How to Eat a Bossche Bol

The Bossche Bol, a Dutch Delight

Detail from Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights

's-Hertogenbosch is a city in the southern Netherlands. It's the capital of the province of North Brabant. For short, everyone calls it Den Bosch, which means the forest. This city is famous for being the birthplace of the imaginative 16th century painter Hieronymous Bosch. One of his most  famous paintings is The Garden of Earthly Delights, a depiction of the afterlife. This very strange painting shows scenes from both heaven and hell. Hieronymous had a unique style. He was painting the surreal 400 years before Surrealism was invented!

Besides being famous for being Hieronymous' birthplace, Den Bosch is famous for being the birthplace of a culinary earthly delight called the Bossche Bol. This delicious concoction is about the size of a tennis ball, with a flat bottom. The Bossche Bol is made of a hollow pastry shell that's filled with whipped cream, then coated with a layer of chocolate. It's acceptable to eat one with your fingers, but that's a messy affair. I have a new friend, an American who lives in Den Bosch, who treated me to one of these delicious pastries at Den Otter, a wonderful patisserie on Visstraat, a short walk from the train station.

She demonstrated how she eats a Bossche Bol, with a knife and fork. That seemed like a good idea, so I followed her example. Lekker!

We went on a walking tour of the old streets of this fortress city. The river Dieze runs through Den Bosch, and it's possible to take a boat tour on the part called the Binnendieze that runs through and under the city (binnen means inner). The boats operate from April to October, and my friend says it's a great way to tour the old city.

Many of Den Bosch's oldest buildings are made of brick, the construction material of choice for most of the Netherlands in the old days. An arch over the door of one brick house that we passed had the year 1649 carved in the stone. Those beautiful 350+ year old handmade bricks have stood the test of time.











We stopped in the beautiful Sint Janskathedraal, a massive 16th century church that is considered to be the height of Gothic architecture in the Netherlands. The interior is painted in lovely light colors, more appealing than some of the dark Gothic cathedrals we've seen in other places. The ceiling was so beautiful. 

Sint Janskathedraal, 's-Hertogenbosch

At the center of the cathedral there's a crossing tower. A curious eye in a triangle decorates the ceiling. There was something so familiar about this symbol…where had I seen it before?

I later learned that this is The Eye of Providence, a symbol for the all-seeing God. It was familiar because it appears on the US one dollar bill. Also, we've seen it used in recent movies- National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code. The Eye of Providence has been used as a symbol of the Christian Trinity since medieval times.

There was another curious thing to see in Sint Janskathedraal. Its Kerststal (nativity).

Following the kerststal route sign in the church, we came upon a series of sculpted figures. The first ones we encountered had lumpy, diseased looking skin. I suggested that these must be lepers. But I didn't remember there being any lepers mentioned in the Nativity story.

A welcoming kangaroo

There were other statues to come. All of them had the lumpy diseased look! That's when we realized this must be an artistic statement. The statues were well done, but kind of creepy. Continuing on along the kerststal route we passed between two mock-castle turrets, under a stuffed kangaroo perched on a board above. Things were getting interesting.

Beyond the kangaroo gate we passed through an amazing display of taxidermy. Peeking out of the impressive display of holiday greenery in this fantastic kerststal there was an ostrich, a llama, a badger, a small giraffe, a wild boar, a leopard, a variety of sheep and goats, some deer, a camel, an alligator…an alligator?

I like this idea. When I get home I'm adding an alligator to my Nativity Creche. I hope he'll get along with the sheep, the donkey, and the three camels.