Category Archives: Belgium

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Turning 50 in Antwerp! Part one

Some women don’t like to share how old they are. They think it’s a shame to have grey hair, sagging boobs, and a butt like a barrel. Well, maybe having a barrel butt is kind of a shame. I probably could and should do something about that… but then again, I probably won’t. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that you never know how long you have. And when it comes down to it, what other people think of me isn’t my business. If I ever decide to make my butt into a different shape, I’ll do it because I want to, not because I’m ashamed.

Belgium is a great place for letting it all hang out. I have enjoyed every trip we’ve ever taken there, starting with our first visit in September 2008. Bill and I were living in the Stuttgart area, and Bill was working day and night on a very annoying project that kept him perpetually busy and traveling. One day, as Labor Day approached, he sent me a really pissy email that read, “I think we need to go to Brussels and see Manneken Pis.” And by God, that’s what we did. We took a first class Thalys train from Stuttgart to Cologne to Brussels and spent the weekend drinking excellent beers, eating chocolate, and enjoying the city’s irreverent vibe. We also visited Bruges.

Then, after we came back to Germany in 2014, we decided to go to Belgium again. We visited the Netherlands in 2015 and traveled through Belgium via Luxembourg, then spent Labor Day weekend 2016 there, visiting the eastern towns of Liege, Barvaux, Durbuy, Rochfort, and Dinant. In 2017, we celebrated my 45th birthday in a little town called Alveringem, which is not far from the beach or the beautiful city of Gent. We also visited Bruges again. Then in 2019, when we spent MLK weekend in the Netherlands, we were very close to the borders with Germany and Belgium, so we visited then, too. Then came COVID-19, which messed up travel for a long while.

As my fiftieth birthday approached, Bill wanted to know what I wanted to do and/or where I wanted to go. I told him he should come up with a trip. I hoped it would be a surprise, but I ended up figuring out where he chose to take me some weeks before the trip happened. He knew I’d been thinking about going to the Netherlands again, but he also knew that I love Belgium. He also found an absolute GEM of a hotel. Antwerp is also known for diamonds and, it being my fiftieth birthday, Bill figured maybe I was due for a new rock. So he booked the hotel, and Friday, the 17th of June, we made our way there, mostly courtesy of Germany’s handy Autobahn system. Our route also took us through a short strip of the Netherlands before we dipped into Belgium and landed at its big port city.

Bill got excited by this truck, which he says is from Osh Kosh, Wisconsin and is probably American equipment on its way to port.

The first thing we noticed about Antwerp was, unfortunately, the rude drivers. I can see why they’re rude, though. Driving in Antwerp is very challenging, especially if you don’t know your way around. There are many bikers and walkers, and they don’t always stay in view, yet they expect drivers to give them space. Once we parked, though, Antwerp became very cute, friendly, and welcoming for all people! Especially the LGBTQ population!

Spanish on the German Autobahn!

Our drive to Antwerp took about four hours, but it took another hour of driving in the hellish maze of one way streets to make our way to our junior suite at the glorious hotel Bill booked, De Witte Lelie (The White Lily), which is a fabulous small, luxury hotel with a little parking garage. Not knowing much about the hotel, other than it has great reviews and quirky furnishings, I was almost tempted to tell Bill that we should cancel there and go somewhere that was accessible! But I’m glad we didn’t do that, because the hotel was superb, and one of the best things about the trip. Yes, it costs a lot to stay there, but if you’re looking to splurge and are into avant-garde style, it’s a great hotel for a special occasion.

De Witte Lily started out as three 17th century buildings, but they’ve now been joined to create a beautiful oasis in Antwerp, complete with a peaceful courtyard, two sitting rooms, a small bar, and a lovely breakfast area. We were pretty exasperated by the time we reached the hotel at about 5:00pm on Friday, but the receptionist quickly opened the garage for us, checked us in (and even carried our bags upstairs), and gave us champagne and chips. I should mention that this hotel has an elevator, but it only services one part of the property. Our room was only accessible by stairs, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, given how much beer we drank (maybe it helped my barrel butt and spare tire).

