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About a 20 minute train ride from Eindhoven is the medieval town of 's-Hertogenbosch, also known as Den Bosch (pronounced boss). We weren't really sure what we would find there, but it was often highlighted as a tourist spot so off we went.
All in all a nice day, but nothing really jumped out as a "worthy of a detour" moment. If you're coming through, it's worth a day of your time, but I woudn't go out of my way to make sure you get there.
It was market day and that always makes a town fun and interesting. We stopped at a fresh stroopwafel stand. If you like cookies or caramel there 
is nothing like this treat made with hot off the grill waffles and a spatula of warm caramel. The other benefit of market day was brass bands all over the place, which Joe especially enjoyed.
We then got tickets for the big activity of Den Bosch which is to take a boat ride through the canals. Unlike Amsterdam, Delft and other Nederland towns Den Bosch built over their canals so it's really about traveling through a series of tunnels.
We also visited the Cathedral Basilica of Sint-Jan the Evangelist, a key historical aspect to the city.
The Stedelijk Museum, the city's contemporary art museum was great fun. A wonderful little restaurant with a deck where we had a coffee and a snack. Teh deck overlooks one of the Netherlands most significant architectural designs, which was very cool to see live.
We ended the day with a late lunch at a cafe, just watching all the people go by.
After the weekend in Delft, it was time for work. As we've done before, Joe worked on the client site and I worked from the hotel room at the NH Koningshof in Veldhoven. I made a point of going to the gym every day and on Friday, the last day at the hotel I joined the yoga class, which turned out to be one of those really interesting moments you couldn't have predicted.
Yoga
As with most hotel gyms, they also sell private memberships. Well everyone, aside from me, were members and they were all women. At first I was a little apprehensive as I could tell I was imposing on a regular group, but they were open and friendly and made me feel really welcome, despite a wide range of English language skills. When class was over they invited me to stay, explaining that after their Friday class they would sit with a cup of herbal tea and talk about the class and how it made them feel. Their welcoming warmth was just one of those small, but magical expat moments that will stay with me forever.
Michelin Rated
On Thursday night we ate at Restaurant De Karpendonkse Hoeve, a wonderful Michelin rated restaurant in Eindhoven. The food wasn't as exciting as Restaurant De Luytervelde, the other Michelin rated restaurant in Eindhoven we ate at last September, but the wines were amazing. Joe and I both had a tasting menu with wine pairings. It was also the first time I ever had wine pairings that included refills. Given that the Dutch dining experience tends to be very relaxed this was particularly nice. I think it was a 4-hour dinner this time. Don't get me wrong, the food absolutely delighted the eyes and the palate, it just never surprised. If you have time, I highly recommend De Karpendonkse.
Philips Museums
Eindhoven is the global headquarters of the industrial giant Philips. The Centrum Kunstlicht in de Kunst is a very interesting art gallery/museum run by Philips that focuses on art that uses or depicts artificial light which I really enjoyed.
Later Joe and I took The Philips Incandescent Lamp Factory of 1891 tour, which is part of the same building that the art museum occupies. We got really lucky because there was only one other person on the tour who was from Australia, which meant the tour was given in English. Originally we didn't think English would be required, but if you go, don't bother unless you can get a tour in a language you understand as it's not really a tour. Instead, what happens is you visit the original workshop (just the one room) where Gerard Philips and his employees first made light bulbs and you are walked through the manufacturing process. Very interesting, but the explanation lasts about 90 minutes, so it would be incredibly boring if you didn't know what the tour guide was saying.
We rounded out our time in Eindhoven with a visit to the Van Abbe Museum. It was nice to spend some more time with the permanent collection and to see the evolving pieces around the on-going exhibit called "Be(com)ing Dutch.
Our plan for the weekend had been to take an early train to Delft (pronounced Del-eft), which dates back to just after 1000, spend the day there and then head to Rotterdam for dinner, a hotel and touring the next day. However, there was a rare Nederland train delay so we didn't get to Delft until about noon. We decided to get a hotel for the night there, thinking we would head to Rotterdam after breakfast on Sunday. Of course, the VVV was an awesome resource.
