Adjusting To A New Time And Place

6:45 AM....Nate's alarm goes off. He gets up to get ready for work. We both feel groggy as we woke up several times during the night. Thankfully I can stay in bed.

The mini fridge was very loud with a droning pulsing sound around 3 AM, and I really struggled to sleep after that.

I have a headache from my neck as the pillow-bed combo isn't great for me. Unfortunately I didn't bring pain meds other than the one dose of Advil I find in my purse. I take that and make a mental note to find more when we go out and explore the town.

Our little studio is really only meant for two people, so that's all it's stocked for. Two small spoons, two large spoons, two small plates, two big plates, two bowls etc. so I'll need to wash dishes after each use to accommodate the four of us.

There is a free shuttle that goes from our hotel to ASML, since this is the common place people stay when here with the company. It leaves at two different times in the morning, and comes back at two different times in the afternoon. Nate takes the morning shuttle to work, but will pick up a rental car later this evening, so we'll have that available to do further exploring on the evenings and weekend.

The kids and I are still trying to adjust to the nine-hour time change. Kailey initially woke up with Nate and ate breakfast with him. Then she went back to sleep until I decide we all need to get up closer to 10:30 AM.

Since we only have two cereal bowls, and Nate and Kailey had used them already, I wash them so Landon can eat, and Kailey decides to have second breakfast like a hobbit. When Nate and the kids had grabbed food yesterday they didn't get any non-dairy milk, so my breakfast is more bread...

The kids and I get ready and head out to explore. The kids tell me that we don't need to see the church, because Nate had taken them there last night. I ask if they went inside, and they said "What?! You can go inside?" Kailey was really excited to go check it out, but Landon was hesitant to go inside. 

We are here to explore and there isn't much in Eindhoven to explore as it's a pretty industrial town. People living here often work at Philips, ASML, DAF trucks, or attend one of several schools in the area.

The walk to Catharinakerk (Saint Catherine's Church) takes just over 5 minutes and it's threatening to rain. Good thing I bought the kids rain coats for this trip.

The church is a decent size and they have some displays of items found during an excavation of the church, as well as small models of many of the churches from in and around Eindhoven, including some that no longer exist.

Model of this church, Sint Catharinakerk (Saint Catherine's Church) The current church was built in 1867 after the medieval church that stood at this same site was destroyed in 1860. 

Model of Sint Petruskerk (Saint Peter's Church), that was built in 1874-1876. The tower collapsed during construction and was not rebuilt until 1912. With the new tower standing at 76 meters (249') it's one of the tallest churches in the Netherlands.

Paterskerk (Father's Church) was built between 1895 and 1898. It's known for it's statue of Jesus with open arms which was originally gilded, and is known locally as Jesus the Daredevil. This church is right next to the hotel we are staying at.

This Fellenoord Church was built in 1907, but was severely damaged on September 19, 1944 during WWII. It was restored in 1949, but was demolished in 1973 after attendance had dropped in the 1960s due to the area around it being turned into a new motorway.

Sint Joriskerk (St. George's Church) was built in 1885. The tower in this church is 88 meters high (288') which is the tallest church tower in Eindhoven. 

View of the beautiful pipe organ in St. Catharine's Church. It was originally constructed in 1930, but then badly damaged in WWII. It has gone through restoration work several times over the years. In it's current state it has two consoles on which to play, and has a total of 5725 pipes. Due to the large stained glass rose window next to the organ, they pipes are in a low and open arrangement.

The stained glass windows are from post WWII.

When we leave Landon admits that it was pretty cool inside. He said the reason he hadn't wanted to go inside was because he thought the old church would be full of spiderwebs, more like a haunted house.

Next we start exploring some shops. I'm looking for Advil and a few other things, and the kids are just looking to spend money... it seems to burn a hole in their pocket. We told them they can buy small things that remind them of our trip, but not things like LEGO sets. We don't have loads of extra room and things are also more expensive in Europe.

When we get hungry we decide to hit up 5 Guys Burgers and Fries for lunch. I'm not sure if the kids have ever eaten there in the US, but they are not feeling adventuresome with food just yet and I'm hungry after only eating bread for the last two meals, a good juicy burger hits the spot.

Inside it's very similar to the US locations. You order from a screen which has an English option thankfully. They have boxes of peanuts you can snack on while dining, which Landon takes advantage of, and they even have a soda fountain which is not very common in Europe. 

After lunch we hit up the grocery store so I can buy some food that I can eat. Soy yogurt and almond milk, some pindakaas (which translates to peanut cheese aka peanut butter), jam, cereal, etc. In their grocery stores you are responsible to bring your own bags as well as bag your own groceries. I knew this thankfully and I have several of my easy-to-pack reusable shopping bags from home.

I'm glad the store is only a short walk back to the apartment as it starts to rain again. Due to the rain we hang out in the apartment. I teach the kids how to play the cards game Phase 10 Go, which is a travel version of Phase 10.

By the time we finish a couple of games the rain has stopped so we go exploring some more. This time we walk through the mall that is nearby and then I treat the kids to some gelato that they had been drooling over when we walked by earlier. They also have some non-dairy options, so I'm able to get some too.

Nate texts asking about going to dinner with a coworker and friend, which I say is fine. We make sure to be home by the time Nate is going to be getting home, then we get ready and walk to Mangiare together which is an Italian restaurant about 15 minutes away. 

Just as we are getting close it really starts dumping rain. Thankfully they have a table in the back garden area that is covered, as we hadn't made a reservation ahead of time. Nate orders his favorite dish there, and I have a spaghetti Bolognese. The kids share a pizza.

The food is good and we enjoy catching up with Luc (pronounced 'Luke'). Afterwards Nate and Landon head to the Eindhoven airport by bus to pick up our rental car, and Kailey and I walk home.

When Nate and Landon get back with the car, Nate still has some work to do. While he is on his work call the rest of us get ready for bed and patiently wait for him to be done so we can shut the lights off and drift off to sleep.