I had visions of maybe taking day trips to other areas during our weekend, but we were so traumatized by driving in Antwerp and the rather rude drivers there (though, again, now I totally understand why they’re rude), that we decided to just spend the whole time exploring the old town’s cobbled streets, alcoves, and allies. We ate lots of good food, listened to live music, drank plenty of good beer, and did lots of shopping. In this series, which will be pretty brief, since we were only gone four nights, I’ll do my best to cover the highlights. Hope you’ll follow along. Antwerp really is a great place to turn 50… it’s a place where I felt just fine being myself!

Below are a few photos from our travel to Antwerp… they aren’t that exciting, but bear with me. They get better.

We stopped at a rest stop for lunch and a pee. This is a warning to would be cheats and thieves.
Crossing a bridge…
An oasis of calm after we checked in.
A brief refreshment.
The wallpaper…
in the lobby bathroom…
was something to behold.
Cheers!

I’ll get more into the details of the hotel in part two. Stay tuned!

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We’re in Antwerp, Belgium!

I don’t have time to write a long post right now, since we’re here to celebrate my birthday, which is on Monday. I did want to take a moment to upload a couple of videos from today, since Facebook is a real pain about copyright.

Antwerp is a beautiful, artsy city with friendly people and great food. We’re in a beautiful, quirky hotel, too. The only thing we’ve found so far that sucks is driving in the city, which is a real nightmare. But I’ll get into that when I write up my series, which will probably happen Tuesday, when we get home.

This lady had the most beautiful voice. I actually cried when she sang…

A bunch of guys were singing “Don’t You Want Me” while peddling and drinking beer… They were funny!

So far, today, we have visited the cathedral, the “View” ferris wheel, and a great Israeli restaurant called Shuk.

Right now, we’re taking a short break, cooling off, and resting for a bit until the sun goes lower and it’s not so hot outside. I look forward to seeing more of the city in awhile. Until then, later!

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My online shopping life… or, the pandemic has made us learn new things.

It’s hard to believe that just a year ago, Bill and I were preparing to journey to France to see our friends Audra and Cyril and celebrate Christmas with them and their family. This year, we don’t go anywhere. I’m serious. I haven’t left our neighborhood in over two months. It’s getting old.

But I’m trying to keep my spirits up. The other day, I ordered chocolates from Neuhaus. I was a victim of Facebook advertising, which kept showing me pictures of Belgian chocolate. Then I remembered that once upon a time, when I was still a working woman, I actually used to sell Neuhaus chocolates.

I worked at a place called Henry Street Chocolatier, which was located in Williamsburg, Virginia. They sold high end chocolates from Neuhaus and Joseph Schmidt, a now defunct confectioner out of San Francisco, California that specialized in making chocolate truffles. They also had locally produced pastries and coffee by First Colony, an outfit out of Norfolk, Virginia. I think First Colony as I knew it went out of business, but they also used to sell coffee to The Trellis, a restaurant where I worked a few years later. It looks like First Colony was sold, so the brand still exists, but it’s not the same people running it.

I ended up buying a shitload of chocolates. I bought a 500g ballotin of Neuhaus truffles, a 500g ballotin of regular chocolates, and a wine tasting chocolate set. Neuhaus also has champagne and coffee tasting sets– those are chocolates specifically selected to be tasted with wine, champagne, and coffee. Wine is not included in the sets, but you do get a nifty booklet in several languages.

I also bought wines from Georgia, Croatia, and Hungary, but they haven’t arrived yet.

Friday night, Bill and I discussed my desire to buy an electric guitar. I showed him the one I wanted, which is quite pricey. I ended up ordering one of those yesterday as my own Christmas present. I tried to get it through its manufacturer’s Web site, but the sale wouldn’t go through. Like, it wouldn’t even attempt to go through at all. So I found the guitar I wanted on another site and did successfully order it. I don’t think the charge has been processed yet. Hopefully, it will go through. Sometimes the credit card companies are very cautious when you live in Europe and have an American billing address. If it actually gets to me, I’ll post a picture of it.

I have about half the cash needed to pay for the guitar waiting in a savings account I usually use for traveling. We aren’t doing any of that, so it makes perfect sense to just get the guitar I want. It will give me incentive to keep practicing. Not that I need incentive. I made some real progress with my guitar playing yesterday, finally managing to awkwardly play several difficult chords in the same shape. No, they aren’t perfect, but a few months ago, I couldn’t even attempt them. Now, if I’m very careful, I can actually make them ring out somewhat. Anyway, Bill is going to buy me an amp, and once he’s learned a bit more on his guitar, he’ll probably buy one he likes, too.

