Europe Trip Day One: Eindhoven
My flight over here went quite smooth. I was on an plane that appeared to be an older model — no usb outlets!! 😱 — but I joked with my row-mates that maybe planes are like appliances: they made them better back in the day! 😅🤗
The flight was smooth and uneventful. I read a bit of an Anthony Bourdain travel book, watched a bit of the latest Avengers movie, an after the better than expected flight meal passed out for about five hours (a new flight-sleep record for me!)
I arrived in Amsterdam, got my luggage without much hassle, and made my way to the train station.
Ok, time for a little travel problem solving — how to get from A, the Amsterdam airport, to B, Eindhoven where Suzannah and Victor live. I love this shit.
So — I entered the train plaza, surveyed the room for platform 3 (where Suzannah told me my train would take off from), waited for an opportune moment before asking a nice Dutch couple to confirm that this was the right platform, then realized I would probably need a ticket before getting on the train, got confirmation about this from a nice Dutch guy, retraced my steps to train plaza, found the ticket counter, bought a ticket, returned to platform 3, and then four minutes later my train arrived. I got on and texted Suzannah a picture that I was on the train.
Nailed it!!
After the hour and a half train ride, I arrived in Eindhoven, and Suzannah was right there on the platform waiting for me. Reunited!
We made our way back to their apartment, and my mind was promptly blown that they do, indeed, actually live here in Eindhoven. They have a key into the building, their own unit, couches, tables, and everything. It’s real!
We went out and rented a bicycle for me — had to keep moving, no sleeping until at least 10:00 pm that night.
I bike around a lot in Berkeley, but now Eindhoven and the Netherlands in general have spoiled me. Everywhere you go, EVERYWHERE, there are designated bike pathways. Everyone rides around on cute cruiser bikes, gently dings the bell if they want to pass…and 9 times out of 10 bicyclists have the right of way!
Stay back, ye cars and pedestrians! The mighty bicyclist cometh!
Yep, I’m totally ruined for when I go back to Berkeley.
So, the two of us biked through Eindhoven, then out into the countryside for a bit, and back to her apartment.
We got lunch at a hip food court area with a lot of little offerings and walked thru the city.
Eindhoven, I learned, has a fair amount of industry, much of it tech, and so the quaint, charming, cobblestoney and bricky parts can be found contained in the city center before quickly giving away to tall, modern buildings and roads.
They claim to have THE longest single street of pubs in Europe, which, had 23-year-old Russell had been here on his previous Europe trip, he would have likely blown a lot of money tastefully and with great poise and restraint stumbling from one to the next.
There was a central farmers market, which happens about twice a week, a grandiose Catholic church, and the classic sidewalk cafes with tables facing out for optimal people watching. Someday the States will catch on about these sidewalk cafes.
Victor joined us after getting off of work from the university where he is a post doc, and we all went out for…burgers! But really, really good burgers. The Dutch are into cows. The burgers were solid.
We then went to the immediately adjacent bar, where I learned that the Dutch are also into beer. The menu was more of a technical manual, listing the countless beers they offered. Fortunately, you can’t really go too wrong with anything you get here.
After enjoying a few beers it was time to call it a day. The jet lag was starting to hit hard! I went to sleep, excited for next day where I would explore the legendary, beautiful, hedonistic mecca, Amsterdam.
