Trappist Beer... mmmm....

So a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting a real Trappist brewery here in Holland. For those that don't know what Trappist beer is you can read up more on it here. But in short it is beer that has been made by Trappist monks. These monks follow strict religious rules and live an extremely simple life, yet they make some of the strongest beers in the world. This is all done in the confines of their monastery where making beer is the way in which they support themselves.



What is unique about true Trappist beer is that there are only seven such breweries left in the world. Six are in Belgium and one is in the Netherlands. Located in the Abbey of Koningshoeven, southern Holland, the monks have been producing their brand label La Trappe since 1884.






A view of the Abbey. (We could not go in)








Originally, the monks of the abbey used the brewery as their centerpiece in which they sustained their livelihoods. Yet in recent years they have had to remake themselves to cope with dwindling numbers of monks. While this has not deterred the monks, they have largely shifted over to the role of Board of Directors with brewery operations as most work has been taken over by a professional brewing company. But they still also assist in crafting the beer themselves, adding the much needed religious flavor!









Say a prayer before you enter the brewery.












The brewery grounds.











The monks also have land in which they cultivate to sustain themselves and to earn additional income. It is also located on what used to be the King's royal hunting ground, hence the name Koningshoeven (royal land).














Jackpot!!!

Happy New Years

Hello all- I have been quite busy since I last posted. Sorry for the delay, but I have been doing great and enjoying life in the Netherlands quite a bit. I have had many visitors come through and also finished my second quarter of school. Its amazing that I have been here in Leiden for five months now! I also just recently returned from some holiday travels to Germany for the New Year. So to get you up to speed on my activities these past weeks I leave you with these...

A nice weekend with my cousin Catherine and her friend Elizabeth. They visited from London where they were studying abroad. We just hung out and I showed them around the city. It was a lot of fun.

Elizabeth, Me, Catherine


I also did some Rotary presentations. I attended my local club, Leiden RC and also my host club, Zoetermeer. I made presentations about myself, where I am from, and what I am doing here in Holland.


Me and friend, fellow Rotary Scholar in Leiden, David, at Leiden RC.


Zoetermeer Club President, Me, Host Rotarian Eiso

This was followed by a visit from my friend Georgia. She spent a week here in Leiden seeing how I lived. She had just spent the last four months working on small family farms throughout Europe and was really tired. So while I did my school work, she caught up on her sleep. It was very nice to see her.

Georgia Asleep

Then it 'snowed.' It was not like Minnesota's weather, but somehow snow appeared on everything. It happened during the end of the quarter so I had this to look at from my desk while writing papers. It was an enjoyable view.


From my desk window














At one of the windmills

Before I knew it the date was December 22 and my long-time friend Ryan came out to visit and spend Christmas with me. Ryan also got meet some of my other friends and we had a nice Christmas Eve dinner together at my apartment. We spent about a week here then headed out to Berlin for New Years.







Ryan and David, Christmas Day, Kings Bar








Me and Ryan in Leiden














Our first stop was Potsdam, where we explored the Royal Palaces of the old German monarchy. Potsdam is just a short train ride outside of Berlin and is still quite preserved in it's historical character. We spent most of our time at what is known as Sanssouci. It could be considered a smaller, German version of the Palace of Versailles. While it would probably be nicer in the summer it was still amazing to see these palaces:

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Sans soucci is French for "without cares" Me at the palace





















Another palace.

Historical Fact: This garden hosted the Potsdam Conference of 1945, in which Truman, Churchill and Stalin decided the fate of the post - WWII world.









We then spent a few days for the New Year in Berlin. We saw a lot of the sights, which is easily made possible when you have a city with an amazingly efficient transportation network. We then met up with my friend Phillip from Leiden to ring in the New Year. Phillip, a German, was also with 12 other German friends which made for one very fun night. A real German New Year!
Here is a few of the pictures from Ryan and I sightseeing.





The famous Reichstag, German Parliament
















Remnants of the Wall.






















The Berlin Cathedral and the Berlin TV Tower







After the New Year, Ryan had to return home. So I decided that since I was so close to Phillip's family home in Frankfurt it would be worth seeing. It was a very nice end to the trip and a very interesting city. It is known as the Manhattan of Europe because it is the only city with a skyline.







Named the "Meinhattan" because of it's resemblance to New York and its location on the Mein River.













From the ground
and from 200 meters up

Me at the European Central Bank

Home of the strong Euro...

Our train ride along the Rhine.

One of the many castles.

After those few days in Frankfurt I returned back to comfortable Leiden and waited for my next visitor. Katie, my girlfriend, arrived recently for an extended stay. We are enjoying our time together. It is really great having her out here and things could not be more wonderful!















Katie and I