we've arrived!

my apologies to the steingraebers- i promised them i would write SOMETHING on this blog since we left switzerland and i completely failed! lets just say that life has been a little chaotic in the past couple of months. chaotic, but fun :)

s'-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch)

after we left Lausanne we were in Minnesota for a few weeks, then Singapore for a few and back to MN before arriving in the Netherlands. we saw so many friends and family- it was really nice after being away for a long time. we found out about Howie's new job with Philips just before we left Switzerland, so that made our time off a lot less stressful than it could have been. there was still plenty to do to arrange our move, getting visas, etc. but somehow we were much more relaxed than we were a year ago preparing to depart for Lausanne. after we applied for Howie's visa we received it on a tuesday and were on a plane on saturday. so sorry we didn't get to see everyone before we left, but it happened in a flash.

can you spot the inappropriate sculpture?

and here we are. little did we know we were arriving at the craziest moment of the year- carnaval! apparently this is only celebrated in the southern part of the Netherlands which is exactly where we are staying. after a week of zombie-like house hunting and appointments, we were recovered from our jetlag and ready for a little celebration. 

preparing to blend in with our Oeteldonk/Harry Potter scarves.

our hotel is in Den Bosch (s'-Hertogenbosch) which is about 30 minutes from Eindhoven. the town is very charming, a historic city center with small streets and many cafes and shops. there are canals around the old city walls and also through the buildings of the city center. 

before

after!

for carnaval, Den Bosch changes its name to Oeteldonk and the town is painted in yellow, red and white. the mascot is the frog, because apparently there were (are?) many swamps in the area. the theme of the party this year was "oeteldonk houdt oe jong" (oeteldonk keeps you young) so we saw some themed costumes, but really its just about dressing up as crazy as possible and partying for 2-3 days (or weeks...) 

enjoy!

the frog ladies

chocolate covered cream puff!

some elaborate floats!

howie's design adventures part 2: le corbusier

La Maison Blanche

the second part of howie's design adventures took us to La Chaux-de-Fonds, the birthplace of Le Corbusier. it was there where he lived with his family and started to practice architecture under the mentorship of a local architect. the town itself is actually quite different from any other swiss town i've been to- it is very linear and gridded with row houses lined up along the blocks. one could see why he escaped to paris to study architecture. 

la maison blanche was not his first house he designed- there are a few others very close by up on the hill above the town. he designed the house for his family which included himself, his parents and brother. it was really a beautiful house- i realized after that didn't take many photos but it was difficult to capture the feel of the place. i think what made the house dramatic was the contrasts in views and lighting and the proportions and layout of the spaces. it seemed so simple and straightforward from looking at the plan and looking at photos ahead of time, yet it had so much life that i didn't expect. amazing to be in a place where a most famous architect got his start. 

looking out from Le C's bedroom

Le C's study. not too bright with a skylight over the desk.

through the dining area out to the garden.

looking back from the garden- the blue garden wall on the left...

the first (?) house he designed. 

one of the early Le Corbusier houses

matching jackets.

hello, friends! sorry its been a while, but life has been SO boring and we've been doing nothing interesting worth posting about.

just kidding! in fact, we've been really busy these past couple of months with projects, job searching, weekends away, seeing friends and starting to *think* about packing. its kind of difficult to pack when you don't know where you're moving to :)

i am busy preparing for our last house guests this year, liz and jim! but i promise that i'll try to post about some of the awesome trips we've taken over the next couple weeks between frantic cleaning and packing.

also, there is still no news about where we'll be beyond minnesota for december and hopefully a trip to singapore in early 2012. keep thinking positive thoughts for us (and especially for Howie) as he braves the world of layoffs and financial crisis to find a job. i'm not quite at that point, so you can worry about me later!

we had a great weekend in Vals (yes, more photos soon) but part of that was some great conversations. i realized how the uncertainty of our next plans has made me really learn to be happy in the moment. somehow i have been able to put aside my anxieties about our future plans and just enjoy spending time with Howie, being in Lausanne, traveling in Europe, spending time with friends. the past few months have been really fantastic. we're so lucky to be where we are.

i'm so excited to see everyone soon- i can't wait to catch up and feel the MN love :)

jacket twins in Vals. 

you know its fall when...

...you are using your laptop for warmth

...the smartwool expedition weight socks come out of the closet

...you no longer crave ice cream

... and you find your dusty cross country skis under the bed and realize that in only 7 short weeks you'll be back in the wintry wonderland of minnesota

the view from our apartment these days

howie's design adventures part 1: basel & vitra!

upon returning to lausanne, i still had a few things left on my list of things to see before december.  howie had some free time between job interviews and more applications, so we took a train ride to Basel for the day. we were both dragging a little to get out of the house on a chilly fall morning, worried about the weather and potential rain. luckily we dragged ourselves to the train and once we were in Basel we found beautiful weather! we also decided on a whim to visit the Vitra factory and had an amazing time- see some photos below. i was a little disappointed that i didn't see any other Herzog & de Meuron buildings because Basel is much more spread out than I had imagined and everything requires a separate bus or train. next time...

p.s. don't forget your passport when visiting vitra- its across the german/swiss border! and bring some euros for the bus. (oops!)

Vitra: Gehry & Oldenburg in the background

Vitra: new H&deM

stacked houses with evening light

15 min naps only!

Howie learned about the Eames,
and the price of designer chair miniatures

which vitra chair suits you??

beautiful and inventive spaces perfect for displaying vitra wonders!

cheek to cheek with Ando concrete

v for vitra.