Moved here for the "tech scene" but the food market and design week blew me away

Relocated from the US about six months ago and everyone kept hyping Eindhoven as this tech hub. Yeah okay, ASML this, Philips heritage that. But honestly? The real surprises have been the Saturday market on the Markt and stumbling into Dutch Design Week last October with zero preparation.

The food market specifically ruined me. I came from a place where "farmer's market" meant overpriced kale and someone's homemade soap situation. Here I'm getting fresh stroopwafels, proper cheese that actually has flavor, and the hype about the herring is apparently not a joke (still working up courage on that one). And the produce prices compared to what I was paying back home are almost criminal.

Design Week though — I walked in thinking it'd be corporate tech bros showing off gadgets. Instead it was genuinely creative stuff across the whole city. Random buildings turned into exhibitions. My renovation-addicted brain was spiraling with ideas I'll never actually execute. The weather that week was garbage too, classic Dutch autumn rain, which somehow made wandering into random Strijp-S buildings feel even better.

Now spring's finally hitting and I'm realizing this city has way more going on than its reputation suggests. The tech stuff is fine if that's your thing, but the everyday culture here catches you off guard in the best way.

Anyone else feel like Eindhoven undersells itself? What surprised you about this place when you first arrived?