Carina Ann

As many of you likely already know, my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on May 8 at 4:25 p.m.  Carina Ann is the most amazing addition to our lives. The phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" has never been more appropriate.  Below are various pictures from Carina's first two days.

Final Day in The Netherlands - Amsterdam!

Happy Sunday everyone!
A few months ago, I started posting individual blogs about specific days of my Christmas trip to Europe.  Well, we have finally reached our final day of the trip, Amsterdam.  Our hosts, Megan and Todd, decided to let us explore Amsterdam on our own.  They dropped us off at the Eindhoven train station early in the morning, and we took the 90 minute train ride north to Amsterdam on our own.  Apparently, the Dutch are trustworthy people because nobody came through the train and checked anybody's tickets!  The central Amsterdam train station is really cool.  It dates back to the late 1800s, and the facade is quite impressive.  Also, when exiting the station, the city's famous canal system is right before your eyes.  Amsterdam does not have a subway system, but it does have cable cars that run right passed the train station and carry passengers through the main thoroughfare of the city.  It was early in the morning, and we forgot to take pictures of the train station.  Here is a link to the station's wikipedia page and some photos if you are interested Link

We took a short tram ride to our hotel where we dropped off our bags in a typically small european hotel room.  Smoking both tobacco and marijuana is apparently prohibited.

Our hotel was located close to Vondelpark, which is basically the dutch equivalent of Central Park.  It was also a short walk to Museumplein.  Knowing that we only had one day to pack in all the highlights, we headed to Museumplein with hopes of seeing the Van Gogh museum.  The museum is crowded nearly everyday, so we planned to arrive early.  Once we got to Museumplein however, we found out that the Van Gogh museum has been temporarily moved.  So, we bought our museum tickets from a little kiosk and then started walking to the new site.  The mini-snafu actually worked out quite nicely by providing a good walking tour of the city.  The labyrinth of canals is incredible!  Literally, every 100 feet provides a different view of the canals.  Below is a sign we saw during our walk that pretty much sums it up.

Many of the canals also have houseboats on them where you can see people going about their daily lives inside.  We also read about a few houseboats available to rent for a few nights in Amsterdam, which would be a really cool way to visit the city if you had a small group.  Also, the cliche about bicycles more bicycles than cars is easily true.  Every minute, some rider is zooming passed you on a rickety bike. Various photos from our walk are located below.

At 10 a.m., the line to buy tickets to the Van Gogh museum was already really long.  Luckily, we had our tickets from the kiosk near Museumplein, so we got to walk right in.  We were not allowed to take photos inside the museum, but as you can imagine, it was awesome.  There are 200 Van Gogh paintings, along with plenty of other drawings and historical documents.  The museum is a must visit for anybody even remotely interested in art.  After we left the museum, we wandered through the streets and saw plenty of coffee shops.   We found a cool cafe for lunch a short walk from the museum.  Every person in the service industry knows English extremely well.  Sitting on a bench or at a restaurant, we heard most conversations occurring in English.  And, lots of menus were in English, something we did not seen much the rest of our trip.

After lunch, we walked through the famous red light district.  During daylight, there are a few sex shops open and some slightly overweight women in lingerie standing in the windows but nothing too shocking.  We were disappointed by that.  So we went back at night.  At night, there was a lot of hustle and bustle.  It seemed the Las Vegas of Europe.  Every other group was entirely college-age dudes from the UK who were on vacation.  I actually thought the scene was a bit more tame than I would have thought; I don't know if C felt the exact same way.  Aside from scantily clad women in the windows and a few theaters advertising sex shows, we didn't see anything too shocking.

Moving back to earlier in the day, we then traveled a short distance to Dam Square.  It is the historical city center and surrounded by the Royal Palace and various museums.  It was easily the most crowded area we visited.  Shooting off the Square are lots of shops with were all full of shoppers for post-holiday shopping.  From there, we walked to the Anne Frank House.  The line outside was literally three blocks long.  Given our short stay, we did not go inside, but it was fun to see nonetheless.  After a quick trip back to the hotel, we headed to Vondelpark.  It was actually a pretty nice day out, and lots of Amsterdamers were out riding rusty bikes, jogging and walking their dogs.   The park has a few ponds, playgrounds and cafes.  The neighborhoods around Vondelpark is pretty neat as well. Some of the most well-maintained homes seemed to be located just outside the park.  A few photos from the afternoon are below.

