This may seem like an interesting way to start an Interrailing journey but saving costs was at the top of our priorities list and this was the way to do that. Our options were to take the Eurostar from London to Amsterdam, which would require us to travel to London and then each pay the £30 booking fee for Eurostar. This would add up to about £140 in order to get from Sheffield to Amsterdam, so we started looking into alternative options and found an £11 flight from Edinburgh, Scotland to Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The Airbnb we found in Eindhoven was definitely a low-cost, low-expectations option, but it worked for the short amount of time we were spending there.
Sheffield – Edinburgh = £34 each for the train (not using Interrail pass yet)
Edinburgh – Eindhoven = £11 each for the flight
Night in Eindhoven = £42
So for £10 less we were able to add an extra day to our trip, as we had not started using our continuous passes yet. The choice to go to Eindhoven was also part of my end-goal of reaching the tulip fields in Leiden the following day. This is when we would begin our Interrailing journey technically, but that’s for next week’s post.
Evoluon Eindhoven – April 12th, 2019
Oh, Eindhoven….where do I begin. Eindhoven is a popular destination because of the cheap flights that come in and out, and because of the large UFO building that resides within the city. While I am sure the natives of the city know of more cool niches to explore, we struggled to find activities in the area. This also could be due to the exhaustion from a long day of traveling, as there were many parts of Eindhoven that pleasantly surprised us.
Once getting off the flight, we traveled to the city center by bus. This is where the majority of activity seemed to be, as there were performers and a wide variety of shops. The architecture of the city was a stark contrast from the industrial feel of Sheffield, which is otherwise known as the Steel City. In Eindhoven, the public transport access was decorated with bright colors that stood out even on a rainy day.
Eindhoven, The Netherlands – April 12th, 2019
In terms of food, we ended up eating at Happy Italy (https://www.happyitaly.nl/), an Italian restaurant chain that served us large portions at a low cost, which was exactly what we needed at the time. We considered going to a quirky food hall, but unfortunately there was very little room and our hunger was too much for us to wait around (https://www.downtowngourmetmarket.com/). If I returned to Eindhoven, this eatery would definitely be on the list to check out!
Happy Italy certainly delivered, large portions and a pint after a long day of travel – April 12th, 2019
After we had a little bit of energy, we wandered around the city for a little bit. There was a the Sint-Catharinakerk, a large, central cathedral (http://bit.ly/Sint-Catharinakerk). We stumbled upon the PSV Eindhoven F.C. (you’ll soon see that locating football clubs becomes a reoccurring theme when traveling with Peter). Upon Googling places to go in Eindhoven, a common recommendation was Strijp-S, a community that was previously exclusive to Phillips employees that was recently opened to the public (http://bit.ly/Strijp-Slink). There were plenty of cute shops in the area, but none appeared to be open on the Friday night of our arrival. Upon checking reviews online today, it appears that Sunday mornings are also not a prime time to visit this chic, hipster part of town. Another part of Eindhoven to check out on a later trip. We did find this fun zebra-crossing art while walking around Strijp-S though.
To be fair, we spent very little time in Eindhoven, and every city has peak times and more relaxed times. It did place us in a great location to travel to Leiden the following day, where we could experience the Dutch tulips in full bloom, a highlight of my trip.
Sint-Catharinakerk Cathedral – April 12th, 2019
PSV Eindhoven Football Club – April 12th, 2019
Strijp-S Zebra Crossing – April 12th, 2019