounced as if you are spring-cleaning your lungs and throat.


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One Response to “Day 41: Reunion”

  1. admin on February 18th, 2009 2:54 pm

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