Like much of our trip, C wanted some hot chocolate.  So, we found a really cool cafe near the park.  I had some coffee.  I think C said this was the best hot chocolate of the trip, and she enjoyed her fair share of hot chocolates from three different countries.  Once again, I was impressed that our server spoke such amazing English.  It's likely a product of the diversity of Amsterdam.  While there is certainly plenty of Dutch, it seems like English is sort of unifying language that allows people from all over to communicate with each other.  Amazing coffee and hot chocolate below.

We had an early flight back to the U.S. the next morning, so we walked around a bit and then ate dinner at a little bar near the hotel.  The canals look great at night, and there were lots of lights up for the holidays.  We went to bed early and then flew back to the U.S. safe and sound.  Amsterdam definitely has lots of nightlife for folks who want to partake in that sort of thing.  But, it combines all of those cliches with a huge amount of culture, history and friendliness.  Although Amsterdam is the largest city in the Netherlands, the people were all very nice and helpful to us.  I would love to visit the city in the summer.  It would also be great to visit the Rijksmuseum, which just reopened since our visit.  It is the national museum and holds many of the country's finest works of art.  It was closed for renovations for 10 years!  There is plenty do see in Amsterdam on our next trip there.

Well, that concludes our European Christmas vacation.  We obviously made it home safely, only a few pounds heavier.  Props to C for being a trooper, as always.  Even though she was 5 months pregnant, she walked and rode a bike all over three countries.  She also put up with drinking hot chocolate and applesap, while everyone else had beer and wine.  She is the best travel partner ever.  A huge thanks for Megan and Todd for hosting us nearly the entire time.  They were great hosts.  Todd made some sweet breakfasts for us on a few mornings.  Also, they both put up with my beer obsessions and drove us around Europe even when none of us knew where we were going.  Hopefully, C and I can repay the favor at some point.

In other news, C is 39 weeks pregnant now.  The baby is due one week from today, and we could not be more ready/excited.  Thanks for reading!

La Trappe and Eindhoven

Good afternoon everyone!
The last few weeks, I refrained from continuing the European vacation blogs and instead spent all of my energy on Michigan's NCAA Tournament run.  As most of you know, my team couldn't put together a full 40 minutes in the title game, but it was a great three weeks of basketball nonetheless.  C and I (plus soon-to-be Baby Cattey) were all on the edge of our seats throughout the tournament.  We are very proud of the team.

Moving on with the Europe blog, we just left Bruges and headed back to Eindhoven for our last day with Megan and Todd.  In the afternoon, we had a brewery tour booked at La Trappe, which is located approximately 25 minutes from Eindhoven in the town of Berkel-Enschot near Tilburg.  Contrary to most breweries, La Trappe does much more than make beer.  First, it is one of only eight "trappist" breweries in the world.  In order to qualify as trappist, a brewery must meet the following criteria:

• The beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, either by the monks themselves or under their supervision.
• The brewery must be of secondary importance within the monastery and it should witness to the business practices proper to a monastic way of life
• The brewery is not intended to be a profit-making venture. The income covers the living expenses of the monks and the maintenance of the buildings and grounds. Whatever remains is donated to charity for social work and to help persons in need.
• Trappist breweries are constantly monitored to assure the irreproachable quality of their beers

The brewery is actually called De Koningshoeven, and it partnered with Bavaria, a large Dutch brewery, to help package and distribute their beer to a wider audience.  Therefore, La Trappe is one of the largest and most commercialized of the eight trappist breweries.  In return, the brewery is able to create a more vast line-up of beers than the other trappists.  In addition to the standard belgian styles, the brewery even creates a blond, a bock, and an organic beer.  It also creates some pretty kick ass glassware, which made it safely to the United States with us!

