Breda best city centre

The city centre of Breda will be ‘the best of The Netherlands’ for the next two years. This article caught my eye immediately when I saw today’s newspaper. The article was even on the front page. Of course I always knew that Breda had a lovely city centre, and that the atmosphere was laid back and typically ‘Brabants’, but the fact that we actually left the cities of The Hague and Maastricht behind us makes me feel proud. Especially since Maastricht has for many and many years been seen as the city with the best town centre.

The article in the newspaper states that the fact that Breda won this election can give the city of Breda an enormous economical impulse. Of course that is a very good thing, and a very interesting thing to read, but I think that for most people from Breda and the surrounding villages it is mainly the acknowledgement of their city as being ‘the best’ that makes them smile. Of course we are all aware of the fact that our victory here will lead to more tourism, since people will want to see the ‘best city centre’ with their own two eyes. And we are also aware that Breda has a very good location between a couple of motorways and is therefore a very attractive city to start a business venture in.

For me personally the winning of Breda gives me an extra reason to promote Breda. I can now actually say that we have the best city of the country, without lying of being too subjective. Our city has been chosen out of three cities as the best. And what makes it even more fun for me, is that my mom is from Maastricht and we always have discussions about which of the two cities, Breda or Maastricht, is the better city. Well mom, there you go, Breda won the competition and will be the best city for the next two years.

't Hart van Breda

I would like to tell you about the bar my best friend and I used to go to in order to have a drink before we would go dancing. Unfortunately I have to say ‘used to go’, since the pub burned down on 27 April 2009. When I first heard that ‘t Hart had burned down, I could hardly believe it. I was in Maastricht at the time, and there were more people from Breda present in the pub we were at. We actually gathered and started talking about ‘t Hart.

‘t Hart van Breda is a place where many of my free hours were spent. The pub wasn’t even a very special place at first glance. It had couches, tables, chairs and a bar, like the average pub on the corner. But that was exactly the strength of the place. Everyone, both the elderly and the youth, felt at home there. People came there to have a lunch break from their shopping spree, to get a cup of coffee after work or to have a drink and a talk in the evening. They had a small menu and you could have both simple meals and finger food. There were cocktails, all sorts of coffee and the staff was always friendly.

Luckily, immediately after the fire it was decided that ‘t Hart would be rebuild, so that the people of Breda could have their coffee, their lunch of their cocktails at the same place where they used to. I am personally very glad that they are rebuilding the place, since even now, months after the fire, my best friend and I talk about wanting a cappuccino or a cocktail from ‘t Hart van Breda. A place which is literally in our hearts.