GLOW

Happy Friday everyone!  This post is a bit overdue, since it details something we did a few weeks ago.  Every year, Eindhoven, "the city of light", hosts a big festival called GLOW.  GLOW is basically an outdoor event where artists create these really cool light installations all over the city.  The installations appear as freestanding art and projected onto buildings in various ways.  We had looked up where to go before arriving, but as we arrived, we basically just joined a herd of 100's of people who were walking around the city to check things out.  So without further ado, here's the pics we snapped:

Lampshade bouquets.

Where's Waldo, err, me.

Not sure what's written here, but if you're extra curious, google translate works wonders.

My favorite: light projected on the cathedral with accompanying music. Very cool.

The "orchestra".

The GLOW cafe.

This was a weird one. Talking lips.

Slightly creepy, but kind of cool since the faces constantly changed.

This one blinked.

Overall, a very well done festival of light.  Tomorrow we're heading to the Christmas markets in Cologne, which I am really looking forward to.  You know I'll be back with the details!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Beer and Football...European Style

This past weekend was full of fun activities that kept us busy in Eindhoven and nearby.  Our first stop was De Koningshoeven Brouwerij, located about 20 minutes from us.  Some of you may have heard of trappist beer - beer brewed at Trappist breweries.  Back in the day, it was the monks living at the abbey that did all the brewing.  But now these breweries are quite popular and have high levels of production, meaning the monks couldn't possibly brew it all themselves. Instead, they "oversee" the production of the beer, whatever that means.  In fact, during our trip there, the only monk we saw sold us our collectable glassware in the giftshop.  We have been meaning to make it to the brewery for awhile since we drink their beer, La Trappe, all the time.  So it was quite a treat to make it there, and the place did not disappoint.

We are calling it our new Founders, since we hope to get there often.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to do the brewery and abbey tour this time around, so we just had lunch there and sampled the beer.  The food was great, and the beer was even better.

It also happened to be appropriately foggy on our walk in.

One of the buildings on the grounds.

The tripel, my personal favorite.

Todd with the bockbier.

A monster sandwich.

The beautiful restaurant/tasting room.  So fun!

Their newest addition, the Puur.

This is definitely a place we will be back to soon.  I can't believe we hadn't been before!

On Sunday, we went to check out our very first voetbal match.  That's soccer, for you Americans out there.  Eindhoven has a professional team, PSV.  PSV is currently ranked first in the Dutch league, and they have a shot at making it to the Champion's league.  And that's about the extent of my soccer knowledge, please forgive me.

In order to buy tickets, the easiest way was to order a package, which included money to spend at the fan store and then tokens to buy food and drinks at the stadium.  Todd and I were both eyeing a scarf to wear to the game, so we found those.  And then we even had money left to buy a nice warm blanket.  That came in handy.

Here's a few photos of the stadium and us sporting our new gear:

And, of course, the short bike ride home.

Unfortunately, PSV lost.  But we still had a great time.  The crowd was intense.  Lots of drum pounding, singing, and shouting.  It was very exciting.  These people are serious about their voetbal.  I've never been that into soccer, but being there live was really great.  You couldn't help but get pumped up.  We are definitely planning to get to more games! 

Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  This year, Todd and I have so much to be thankful for.  We are blessed to be given the opportunity to live in the Netherlands and experience so many new things together.  There seems to be a new adventure every day, from going to the butcher for the first time to traveling around Europe.  I am so thankful that Todd and I are getting this time together before we have kids and really settle into the rest of our lives.  I'm also very thankful for all of the people we love back home.  It is a big step to move away from all of you for this long, and I am thankful to know you're thinking about us, wishing us well, and awaiting our return in the not too distant future.

So, on with my recount of how we celebrated Thanksgiving.  The best part of Thanksgiving here was last Saturday when we headed up to Amsterdam to celebrate with some other American expats, mostly EY-ers from that office.  We ate all of the traditional Thanksgiving grub, although I don't think we gorged as much as we should have (I probably could have found room for more mashed potatoes somewhere).  The turkey was purchased as a special order from a bird butcher in an Amsterdam market!  Usually, you're not going to find turkey anywhere. What a treat!  We had a great time celebrating with everyone.  Thanks to Amanda for hosting and everyone else for pitching in!  