Despite the large scale production, the beer is still produced entirely within the walls of the abbey.  The monks oversee much of the brewing, and they create bread, cheese and other products right on the property.  Further, the brewery donates millions of dollars every year to charities around the world, specifically to help provide food to families in third world countries.  What a great reason to drink some beer! 

Both the grounds and the brewing facility are immaculate.  The monastery even has a small fire station and its own fire engine.  In the pictures below, you should be able to see the brewing equipment.  Also, different parts of the monastery even have solar panels on the roof that help power the brewery and the living quarters....pretty progressive for a bunch of monks.  The big guy talking to Todd and me was our tour guide.  He was awesome and very excited to share his knowledge with us. Wow, it did not disappoint.  Take a look at various photos from the brewery and grounds. 

We then headed to the bottling and packaging facility.  It probably goes without saying, but the packing area is extremely well maintained and high-tech.  Seeing the amount of bottles and kegs that are filled daily really gives you an appreciation for the scope of the brewing operation.  Our group even got to see some of the oak barrels that the brewery uses for aging its quadruple.  

After the tour, the group headed to the tasting room.  The tasting room has a very cool combination of modern and vintage designs.  There are plenty of wooden tables for communal drinking and dining.  We did not eat too much, but C and I were able to try bitterballen.  Bitterballen is a typical Dutch appetizer/snack that is basically fried dough with gravy in the middle.  Our hosts told us that basically the gravy has to be scalding hot, and it certainly was.  This bitterballen was served with mustard and mayo.  You can see one little ball on the plate below.  

After a few hours at La Trappe, we headed back to Megan and Todd's in Eindhoven for our last night with them.  They had reservations for us at a really great place in town named Cook's.  We had a great final meal and then wandered around Eindhoven one last time.  Our train for Amsterdam left relatively early the next morning, so we capped off a great few days in Eindhoven with a low-key night.  Here are the last couple of pictures from our night in Eindhoven.  

One last blog of our Europe trip will be coming shortly: Amsterdam.  C and I are expecting a new addition to our family any day now, so that will likely take precedent over another blog.  But, whenever I get the opportunity to post again, I will recap the amazing city of Amsterdam.  Until then....

Update!

Woooooooooooooooooo!



Final Four here we come!

Go Blue!

Trey Burke....

Happy Easter!
I have been waiting for the right time to continue my summary of our European vacation. Next stop: La Trappe and our last night in Eindhoven.  Then, I thought why not post a nice, little blog about Easter. But, we've got a game to play today people!

Thanks in large part to Trey Burke and his supporting case, Michigan has reached the Elite Eight for the first time in nearly twenty years with today's match up against Florida looming large.  Friday night's game against Kansas was excellent on many levels.  For large stretches of the game KU dominated us inside.  They got to the rim with ease, and converted more than their fair share of fastbreaks.  Down 14 points, the game looked over.  However, we have Trey Burke.  The best player in the country willed  his team to victory.  He hit step back threes and a 28 footer to tie the game with 4 seconds left.  It was a shot that will go down in Michigan basketball history.  In overtime, Trey took control. He hit jumpshots and forced his way into the paint with ease.  It was the best performance by a Michigan basketball player since I have been watching (twenty years.)  Ultimately, it led to a two point win over last season's national runner-up.

It would be a shame to forget Mitch McGary.  He was our only force in the paint.  He kept us in the game for long stretches when the offense got stagnant.  Since the tournament started, Mitch has been on a mission. He looks like a freshman just starting to realize how good he can be.  We need Mitch if we want to keep advancing.

Friday night's game leads us to today against Florida.  Florida will be a big challenge.  They are probably more athletic than us.  They shoot plenty of threes, which should allow Trey, GR3, and Tim to push the tempo.  But, if they are making their shots at a decent rate, we need to keep up.  On paper, it looks like a tough matchup for us.  Friday night was a tough matchup as well.  However, we have the best player on the floor, and the best player in the country.  He should be able to drive the lane at will.  I expect him to get lots of open shots for the rest of the team.  We need the supporting cast to step up.  Tim, Nik and GR3 have to be able to capitalize when Florida inevitably helps out on Trey.

