Admittedly, not my choice to attend this concert. I expected neat sweet tear-jerking acoustic songs. That’s great for a few songs, but I would not fancy that for a whole evening. Darn, have I been proven wrong this night. From the first song, an overwhelming and vibrant show. Very entertaining and display of Odell’s virtuosity. Definitely will try to grab a ticket again as soon as he is in the area.
End of an era: after more than seven years we handed over the keys of our appartment in Tilburg. We had a wonderful time in this cozy appartment, but is was time to move on. And we found a fantastic house in a great neigbourhood.
The new show of Marc-Marie Huijbregts again was a joy of recognition of local dialect and habits. The announced break did not take long, as he did have more stories to tell; often the simple things taken from daily life. Fun evenening full of anecdotes and witticisms.
Second year as part of the jury for the popquiz held at the Bosuil venue in Weert. Great atmosphere with a healthy mix of cosiness in rivalry. The lack of ready trivia makes me a lousy competitor (trust me, we tried and were up for the booby prize), yet the jury role is always great fun. 🙂
A night of stand-up comedy for the birthday boy. Â A really nice getaway from the busy days. Theo again demonstrated his good old cynical skepticism, though somewhat milder compared to his early years as stand-up comedian. The center point of attention – sensitivities concerning religion. The takeaway, Theo’s church is humor and freedom of speech. Hear hear!
Those who glance over this blog every now and then know that we closely follow Dez Mona and really adore their music and live performances. Also this gig, at the small stage of the theater in Tilburg, was no expection. The vivacity and emotions conveyed during the concert, however, turned out to be a prelude to a sad message: the future of Dez Mona as we know it today is uncertain. We sure hope to have more songs and great evenings ahead!
New to the neighborhood and the house very much under construction, yet we got to attend the street party. This time with a Rio de Janeiro theme. Great way the get to know your neighbors: home-made meals, wine and beers, and great company. Count us in for next year!
Our main holiday this year was a tad closer to home, and definitely shorter than the last few years. We had our minds set to travel to Poland, based on positive stories, yet without a clear expectation. First of the capitol, Warschau: a city full of character, almost with a Vienna-like grandeur. And yet, the former capitol Krakau was more to our liking, with its historic charm and amazing market square. Besides the city culture experiences, we visited several sites related to WWII, including Auschwitz. A sight with stories that are forever etched in your being; a sad awareness of the cruelty that resides in humanity. Despite the heavy load an experience I would recommend, to make sure such history will never repeat.
With one of the biggest fun fairs in Europe, we always try to dive into the atmosphere for at least one day. Again this year the fun fair was bigger than ever, including the old and current train station area. Yet, I could find only little new attractions. Any fun fair innovation next year? Ah well, observing the people and enjoying seriously unhealthy food makes for a great day anyhow!
An the weekend continues to Brugge. Just as gorgeous, but a tad more touristy. Well, what can you expect in with all the majestic buildings. Love to go back some time soon. 😎
Off for a nice weekend to Belgium, experiencing the cities and culture of our ‘neighbors’. First of Gent: beautiful, historic, warm and inviting. (Did I mention Belgians serve a great beer?) 🙂
A couple of years a go, I committed myself to industry, after several fantastic years in academia. This year, EuroVIS was held in Groningen, so that was an excellent opportunity to get in touch again with all the amazing people in the VIS community. With my support, a colleague presented a talk at EuroRV3 on the gap between industry and academia: the journey beyond the journal. Enjoyed the day in beautiful Groningen.
A special day for Sanne, she took her Communion this day. Special days come with special celebrations. How about a dedicated fries and snack truck in front of the house? Yummy!
A big step this day: the key to our new house! The house is charming and sturdy in a fantastic neighborhood. It will need quite some love (and demolition work) to make this place our new home. 😀
Second visit to the yearly European Collodion weekend, organized by Alex Timmermans. I always enjoy the old photography camera’s and procedures and the nice crowd that is involved with these techniques.
This week a little elephant called Madiba was born in the ‘Beekse Bergen‘ zoo. With our annual pass we were allowed to have look at the youngest offspring before the park opened for general public. Very cute indeed.
Our next visit to the ‘Ik zie u graag’ festival, providing a host of Belgian band and Belgian beers! This year was particularly great for us, as two of our favorite groups were playing: Dez Mona and Trixie Whitley. New and upcoming Bazart is very promising: inspired by ‘de jeugd’, but much more musically skilled. The main head liner of the second day, The Black Box Revelation, performed some of their current hits. They didn’t manage to keep my full attention though. Gotta love Belgian music – looking forward to next year’s line-up 😎
As a season ticket holder, we know the animal park Beekse Bergen quite well. This time we visited with Ellen’s family. Great to see the kids enjoy the park; the slide and swing are still more important than most of the wildlife though 😉
This year the Drones tour of Muse: and drones we got! Another fantastic show, this time in the Ziggo Dome (best venue for large crowds in the Netherlands!). This gig was of course the virtuoso quality we have come to expect of these guys, but also again a visual spectacle. A 360 degree rotating stage with catwalks, flying drones in a choreography in line with the music, and immense projections to set the atmosphere for each song. Just wow! 😎
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