Eindhoven, Netherlands

"Convention, a kind of remembrance, is the biggest hindrance to the enjoyment of life and art." -Piet Mondriaan

When people hear that we've been to the Netherlands, they automatically assume that it was in Amsterdam. Although we have been to Amsterdam, we have spent most of our time in the Netherlands in the smaller town of Eindhoven. Eindhoven is south of Amsterdam with a short 80 minute train ride from the airport. It has a large shopping district, great food, and a large industrial industry. My dad travels to Eindhoven for work from time to time, so we decided to join him on his latest trip.

One of the first things you see when exiting the platform of the train station is a quote from the artist Piet Mondriaan. The quote says "Convention, a kind of remembrance, is the biggest hindrance to the enjoyment of life and art.". From the quote alone, before even entering the city itself, I knew Eindhoven would be our kind of place.

First stop, coffee! There are several great coffee roasters in town. Our first stop was DENF Coffee. DENF focuses on serving up a cup of joy, which is exactly what they do. Not only is the coffee freshly roasted, but they serve up fresh tea, beer and wine, and delicious bites. Tim says they serve up the best cappacino he's ever had! The food is devine and the space is perfect to get some work done.

We also made sure to check out Lucifer Coffee Roasters. Lucifer is a cozy space that you want to curl up with a cup of coffee and read a book on a chilly afternoon. When it's warm out, Lucifer has a great outside area alongside the hip historic street. We didn't get to try the fodd, but we tried several of their coffees and enjoyed them all. They make a fantastic espresso, which is exactly what I need post-flight to fight off jet-lag.

Another one of our favorite spots in town is Stadsbrouwerij Eindhoven which translates to Eindhoven Brewery. The brewery also goes by the name of 100 Watt. The beer at 100 Watt is delicious. I was impressed by their beer selection on tap as well as thier bottled beers, especially the option to have seasonal beers even when it's not the specific 'season' for it. My all time favorite is Cinderella's Ride, a lightweight pumpkin ale. I was able to enjoy it on tap in November and again from the bottle in February. They have some easy drinking IPAs too for those sunny days.

If you know us, and well know my dad, you know I can't have beer without some kind of snack. Beers and snacks just go perfect together. Lucky for us Stadsbrouwerij Eindhoven serves up Bittenballen, a Dutch meaty snack. This meaty snack had me in heaven first bite. The balls come out almost looking like fried hushpuppies. When you bite into them, a delectable meaty roux oozes out. It was just want I wanted on that cold day, yet hadn't even realized it.

On the way back to our Airbnb, which was absolute perfection and our hosts were even more amazing, (I won't stay anywhere else than here.) we walked past the Down Town Gourmet Market. The large crowd of laughing people eating and drinking was enough to convivnce us that we had to join them.

The instant we walked into the Down Town Gourmet Market you are ingulfed by the incredible smelling food. And not just your basic Dutch food, but Italian, Indonesian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Indian, Spainish, and American. What I love about markets like this is that everyone can get what they want, no matter what they're craving. Our first night there we tried all sorts of different food and they were all good. What made this market even better was the app that you could order food and drinks from and your food would be delivered so that you wouldn't lose your table. Tables are hot items on busy nights!

One of our all time favorite breakfast spots in town is Maneer de Boer. The food is homemade, always fresh, and abundant. I usually get the large traditional Dutch breakfast and fresh mint tea. It's a little bit of everything with some savory and sweet. Maneer de Boer is owned by the kind Maurice and Sabine who make it feel like you're sitting in a friend's home.

But this is what Eindhoven feels like, a comfortable city among friendly people.