The stakes keep getting bigger with each game.  We have an opportunity to write the next great chapter in Michigan basketball history.  I feel like C and I have earned plenty of good karma from our time having to endure Tommy Amaker's teams.  We watched more than our fair share of bad basketball from 2003-2007. But this team is everything those teams weren't: smart, gritty and mentally tough.  All the credit goes to Coach Beilein for putting this squad together and placing them in positions to succeed.

Well, with only thirty minutes to tip-off, the blog is going to come to an end here.  Pictures of our visit to La Trappe will be posted soon.

Keep the faith.  This team can win, and win, and win. We On. Go Blue!

Bruges! Part 2

When we left off on our European Christmas recap, we had just got done eating a late lunch in Bruges after finish a tour of De Halve Maan brewery.  Figuring we needed a bit more culture in our lives, and a brief beer break, we decided to head to the historical town center of the city, the Markt.  The main attraction on the Markt is the belfry, which dates back to the 12th Century.  As I noted earlier, the belfry is prominently featured in the film "In Bruges."  The line to climb the 366 steps to the top was relatively long, but we braved the cold and rain with the rest of the tourists.  The staircase is very narrow and winding.  It reminded C and I of the climb to the top of Il Duomo in Florence.  C was obviously a trooper and carried our future little girl up the stairs with us, taking only a few breaks along the way.  The carillon bell is pretty impressive from inside.  There are currently 47 bells in use.  But, the view is really the main attraction.  From the top, we could see well beyond Bruges' city limits in all directions.  Unfortunately, it was a bit overcast like much of our trip, but we did get a few pictures.

After descending the belfry, we decided to head inside the Basilica of the Holy Blood located on the Markt as well.  As the name implies, this chapel claims to have a cloth with the blood of Jesus on it.  The chapel was built in the 12th century, and around that time, the story says that the cloth was brought there.  The chapel itself is small, but impressive.  Unfortunately, the blood had been packed up and put to bed for the day, so we didn't actually get to see it. Who knew that a piece of cloth could only be out for view during certain times of the day?  C and I lit a candle for some of the people in our lives that we knew would have enjoyed the adventure we were on.  Anyway, here are a few photos of the Basilica below.

By this time, everyone was cold, hungry and thirsty.  So we left the Markt  and made a short walk down a little aisle to one of the absolute must-sees in Bruges, De Garre.  De Garre is an old-world bar that serves delicious beer and provides a glimpse of true belgian beer culture.  If you blink, you might miss the alley.  But, the four of us were able to find it, and Megan was even able to work on her budding modeling career before we entered...

For good reason, the place was nearly full.  Luckily, there was a nice pair of Americans who gave up their corner four top table to us and moved to a small table; so we basically sat right away.  Any visit to De Garre requires a order of the house tripel, which we received almost immediately.  As you can see in the picture below, the De Garre tripel is served in this amazing glass that really enhances the flavor and appearance of the beer.  The head slowly subsided as I drank the beer, but it clings to the glass in a unique way.  At 11.5%, this tripel means business.  However, the alcohol is not overpowering.  The three of us that were drinking all enjoyed it immensely.  Without a doubt, one of the best tripels I have ever had.  A truly world-class experience.  To make it even better, an order of the tripel comes with a plate of cheese, which compliments the beer in every way.
Once we finished the the house tripel, we decided to stay a bit longer.  Being the end of December, the bar had plenty of Christmas beers available.  At the recommendation of the server, I ordered the Bush de Noel, and I could not have been happier.  This beer was super rich and creamy with a hint of holiday spice in the finish.  If I ever have the occasion to drink this beer again, I will definitely do so.  Below are a few pictures of our night at De Garre.

After leaving the bar, we wandered around the city and took in the lights.  We quickly found out that nearly every restaurant in the city requires reservations.  Eventually, we made our way to De Hobbit for all you can eat spare ribs and pasta; the spare ribs were not exactly the best, but to be honest, I wasn't all that picky at that point.  One last picture from Bruges at night is posted below.  Like I said, Bruges was one of my favorites stops during the trip.  I could probably use another three or four days there in order to really appreciate the people and culture.  But, we had more places to visit and only so much time.  Early the next morning we headed back to Eindhoven for our last day with Megan and Todd.