We also ordered sushi from Tam’s Kitchen. It was a cold, rainy night, and didn’t really seem like sushi weather, but I was dying for some. And here in Breckenheim, we happen to have a really great sushi guy who does deliveries. I think he’s actually a caterer. I don’t think he has a restaurant, per se. But you can order sushi and it will be super fresh and delicious. So that’s what we did Friday night. I think Tam is actually from Vietnam, but he sure has a way with raw fish.

Way too much chocolate!
Wine is not included…
The BEST sushi…
We should have ordered more.
Bill tastes the Neuhaus chocolates with some wine. He’s practicing for when we try the actual wine tasting chocolate set.

Last night, I watched the memorial service done for my cousin, Karen, who died a couple of weeks ago. She was the third family member I’ve lost since mid October. I learned some new things about my cousin, who was eighteen years older than I am. We weren’t very close, but she was very much beloved by her family and our extended family. Watching the video made me miss being at home somewhat, although I think during this pandemic, I’d rather be in Germany.

And Noyzi and Arran are doing fine. Noyzi is particularly adorable these days. He has a new habit of silently showing up, ghostlike, when it’s time to eat. I slip him a little snack from the table, which is probably not a great thing to do… but he’s so sweet and basically well-behaved that my heart melts a bit.

He’ll let me hug him, but he’s still afraid of Bill. He also loves snow. We had some the other day, and he had a blast.
Arran adores Bill.

I suspect today will be more of the same stuff. It’s cold and wet, and Germany is still locked down. Oh, I guess they call it Lockdown Lite, since stores are still open, and it’s been extended until January 10th. But there’s nothing to do anyway, and the weather is icky. So we’ll stay home, listen to music, and buy stuff online. 2020 has mostly sucked… but in some ways, it’s been kind of awesome. I miss traveling, but it’s also been nice to find new ways to occupy my time and spend money. And we are grateful we still have the money to spend. Maybe it will help some people stay in business.

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We went Dutch for MLK weekend 2019! Part four.

After we visiting Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, we decided to search for lunch.  I think Cuba must be a popular destination for the Dutch, since our hostess, Nel, had said she was headed to Cuba for two weeks after we departed yesterday.  I also noticed that tiny Vijlen has a Cuban restaurant called Cuba Libre.  I had wanted to try it, but as we were leaving the three countries park, Bill took a wrong turn and we ended up in Belgium.

Oops!

I started thinking about excellent beers and frites, so we looked for a place to eat on our detour.  We didn’t find a place that was especially inviting, but I did manage to take some pictures.

I’m not sure what this is.  There were no signs near it.  I thought it was very pretty, though.  ETA: My German friend tells me this is Beusdael Castle, which is no longer open to the public.  It was purchased by a Dutch family in 2002, although it is located in the Belgian village of Sippenaeken.  It dates back to the 13th century and is surrounded by a moat.  Prior to World War II, people used to visit the castle to see a glass coffin that contained the remains of a young wife of one of the owners, who died still beautiful at the age of 25.

 

Ditto for this…  Bunker with a Belgian flag next to it.  Lots of people were out walking.  The roads were a bit narrow and very country.  I loved it, since I prefer the rural life.  

For some reason, someone was flying the Belgian and U.S. flags.  You don’t see this too often in these parts…

Our scenic joyride took us on a loop that brought us back to the road where our apartment was located.  We decided to head back into Vijlen and have lunch.  The big parking lot in front of Cuba Libre was for a nearby hotel.  We didn’t feel like searching for another place to park, so we decided to eat at the hotel instead.  That wasn’t a bad idea.  The food was good and the interior of the restaurant was charming.

The big hotel in town.  There are a other places to stay, even though Vijlen is a small town.  In the warm months, people come from all around to hike.  This is the most “mountainous” part of the Netherlands, after all.

I loved the little bar, especially the beer taps.

 

And the pies looked delicious, although we didn’t partake!  I think the Dutch must have perfected pies.  I saw them everywhere and they looked so good!

