Exploring Nijmegen

Today I decided to go into the centre of Nijmegen to get a feel for the city. I always love exploring on a Saturday because that is when you get to feel the real hustle and bustle of a place. My gosh was there a hustle and bustle on the streets of Nijmegen today!

Saturday must be market day. As I walked the 20 minutes from my apartment to the city centre
(remembering that here the safe cross code is right, left, right!), I passed a square filled with fresh fruit and veg stands, bakery trucks, cheese trucks, fish trucks and amazing charcuterie trucks. The backdrop of this market is the river Waal, and a bridge that looks very like the bridge from A Bridge too Far. I will need to investigate whether or not it is the same bridge. I know the film was shot around here and Arnhem.

As I continued down towards the grote markt I noticed that the pedestrianised shopping street was heaving with stalls too. There were stalls for everything! A pet accessories stall, clothes, curious handbags and fragrances. It honestly was delightful. The smells were unbelievable too. There were so many people walking around with cones of chips and mayonnaise, pastries, burgers (which I found unusual!). I loved every moment of it!

I was surprised by how much English I heard spoken. Nijmegen is a university town and that was very evident today. It is a useful thing, because I found a wonderful guide on the university website explaining the garbage situation. Thank you students. I now how to dispose of my rubbish correctly.

The city centre is full of bars, cafe and restaurants that spill out on to the street. Today they were all so full. There is something delightful about walking around a city and hearing lots of people laughing, glasses clinking and just folk having a great time together. I can't wait until I have Stuart here so I can share it all with him. That man loves a beer garden and a drink in the sunshine!

After hunting down a whistle kettle for my flat and picking up a few bits and pieces for my kitchen and bathroom. I took a more scenic route home via some parks and a very scary roundabout (right, left, right). Beside the park was a motorway between me and the river walk. Tomorrow my plan is to visit the river walk and maybe even cross one of the bridges. I am looking forward to getting a bike to explore more of the city. i just want to give myself a week or two to get used to being on the right before I do that. It is amazing how the right left thing is everywhere. The other day I was about to walk down some steps with the woman who has been helping me when we noticed a man with a walking stick about to climb them. I automatically went to the left to give him room, to which Myriam reminded me that in the Netherlands we must go to the right when on stairs in this kind of situation. Though, I very much feel that if I could figure out the bin situation, I can definitely remember where I am supposed to walk!

Bedankt en tot ziens!

Lu x

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