After the Strasbourg stop, I parted from my brother and his family to do a bit more sightseeing. In a happy surprise, I'd booked a train north along the Rhein river, which afforded occasional views of castles.

I spent yesterday in Eindhoven and Helmond, neighboring towns in the eastern part of the Netherlands, where I wanted to see an exhibit by Yinka Shonibare, MBE. Perhaps my favorite living artist, he works in multiple media and frequently uses these incredible Dutch wax fabrics.

It turns out he uses the fabric of one company, Vlisco, which is headquartered in Helmond. The exhibit I saw helps celebrate their 170th anniversary. They sell most of their fabric in Africa, but apparently most of the manufacturing takes place in the Netherlands.

After seeing the exhibit, I visited Vlisco's outlet store, so my backpack probably weighs more than 40 pounds now, in addition to the two shoulder bags I'll use as carry-ons. Between walking and schlepping, I'm certainly getting my exercise, so I ate French fries both days in the Netherlands (lunch picture shown here).