Not the best pic, but you get the point :)

Yesterday, the real holiday, Todd of course had to go to work.  Too bad they don't let him have his little American holiday.  Once he got home from work, we started cooking a few things that felt sort of like Thanksgiving.  We had randomly stowed away a box of Stovetop stuffing in our sea shipment, so we made that up.  We also had my favorite, snickers salad.  And then I found these amazing pork cutlets wrapped in bacon at the local butcher.  I also found a delicious looking apple pie, but we were too full to eat it last night!

Happy boy. 

Can't wait to dig in to this baby.

We also Skyped with both of our families, which was very nice.  I wish we could have been there in person, but Skype really is the next best thing.

How was everyone else's Thanksgiving? I hope you enjoyed the precious time with family.

When In Rome

Alrighty, here's part 2 of the Italia rundown. Upon arrival, we were happy to see the sun.  It was gloriously warm and sunny. So, of course, the first stop was for some gelato.

Amazing combo of pistachio and mint chocolate chip.

Feeling energized from not needing to carry around an umbrella, we set off on a stroll through the city.  Since we only had 2.5 days in Rome, we needed to start checking some of the sights off our list.  

First up, the Spanish steps.  Amazingly busy even for the middle of November.  Tourists are quite good at lounging on these stairs.

Next came the Trevi Fountain.  At this point in our walk, the sun had set. And I think the Trevi looks even better at night.  What a masterpiece!

We threw in the obligatory coins that are supposed to ensure our return to Roma someday.

Nice toss.

Next on the stroll was the Pantheon. I'm a huge fan of Roman archaeology. I might have even been known to shout "I love aqueducts!" while playing a game with friends some time ago.  The Pantheon is a pretty stellar example of the Roman architectural genius.  For a building that's been standing since 126AD, I'd say she's in pretty good shape.  It's better preserved than many other Roman sites since it was repurposed as a Christian church in the 300s (it used to be a church for all the gods) and used continuously.

The awe-mazing interior.

The last stop on our walk was the Piazza Navonna, which sports a pretty nifty fountain as well.

Then it was on to dinner at a another great spot!  We split a pizza as an appetizer and then each had our own plate of pasta.  We ended the meal with some delicious panna cotta.

After dinner, we took the long way back to the hotel, making a stop to catch our first glimpse of the Colosseum.

The next day, we headed over to Vatican City, the world's smallest country.  And the home of the Pope.  I was excited to be back since the last time I was there, the circumstances were pretty extraordinary. It was in the weeks following the death of Pope John Paul II.  This meant that there was no pope, and the cardinals were holed up inside of the Sistine Chapel, choosing his successor.  I was hoping to see the white smoke rise from the chimney of the Sistine, signaling that a new pope had been chosen, but no such luck.  We did get to walk by Pope John Paul though lying under St. Peter's Cathedral.  

This time around, I was excited to actually get into the Sistine Chapel.  To do so, we bought tickets to the Vatican Museums, which are pretty great as well.  Lots of Roman artifacts and then a bunch of paintings, frescoes, and such by the big wigs of the Renaissance (think no further than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo).

Here's a few shots:

Reading up on things.

I sneaked a forbidden photo inside the Sistine.  Sorry for the blurriness.  It was spectacular in person, I promise.  

After the museum, we headed to St. Peter's Square and Cathedral.  This is THE church for Catholics.  And it is huge.  Luckily, we had downloaded an audio guide tour to take us through and point out the highlights. 

Swiss Guards

St. Peter, whose grave lies below the cathedral.

 That night consisted of more strolling, eating, and wine drinking. 

You can see the flooding here.

Todd ordered a Roman artichoke.  He didn't eat it all and got a dirty look from our waiter.

 Our last day was dedicated to the ancient Romans.  We checked out the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

Arch of Constantine, the emperor who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Arch of Titus

But alas, eventually our time was finished in Roma.  We ended on a high note with Todd's favorite pizza of the trip.

We had a blast, but it also definitely felt good to be getting back to the Netherlands. It made me appreciate the orderliness and cleanliness of this country, jives a bit more with my style I suppose.  You all should make it to Italy at some point though, what a fun country to visit!