Nijmegen is a small city, pop. 160,000, in the east of the Netherlands. You're unlikely to have ever heard of it - I certainly hadn't until I met Thomas - but it's now one of my favourite places on earth.
I've been visiting Nijmegen regularly for the last three-and-a-half years, because this is where Thomas was living when we first met. For nine months we conducted a long distance relationship, and I got well acquainted with the Luton-Schiphol Easyjet route. And since Thomas moved to Leicester permanently we have continued to visit regularly to see friends. Yet until now I've never properly blogged about it.
Last week we went to visit again and I was determined to finally share my love for Nijmegen. So, camera in hand, I snapped my way around the city. Get ready for some grade-A, heavy-duty, travel brochure-worthy gushing, because I really do think it's that good.
The Netherlands is a pretty awesome place generally - friendly people, almost all of whom speak perfect English, great public transport, public spaces all clean and well-maintained in a way which makes you realise how crappy and broken the UK is - and Nijmegen is no exception to the rule.
The city centre isn't as devastatingly beautiful as some other Dutch cities, as much of the Medieval core was destroyed by Allied bombs during WWII (it's within miles of the border with Germany and the theory goes that the pilots either didn't know or didn't care that they weren't flying over a German city but a Dutch one). You also won't find the 'typical' Dutch landscape: the city is pretty hilly rather than pancake-flat, and doesn't have any canals. But, in my totally biased opinion, what remains, such as the main market square and the narrow alleys around the church, is full of character and charm.
Nijmegen has a vibrant arts and music scene, with festivals and events taking place near-daily (especially throughout summer - when we were there this past weekend, we had no fewer than four festivals to choose from, including a rock music festival and a festival of organ music, showing that the offerings are nothing if not varied). When it comes to food and drink I can recommend the Mexican food at Popocatepetl, the veggie/vegan cafe at De Klinker (part of the social centre and co-housing space that Thomas used to live in), the beautiful outdoor terrace at micro-brewery De Hemel, and the bars, independent businesses and street art of the HonigComplex. It's also only a 30 minute train ride to s'-Hertogenbosch (known colloquially as Den Bos), a picture-perfect Dutch city and the home of artist Hieronymus Bosch, which is well worth a trip.
However, the beautiful architecture, outdoor terraces and Mexican food can't completely explain why first Thomas, and then I, lost our hearts to Nijmegen. The key to that is in the thriving counter-culture of street art, bands, squat bars and activist groups. It's renowned for being one of the most left-wing cities in the Netherlands and, since the refugee crisis began, has mobilised to welcome Syrian and Eritrean refugees. You can't walk 100ft in the city without seeing one of these Migrants Welcome, Racism Not stickers, which make my heart sing.
Our trip last week was one of the best we've had. We stayed with a couple of wonderfully welcoming friends and were able to catch up with almost everyone else for lunches, picnics, or drinks.
On Saturday we walked a short way out of town to visit the SMKMRKT, taking place in an ex-industrial area overlooked by a decommissioned power plant and abandoned factory buildings. In this somewhat dystopian landscape an entire festival had sprung up. Bars, food trucks, an artist's market, live music... it felt like a tiny slice of East London (but without the hipster attitude) transplanted to this small city on the edge of Holland. Happily sipping cider and eating wood-fired pizza, we watched Het Brandt, the band Thomas used to play with and still some of his best friends.
As June 23rd creeps nearer, and with it the very real risk of Britain leaving the EU (and exposing itself as the kind of xenophobic, jingoistic, racist country I'm ashamed to call myself a citizen of), I become ever more keen to move elsewhere. And for me, Nijmegen remains top of the list of alternatives. I lost my heart to the place and the people the very first time I visited on New Year's Eve 2012, and would move there without a second thought. TLDR, I 💕 Nijmegen!
The city centre isn't as devastatingly beautiful as some other Dutch cities, as much of the Medieval core was destroyed by Allied bombs during WWII (it's within miles of the border with Germany and the theory goes that the pilots either didn't know or didn't care that they weren't flying over a German city but a Dutch one). You also won't find the 'typical' Dutch landscape: the city is pretty hilly rather than pancake-flat, and doesn't have any canals. But, in my totally biased opinion, what remains, such as the main market square and the narrow alleys around the church, is full of character and charm.
Nijmegen has a vibrant arts and music scene, with festivals and events taking place near-daily (especially throughout summer - when we were there this past weekend, we had no fewer than four festivals to choose from, including a rock music festival and a festival of organ music, showing that the offerings are nothing if not varied). When it comes to food and drink I can recommend the Mexican food at Popocatepetl, the veggie/vegan cafe at De Klinker (part of the social centre and co-housing space that Thomas used to live in), the beautiful outdoor terrace at micro-brewery De Hemel, and the bars, independent businesses and street art of the HonigComplex. It's also only a 30 minute train ride to s'-Hertogenbosch (known colloquially as Den Bos), a picture-perfect Dutch city and the home of artist Hieronymus Bosch, which is well worth a trip.
On Saturday we walked a short way out of town to visit the SMKMRKT, taking place in an ex-industrial area overlooked by a decommissioned power plant and abandoned factory buildings. In this somewhat dystopian landscape an entire festival had sprung up. Bars, food trucks, an artist's market, live music... it felt like a tiny slice of East London (but without the hipster attitude) transplanted to this small city on the edge of Holland. Happily sipping cider and eating wood-fired pizza, we watched Het Brandt, the band Thomas used to play with and still some of his best friends.
As June 23rd creeps nearer, and with it the very real risk of Britain leaving the EU (and exposing itself as the kind of xenophobic, jingoistic, racist country I'm ashamed to call myself a citizen of), I become ever more keen to move elsewhere. And for me, Nijmegen remains top of the list of alternatives. I lost my heart to the place and the people the very first time I visited on New Year's Eve 2012, and would move there without a second thought. TLDR, I 💕 Nijmegen!
