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.
