We went to a beer festival with a friend last weekend. In true Maastricht fashion, there was an end-of-the-world rain storm as we left. For the first few minutes we attempted to shelter under a tree. When we decided that wasn’t protecting us enough, we bolted for cover under a nearby bridge, making sure not to spill our beers while running. After a few more minutes, and a bit of watery beer, we had a soggy walk home.
-Hendrik
Last Sunday, we went on a quest to Aachen, Germany to obtain Sauerbraten with fries and noodles. We rode our trusty Brompton steeds nearly 20 miles there and then 20 miles back again. There were even a few unavoidable hills on the route.
We certainly earned the Sauerbraten calories. I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture before we ate it all. On the way home, we stopped at the glorious contraption, the fruit-automat, to buy strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
I will certainly miss the superior bike infrastructure of the Netherlands. Farewell, Fietsparadijs Limburg!
To celebrate our sixth anniversary, we had a wonderful lunch at Cafe Sjiek (pronounced chic) in Maastricht.
The meal was delicious and we had a great time. After almost three years in Maastricht, we’ve become more inclined to dress up than we were back in California or Texas.
-Hendrik
I got the job! I am pleased to announce that I will be moving to Portland, Oregon and starting a job as a Material Researcher at Nike Air Manufacturing Innovation. I’m sure lots more details and musings will follow in future posts but I didn’t want to keep you in suspense any longer.
Only one day after returning from my two weeks in the UK, I hopped on a plane to Portland, Oregon for a job interview at Nike. Unfortunately, all of the travel caught up with me and I had a nasty cold the whole time I was in the US. Despite the jet lag and illness, the interview went well. To show off the perks of the job, they also gave me a guest pass to the Nike employee store, where I went on an uncharacteristic shopping spree. Then they sent me on a tour of Portland with a real estate agent so I could get a feel for the city. I expected to learn all sorts of new insights about different neighborhoods since so far my impression of the city has been filtered by Hendrik and his family. As it turns out, the real estate agent presented a picture of Portland that was very consistent with what I had already been shown.
After the interview and associated activities, I stayed a few extra days to visit Hendrik’s family and some friends (Nick and Nell), who moved to Portland recently. I went on an American food eating spree that included a Puerto Rican restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a burrito food truck, and grilled tri-tip. Delicious!
After the conference in Manchester, Lulu and I went to the Lake District in North West England. We stayed at bed and breakfasts in the little vacation town of Windermere near Lake Windermere. We spent our time taking hop-on hop-off boats around the rather large lake and going for little walks at all of the stops.
Nancy and Lulu by Lake Windermere.
Nancy displaying characteristic behavior and trying to fall into the lake.
It was a relaxing and fun way to see the gorgeous scenery. Interestingly, we learned that historically, the area was not considered beautiful because it was too wild. It wasn’t until the 19th century and the Romantic movement, which emphasized the beauty of nature, that the area started to become popular. The area is also popular with Beatrix Potter fans because she loved the area and her garden at Hill Top Farm is said to have inspired Mr McGregor’s garden and Peter Rabbit. I thought the Lake District would be the end of my travels for a little while but that was not to be.
After our days on Skye, we drove part of the way back towards Edinburgh into the Trossachs and Loch Lomond national park. We rented a beautiful old farmhouse in the countryside near the village of Killin.
We explored a nearby circle of ancient standing stones:
and walked through a beautiful forest to a waterfall.
After Killin, we had most of a day in Edinburgh to enjoy the old city and see the Queen’s Scottish palace. Here we are below Edinburgh Castle.
EisenOrem Adventures 