First mini-trip

Today we took our first mini-trip to s'Hertogenbosch (commonly called Den Bosch), which is about a half hour from Eindhoven by train. Den Bosch is a bit more of what an American would expect from a European town...cobblestone streets and older architecture. It is a fortified city on a series of canals. Because of a lack of space inside the walls of the town, buildings are actually built over the canals. See the photo album for pictures. We had lunch at a canal-side restaurant though we ate inside because we didn't want to have to perform any rescues of Elliott from the water! Then we took a boat tour of the canals. We probably would have learned a lot more, but the tour was in Dutch which limited our understanding somewhat. The last part of the tour was a bit stressful, too, as Elliott decided to freak out...I think he was tired. In any case, we learned a valuable lesson: don't put ourselves in a situation from which we can't quickly escape!

After the boat tour (Elliott was asleep in the backpack), we toured the cathedral in town. The construction of it began in 1380 and was finished in 1529...it is currently undergoing restoration, the third in the last eighty years. One of the most impressive things that I noticed were the chandeliers of candles that they still use to light the building. There were also engravings (I'm not sure if they were tombs) on the floor; many of which were worn almost completely smooth.

On the way out of town, we stopped and picked up a "Bosch bol"--an eclaire-type pastry filled with cream and covered in chocolate. Very tasty. We topped off our day with a bike ride (back in Eindhoven) to Nederwetten, a nearby town. I love how easy it is to ride a bike here! With lights and trails and flatness, bike-riding is great! Well, I've got to go...some really bad, non-professional ice-dancing (not sure if it's a reality show or what--got to get on that Dutch class) is on and I've got to get back to it.