The VVV found us a wonderful room at the Hotel Johannes Vermeer with breakfast for €100. The reception was very friendly and the breakfast was more than adequate. We checked in, dropped off our back pack and headed to Markt, which is the town centre to get a sense of the place and grab a snack. They were having a beach festival with a giant sand volleyball court set up...not your typical view of a medieval European city. With the Stadhuis (city hall) in the background it made for a an interesting juxtaposition.
First we visited the Nieuwe Kerk (new church), its foundation was built around 1396. Some really nice stained glass work as well as the mausoleum of Prince William of Orange, make it a must stop. Then it was off to the Oude Kerk (old church) built about 1246 where Vermeer is buried - at least they think that's where he's buried. If it's one thing Delft has more of than anywhere else, it's version of Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring. Be prepared to be assaulted everywhere you turn by this image. Also, don't expect to see any real Vermeer's here. At least we didn't see any or hear that there were any to see.
Pottery
Getting my hands on some real Delftware was a major goal of this venture and is the main reason most people visit Delft. There are two factories that adhere to the traditional methods of manufacture. Royal Delft, which has been in existence since 1653 and Delft Pottery de Delftse Pauw, which is the newer joint in town.
To say the town was overrun with tourists (including us!) is an understatement. So we hedged our bets on two fronts and headed to Delftse Pauw thinking we might have better chances of not so many tour buses and better prices. Though we didn't do a direct comparison, we're pretty sure we made the right decision.
Delftse Pauw had a nice intimate feel (only one tour bus, split into English and Spanish language groups) and we bought two great pieces. A double tile landscape and a skyscape in a bowl. Unlike most pieces which are based on stencils, these were freehand illustrations by the factory's lead landscaper. And yes, we believed that line. The pieces stood out as really different to us and when we told the woman which ones we wanted she appeared genuinely excited by our selection and launched into a little background about how the pieces were different from most of the other items in the factory store. (Both factories ship anywhere in the world, no problem).
We also know from shopping in town that the Royal Delftware was about twice the price. Christmas balls at Delftse Pauw ran about €50 to €100 each, the ones from Royal Deflt we saw in town went from €75 to €175 and were a quite bit smaller.
So if it's Delftware you're after I suggest Delftse Pauw. Doing your own factory comparison shopping may be tough as they are literally on total opposite sides of town and both locations are as far from the center as you'd want to go. But if Delftware is what you're after I'd say it's worth the trucking.
Evening
After the factory tour and shopping we headed back to town where we found an amazing transformation. With the tour buses gone, there were really no people around. The restaurants that had been crowded from noon to well after lunch were empty on Saturday night. We felt we had the entire town to ourselves. If you can spare the time, try to spend the night, the town is so much less crowded and it makes the wandering of the medieval streets really magical.
During dinner we decided we were enjoying Delft so much and that we wanted to see a few of the small museums so we gave up the idea of touring Rotterdam on Sunday for another trip, another day.
Why Rotterdam?
My draw to Rotterdam goes back to being a boy. My Grandmother had been to Europe on vacation - the first person I ever knew that actually went to Europe - and she brought me back this set of photo cards from Rotterdam. It was one of the first European cities I wanted to visit and though I've traveled through on many occasions, even on my first trip to Europe in the mid-1980s, I haven't actually spent more than transit time there. My Grandmom, Nina, was the person who really woke the wanderlust in me at an early age.
We were up and moving fairly early Sunday morning, thanks in part to the beautiful church bells just a couple of blocks from our hotel window. Sunday morning reconfirmed our perception from the night before. Things were fairly quiet and then about 1p, in a way that felt all of the sudden, there were people everywhere.
Museums
The first museum we visited was the Museum Lambert van Meerten which has an amazing collection of Delftware and its precursors. It'an amazing house, worth touring for the architecture and furnishings alone. We also went to the Nusantara Museum, which is dedicated to Indonesia, a key Dutch colony. Interesting if you are curious about that part of the world or how the Dutch viewed themselves as colonizers.
