StringGrrl sees the World

Usually when in Amsterdam, the only meal I make a special effort to eat is a Rice Table ( Rijtsttafel ) in the Dutch Indonesian tradition. But what that means is that for all the times I have been in Amsterdam, I have a pretty one dimensional picture of the cuisine available in this international city. StringGirl at Eastman Beer and Grill My colleagues were in the mood for Steak after we had packed up the GTC (Graphics Processing Conference) with NVIDIA held at the Passenger Terminal in Amsterdam. What fulfills a long week a at a trade show better than a good old fashioned steak. You know you are in the right place when the waiter offers you a selection of knives The place that Yelp found for us was the Eastwood Beer and Grill inside the Doubletree Inn and Suites near the Amsterdam Centraal station. There menu was straightforward and exactly what is necessary at a proper steak house with no fluff or filler.  IPA from Brouwerij 't IJ ... for starters With a bee...

StringGirl 3.0 with a large glass of the amber nectar that is Hovels  http://www.hoevels-hausbrauerei.de/hp/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/speisen.pdf The house skillet meal: Potatoes, bier gravy, suckling pig, grilled fleischkase, blood sausage, and bratwurst  The Food at Hovels is hot and hardy. I have to admit that I have only eaten one dish off the menu in all the times I have come to Hovels. What can I say, it is such a great platter full of food, that I have not been able to talk myself into trying any of the other dishes. I only stop here maybe once in a year. If I can get the rest of the company to dine here more often then maybe the frequency can pick up a bit. New friends at the bar The entrance to the Brauhaus from Hohewallstrasse looks like a giant beer kettle, you can't miss it Lighting fixtures from spent bottles Mr. Hops stepped here many years ago, before starting his Geocache journey The Bar

A beautiful afternoon at the Lakeshore, let's walk up that hill over there! Visible as two spires rising above Zurich, Uetliberg is a pleasant natural area with a restaurant, hotel, and observation tower that draws many Swiss and international visitors alike on sunny weekend days. A towering 871 meters above sea level the Uto Kulm does offer great views of Zurich as well as the surrounding Alps. traditional shooting club, Sportschuttzen Zurich-Aussersihl A forest Guardian maybe? The sun already is ducking behind the Uto Kulm to cast a shadow over the Zurichsee A restaurant on the right, farm to the left, Sunset in the center Zurichsee to the left Several peaks of the Alps are visible Jungfrau and the Eiger are in there someplace StringGirl  Hops Joe Climbed as high as we could There goes the sun Selfie from the Top of Zurich observation tower without a proper camera getting the sunset was not really that successfu...

With the upcoming Champions League Cup game between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, many people will be wondering,"Just where the heck is Dortmund ?"   "Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund"  Hails from the city of Dortmund. Dortmund is one of the cities that make up what in much of Germany is known as the "Ruhrpott" (a slightly pejorative term for the Ruhrgebiet, or Ruhr Valley). Dortmund is a town that StringGirl and Amber know well having spent many a trip to Europe there while Eric works at  AutoForm . Dortmund is also the home of Hoevels Hausbrauerei Head downtown to the City Center of Dortmund and you find a not too new not too old, and not too posh German city. It is moderately clean, fairly busy but for the most part all I know of Dortmund is the area just south of the Hauptbahnhof which is pretty much a mall. An area that prides itself for having the largest Christmas Market Tree (that's right just the tree is the largest)...

With the Watertower and Old Brewhouse in the background Amber and StringGirl get ready for the tour The brewery bar and restaurant offers the freshest unfiltered unpasteurized beer straight for the oak barrels These kettles are props for the visitor center Hops and Jan await the tour bus Bottling operations allow for 120,000 bottles of beer per hour The old brewhouse, now just for show Behold, 1,000,000 gallons of beer Fresh from the barrel, bottom aged and conditioned beer The famous gate we see on every bottle of beer Hops is right at home in this barrel of Bohemian Hops Our tour guid pses with StringGirl and Amber In the cellar, they only brew this beer for the tour visitors