Bill had a burger, which he said tasted alright.  I think it might have been “gemischtes” (mixed) pork and beef.  

 

For once, I was braver and had a chicken sandwich with cashews.  The Google Translate app really came in handy, since only a few Dutch words resemble German.  I never would have known what this was if I hadn’t had the ability to aim my phone at the text and get an instant translation.  Fortunately, the waitress also spoke excellent English.  This sandwich, served open faced, had a spicy sweet Asian dressing as well as a colorful salad.  It was very substantial.

I got a kick out of this.  French wine for a Dutch charity with an English name.  Each bottle sold benefits the less fortunate.  We decided to have beer, though.

 

Bill’s was a little “flute”.

The Dutch are very civilized.  They had this sanitizer available in the toilet stalls in case you wanted to clean the seat.  “Clean attack” indeed!  I’m sure there are other places that have this, but I’ve only seen it in the Netherlands.

Below are a few more photos from our excursion.  It really is absolutely beautiful in this part of the country.  When we lived near Stuttgart, we often went to Ribeauville when we needed a short break from Germany.  Now that we’ve found Vijlen, and it takes about the same amount of time to get to and from there as it did for us to go to France, we may declare this our go to spot for breaks from Wiesbaden.  It’s just three hours away and offers proximity to Aachen, Germany and Belgium!

Next time we visit, we will have to visit the Cuban restaurant and the nearby “gelato farm” in Belgium.

Zane took a minor spill on the steep steps.  Poor guy struggled a little, but eventually got the hang of it.

He enjoyed the bed, though.

Since we were full from lunch, this cherry pie was dinner.  Bill found it at a bakery.  It was delicious!  He had an apple pie, minus the fancy lattice work.

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We went Dutch for MLK weekend 2019! Part three.

Saturday morning, we woke to beautiful sunny skies.  The weather in Wiesbaden has been so yucky lately that the sunshine was especially energizing.  The dogs went a little nuts when they saw Yogi prowling around outside, but then Nel invited us to let the dogs play with her in a little paddock.  Zane and Yogi got along beautifully, but Zane gets along with everyone.  Arran needed to warm up a bit, but he also had a great time.  They rolled around in chicken shit and ran like a couple of youngsters.  It’s been awhile since I last saw them play so hard, especially Zane!

Adorable Yogi is eight months of unbridled puppy energy!  She was jumping up to give me a kiss when I took this photo, even though it looks like she’s on the ground.  Who could resist that smile?

Yogi was a great canine hostess!

Yes, the chickens were tempting, but fortunately, they were well protected.

The horses looked on in amusement.

They were so happy that they came running to me when they saw me with the camera.

Arran checks out the henhouse.  No hens were harmed.

I think Zane wanted to play with the chickens.

I already miss Yogi.  She’s so cute!

A picture of the outside of the house.

 

After an extended play session, we brought the dogs inside and went on a short excursion, starting with the St. Martinus boutique winery.  The winery is literally steps away from Nel’s house.  We could have walked there very easily, but we wanted to make a purchase and we didn’t know how much we’d be buying.

The entrance to the winery.  It’s a rather small vintner, but they have a beautiful tasting room.  In the summer, they offer group tours of the facility.

When we arrived at the winery, the parking lot was pretty empty.  Bill parked far away anyway.

By the time we left about thirty minutes later, the lot was fuller.  We even ran into an American couple who appeared to be affiliated with the military, but we didn’t chat them up.  The male half had the air of an up and coming officer.  My guess is that they were Air Force.  😉

 

The very friendly lady behind the counter spoke perfect English and let us try several of the wines, which included several whites, a red, a rose, and a couple of sparkling wines.  They also had beer that had been aged in wine barrels.  We bought several bottles of wine and a couple of the beers.  I had one of the beers last night, and it was surprisingly good.  I was expecting it to be sweet and cloying, but it was actually much drier.

The tasting room, which offers a lovely view of the surrounding countryside.

Bill tastes a sparkling wine.  I never knew the Dutch made such good vino.  The whites were good, and we bought a bottle of red, which was unusual but interesting.  The biggest surprise to me was the rose, which was dry and had a finish that reminded me of buttered popcorn with a little zing at the end.