To wrap up our time in Delft we headed over to see the remaining, original medieval city gate, which was built around 1400.
All in all an amazingly relaxing and pleasant weekend. I think The Rough Guide to The Netherlands sums up my feelings best, "...it's the general flavour of the place that appeals rather than any specific site."
Getting Around
Unlike most places in the Nederlands, mass transit is a little sparse. Getting around is mostly by foot power so wear your walking shoes. This isn't really an issue as there's not far to go except for the trek to the Defltware factory of your choice. There are velo taxis as well as a semi-regular "tram" service (think Disney World parking lot shuttle) around town for tourists that is a viable option with a little time planning.
On Friday the 13th of June Joe and I arrived early evening in Eindhoven the Netherlands for an extended stay...Joe for two weeks me for about 10 days. After checking into our hotel we headed downtown for dinner about 8p local time. To say we were overrun by literally thousands of people in orange was an understatement.
Orange shirts, pants, hats, toys, boas, wigs, shoes...you name it, if it was orange they were wearing it. What we hadn't realized was that Holland was playing France in the Euro 2008 games at 8:45p that night. Before settling on a spot for dinner we wondered around and just watched the phenomenon. By 9p the streets were empty and all the sidewalk eateries were abandoned as people crowded inside to watch the game.
No need to bother to join the packed crowds as every move of interest literally echoed throughout the entire downtown area. Thousands of people booing or cheering in unison. It was amazing. And, in case you haven't heard, Holland unexpectedly won that night. The city went crazy. Horns honking, screaming, cheering that went on for hours.
As Joe and I emerged from dinner...we had settled on a Chinese restaurant with one other occupied table and a small staff otherwise huddled around a TV (it was too A Christmas Story surreal not to)...listening to the horns and the cheers, you were overcome with happiness. It was amazingly contangious and then we realized, not only was the city of Eindhoven cheering like this, the entire country of the Netherlands in cities, towns and hamlets were cheering and honking their horns and celebrating.
The next day in Delft I would get the biggest smiles from waiters and waitresses, hotel staff, etc., when I would offer my "congratulations on the game last night." They beamed with such pride and hope.
Later in the week, Holland beat Romania, but that was expected, so it wasn't so exciting. Then on Friday, Turkey beat Croatia and the Turks went crazy-mad like the Nederlanders had the previous Friday. Unfortunately for Holland they lost to Russia on Saturday in an intense game decided in overtime. It was still incredible to hear the entire city roar for the one goal that Holland did score. No matter where you were, you knew what had happened and that it was a good thing.
I'll never forget that Friday the 13th though. It was one of those unanticipated magic moments you know you'll remember for the rest of your life.
The V&A
Friday night I celebrated exactly one year as a UK resident. I marked the occasion by meeting up with Leo and Francesco, as well as Joe, at the Victoria and Albert museum, which is open until 10:00p on Fridays.
Leo works in the development office at the V&A and made an excellent guide through the key exhibits. We started with a glass of wine in the cafe, which was the first cafe ever built in a museum. The architecture of the Morris, Gamble and Poynter rooms that make up the dining spaces in the cafe are pieces of art in and of themselves.
The first exhibit we went to was China Design Now, a great look at graphic design, fashion and architecture in contemporary China. The last piece of the exhibit is a digital "immersion fly through" of Beijing post Olympic construction...don't miss it, it's really cool.
We then went to see the new jewelery gallery. While jewelry isn't usually something I have a keen interest in, this collection and its presentation is really worth some time. It's arranged chronologically so you get an excellent sense of the progress of jewelry making throughout history, right through the present day. There was also the most incredible collection of pocket watches I have ever seen.
Blood on Paper: The Art of the Book, was nothing short of amazing contemporary art. 20th and 21st century artists, known primarily for their work in other mediums, had their "books" presented. Some artists, most notably for me Anselm Kiefer, were invited to complete works specifically for the exhibit.
On the lighter side...sort of...was The Story of the Supremes from the Mary Wilson Collection. It was very much about the fashions and the music, but it also drew strong parallels between the history of the Supremes and the African-American civil rights movement. The dresses, shoes, wigs, jewelry and video clips were great. They also had a pile of album covers from the 60s and 70s, some of which I had owned, which in it's own way made me feel a bit on the old side.
