The Netherlands

My week in the Netherlands was very busy. I was based in Eindhoven which is a tech center for the country. The company Philips was founded there and there are a lot of tech start-ups that have spun-off from there. Traffic on the main freeways is really bad and "traffic jams" were a main topic of converstation wherever we went. Kind of like talking about the weather in the midwest - small talk. Each sales guy I met with had their TomTom GPS navigation systems in the car for getting around -they are the coolest popular gadget in Europe - they even factor in traffic and accidents in real time. When I worked at Acoustic, TomTom was one of our customers as they added hands-free speakerphone into these navigational units. You can decide which voice will direct you around ("turn left here")- one of the sales guy had Ozzy Osborne who would curse at you if you took the wrong turn. Hillarious.

The main language in the Netherlands is Dutch and the culture varies from German and Belgium influences depending on if you are north or south. All the street signs and menus are in Dutch - all the words look like pieces of ikea furniture even though it isn't Sweedish. It was interesting to learn more about the European Union and how similar the countries are now to our states with common currencies and regulations.

We went to a lot of different villages, each had a city center which is basically central area around a large church with lots of cafes and stores. These are closed off from traffic so many people were on bicycles. They were very quaint. I had perfect weather in the Netherlands which was unseasonably warm for them this spring in the 70s.

The tulips are in bloom and we saw some from the countryside during our drives! I didn't have time to go to Amsterdam, but while I was in town, the tulip festival Keukenhof was going on there. When I was leaving, they were getting ready for Queen's day which is a huge street party - from what I understand it involves dressing in orange, a beer in hand and the national colors painted on their faces people stroll through the city.

Long flight home with a layover night in London. I watched Holiday (fun and cute), Good German (slow but interesting) & Notes on a Scandal (disturbing but amazing acting) on the plane - each were interesting in its own way. It's fabulous to be home and see Ben and sleep in my own bed and talk to my family on the phone and get free refills while we were eating out last night.