Beautiful scenery!  This is one thing I miss about our former house near Stuttgart.

 

After we visited the winery, we headed to Vaals.  It’s just a few miles from Vijlen.  There’s a park there where you can visit Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands at the same time.  Although it was sunny on Saturday, the weather was quite cold.  Still, lots of people were visiting and, if we’d wanted to, we could have had lunch there or visited the labyrinth.  There’s also a tower to climb where visitors can get a look at three countries at the same time, hiking trails, and lots of playground equipment for kids.  I expect it gets busy there during the warmer months.  We could have spent more time there and not been bored.

Parking is two euros a day.  When you leave, you deposit your coins into the green machine.

 

A commemorative rock.


Someone brought her horse.  I was jealous.  You can bring your dogs, of course.  We did not bring ours.

 

Bill gets his bearings by looking at the sign.

The entrance to the labyrinth.  If it had been a little warmer, we might have tried it.  I read that it’s a pretty challenging maze.

 

The big tower.  It was too cold for us to consider climbing up, although there is also an elevator.  Maybe next time.

A picture of the labyrinth… again, an activity we might try next time.  

This sign was in Belgium.  It was in French.

 
 
 

And here it is…  three countries, no passports required.  This may not seem like a big deal to some folks, but I’ve never even been to Four Corners in the United States.

 

The Netherlands…

Belgium…

Germany…

 

And one more photo for the road.  The border itself isn’t all that exciting, but there are a few family activities available.

 

We probably should have gone up the tower.

 

We didn’t have to pay for anything besides parking, although there are a couple of restaurants there and I think there is a fee to climb the tower.  The labyrinth is also not free.  I noticed a couple of other restaurants in the area, including one that had its own tower.  We decided not to eat at the park, since there was a Cuban restaurant in Vijlen I wanted, and failed, to try.

Bill took a wrong turn and we took a short jaunt through Belgium, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I’ll post pictures in the next installment.

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My Belgian birthday! Part six

We got up early yesterday morning, had breakfast, and did some basic cleaning up of the house.  I’m usually awake by 5:30am because Bill wakes me on his way to work.  This time of year, waking up is effortless because we get so much daylight.  The sun is up by five o’clock in the morning and sets at around ten in the evening.  I could have used a few more minutes of sleep to prepare me for the odyssey that was getting back to Germany.

I had suggested to Bill that he might want to consider driving through France.  That’s what we did the last time we drove home from Belgium.  We did have to pay tolls, but we ran into less traffic.  Bill was eyeing the projected eight or nine hour haul and decided it would be quicker to come back via Germany (as opposed to Germany and Luxembourg, which was yet another route we took last fall).  Since Bill was driving, I demurred to his wishes.

We set off at about eight o’clock, not having said goodbye to Marianne because we didn’t know if she was up yet.  About two hours into our drive, I got a message from her expressing sorrow that we hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye in person.  I immediately felt badly about that.  She had shown us the spot to put the keys and I thought that meant she was expecting us to just go.

Anyway, I sent her a message thanking her profusely for her hospitality and promising that I’d write a good review.  She really is a nice lady and we enjoyed her very unusual and old house.

As we progressed east, Bill was nervously watching the GPS.  We had already hit several traffic jams and he was getting tired.  I was already hungry by 10:30am, plus I’ve been ragging for several days.  Bill was in a hurry to get home and we had the dogs with us, so he kept driving… and driving…  And then, when we crossed over into Germany, we entered an area with a dearth of rest areas.  Besides being hungry, I also needed to pee.

I got grouchier and grouchier and started fantasizing about biergartens.  Then Bill noticed that there was a huge delay on our route.  It would take 162 minutes to get through it.  Quickly, he consulted the GPS for another route…  one that would take us through France.  (sigh– why doesn’t he listen to his hangry wife?)

Zane was camped out on our cooler, trying to get as close to up front as his harness would allow.  Arran, being an unusually calm traveler, was passed out on the back seat.  I wish he was that chill in all situations.

Finally, we reached the town of Zweibruecken, which appeared to be a relatively nice little city.  He pulled into a McDonald’s and got us some of Ronald’s cooking…  It filled a purpose, although I couldn’t help wishing we could have found a nice local place where we could dine with the pooches.  Maybe next time.  It was about 1:30pm, so I was pretty cranky when we stopped.