Finally, Leo took us to see the Raphael Cartoons. The cartoons are paintings for the tapestries that hung at eye level in the Sistine Chapel. Having just been there and seen where they would've hung, it was great to see these. The room they are installed in matches the proportion, size and base architecture of the Sistine Chapel so that you get a real sense of how they fit in the chapel. Joe and I were both struck by the way the general form of this architectural copy drew you up even though the ceiling was just plain paint.
Dinner and a Drink
After the V&A, Joe and I went to dinner at Beirut Express, the first place we ate last March when we came to London on what was supposed to be a vacation in advance of maybe moving to London. It turned into the intense apartment hunting trip. Afterwards we went to the bar at Skylon for a night cap. A great way to wrap up a year of amazing changes and experiences.
After work today I finished reading North River by Pete Hamill. A beautiful story about a winter during the depression in New York City and love and hope and family. It's a got a great mob subplot - look for the line about the guy getting killed at the movies with an ice pick in his ear - along with a few others about the hopes of Irish and Italian immigrants.
There's also a fun trip out to Coney Island, plenty of hot dogs and Braciole and a Mexican communist terrorist.
It starts with a snow covered New York City and talk of the North River, which as I learned from Wikipedia was the original Dutch name for the Hudson River. According to Wikipedia, it is still called North River in communications among commercial vessels (I'll be checking that fact out with my Merchant Marine nephew-in-law soon). The Delaware River is the South River.
Not a taxing read, but a beautifully written journey to another place and time that reminds us that life is always hard for some if not many; that peace and national power are always fleeting things; that the love of family no matter how desperate the situation or how you define family brings not just solace, but hope and warmth.
This week I plowed through The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I had hesitated to pick up the book in part because it was a 640 page hard back - and who wants to lug that around - but also because my friend Pam who died suddenly last year had recommended it to me. She had read it and suggested it would be a great book for my upcoming vacation in Poland in November 2005. I hauled the book there and back, but never opened it.
More recently it has sat in my "to be read pile" on my desk and has made me smile and think of Pam daily and I didn't want to necessarily give that up.
But, last weekend in the rain it seemed the perfect adventure, so I grabbed it and, just like Pam would've wanted, jumped into a hot tub. It was a great, fast, fun read that travels you through the Netherlands, England, Romania, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria and the States.
The book's chapters are short and it's divided into three parts. So it's easy to put down and pick up several times a day, though you're likely to find yourself drawn right back to it like the characters are drawn to the mysteries of Dracula themselves.
I highly recommend it as a summer beach read or during long baths with a glass of wine, perhaps followed by a long Saturday morning in bed with coffee.
Yesterday I finished The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden. It's been a great book to poke through over the last several months. It's full of all kinds of fun things from knots to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient and Modern Worlds. I particularly enjoyed the series of extraordinary stories and great battles in history. I also look forward to using it as a base guide for building a tree house someday.
At the end is a list of books for boys that is a great idea starter for gifts...though I disagree with the recommended ages for most of the books - I think you could probably read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe before you were 12.
I definitely recommend it for fun light reading or as a great gift no matter how old the boy.
Also available is The Daring Book for Girls.
About a 20 minute train ride from Eindhoven is the medieval town of 's-Hertogenbosch, also known as Den Bosch (pronounced boss). We weren't really sure what we would find there, but it was often highlighted as a tourist spot so off we went.
is nothing like this treat made with hot off the grill waffles and a spatula of warm caramel. The other benefit of market day was brass bands all over the place, which Joe especially enjoyed.
We then got tickets for the big activity of Den Bosch which is to take a boat ride through the canals. Unlike Amsterdam, Delft and other Nederland towns Den Bosch built over their canals so it's really about traveling through a series of tunnels.
We also visited the Cathedral Basilica of Sint-Jan the Evangelist, a key historical aspect to the city.
We ended the day with a late lunch at a cafe, just watching all the people go by.
