Day 5 - Tuesday July 9 - Beach Day and Breda Day

Half the crew took advantage of the sunny warm weather and drove to the beach.

The other half went on a mission to find Dutch Soccer jerseys in Breda and Rosenthal.

We discovered that all the sports stores in the area ( and possibly the whole country ) are sold out of Dutch Euro jerseys, so we explored some of the medieval city of Breda.

Our first location was the Grote Kerk. In 1269, the first mention is made of a stone church 'denne stenne monster te Breda', over 750 years ago. The church is impressive from the outside and the inside. Its designation as a national monument and Top Monument Brabant is not without reason. In the Prinsenkapel with vault paintings with details of pure gold leaf, the ancestors of the Dutch royal family rest. Because the history of the royal family begins here, in Breda.  

Impressive is, among other things, the tomb of Count Engelbrecht II of Nassau and his wife Cimburga of Baden. This is namely – as far as is known – the oldest Renaissance sculpture of the Northern Netherlands. The Nassaus, the innovators of that time, brought this movement directly from Italy to Breda.

Read More about the history of this important historic site.

Back home again to our B&B to watch the Spain/France game in the evening.

No luck finding a Dutch Football jersey anywhere in Breda

My friend John passed along an interesting Cafe and Literary shop in the old part of Breda

The Grote Kerk

Big fan of choir loft benches! All over Europe and the UK, cathedrals have adorned the "underside" of the choir seats with locally significant carvings.

This gem commemorates the liberation of Breda by Polish soldiers in 1944

The Reformation brought a Protestant take over of many Catholic Churches, and resulted in the defamation of many religious articles and statues

Crypt of the Nassau family, founder  of this church and the origins of the current Dutch Royal Family

Stop for Lunch in the city square outside the church. Sampled a local IPA brew and some Bitterballen and the tastiest fries we have ever had!