The rest of the drive back was equally distressing, especially when we stopped for gas at the horrible Pforzheim rest stop.  That place is always a madhouse.  I have never not seen the parking lots full.  Add in the obnoxious truckers who were driving down the parking lot against the slanted parking spaces and you have a recipe for gratuitous swearing.

This was Pforzheim yesterday.  It was a mob scene.

 

I think we finally arrived home at 5:30pm.  I went to the mailbox to see if there were any instructions as to how to pick up our coffee.  There weren’t.  I checked Deutsche Post to see if we could track down where the coffee ended up.  Their Web site crashed on me.  I was expecting to get a visit from the postal person today, but Bill just emailed me to say that the coffee ended up in our CMR mailbox.  Although we had sent it to our German address, my billing address was the CMR box.  So it went through customs, but ended up in the APO system.  Apparently, Bill was able to pick it up without any nastygrams or big duty bills.  Happy birthday to me, indeed!

Although yesterday’s drive home was exhausting, Bill did find the energy to go to Real and pick up some food for dinner… and a little slice of cake for me.  I got myself a keeper!  Which only goes to show you that it’s not a total waste of time to troll porn sites.  😉

 

We had a great time in Belgium.  I always have fun there.  Maybe we could have done more with our time, but we find that when we travel with our dogs, we just like to chill out and enjoy the local scene, eat local food, drink local beers and wines, and just simply enjoy being out of Germany for a few days.  Alveringem was a bit further away than we were expecting, but we had a great time there. Maybe if we go back, we’ll schedule two days of driving or fly.  One place I was expecting to visit on the way out was the Westvleterin Brewery.  We passed the town on the way to Alveringem.  But, since we left the area a different way, we didn’t get the chance to stop.  Oh well… given how long it took to get there and back, maybe it’s a blessing.

Maybe this weekend, we’ll make up for my birthday dinner with a trip to a nice restaurant or two.

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My Belgian Birthday! Part five

Since we were sort of in the area, Bill and I decided to visit Ghent (or Gent) on Monday.  Ghent is a bit further away from Alveringem than Bruges is, but I had heard it’s a beautiful city.  Another frequently recommended Belgian city is Antwerp, but that wasn’t convenient to us on this trip.

Bill went to town again for more croissants.  The lady who sold him the croissants asked, “English?”  Bill said yes.  So she laughed and said, “Ta ta!”  We both had a laugh over that– since it’s kind of an antiquated Britishism.  I guess it would be hard to tell where an English speaker is from if it’s not your native tongue.  Like, I would have trouble telling Schwabish from Bavarian.  It was pretty funny just the same.

We said good morning to our animal companions before we left.  The bunny came back, as did the cows and chickens.

Marianne told us that they were doing some extensive roadwork in Ghent.  That turned out to be true.  Bill was a bit white knuckled as he searched for a parking garage.  Ignoring my gasp and warning of “Look out!”, he managed to drive over a couple of… well, I don’t know what they were, but he wasn’t supposed to drive over them.  He was focused on the construction, while I was focused on the things on the road that he was supposed to drive around as opposed to over.

Once again, we were pleased by the parking garage, which was very clean and offered a relatively pleasant unisex bathroom.  This one was free and came with its own mood music.  In our case, it was a new song by Phil Collins.

The parking garage in Ghent even had its own Breathalyzer!  First time I’ve ever seen one of these.  I think it’s very progressive.

Our first stop was in a cathedral in Ghent, which turned out to be even more beautiful than the one in Bruges.  We walked through the crypt and checked out the artifacts as well as the ornate interior.  Once again, Bill was moved to tears.  Bill frequently gets overcome by beautiful art or places.  With me, it’s music.  Had a choir been singing, I probably would have been bawling like I was in Haarlem two years ago.

Our next stop was a bank.  One snag we hit on this trip was USAA erroneously thinking Bill’s debit card was compromised by fraud.  He managed to make a purchase at Johnny Rocket’s at Ramstein.  Then the card quit working.  He had to call USAA to straighten it out.  While we were Ghent, he needed to replenish his cash.  For some reason, we had a hard time finding a bank.  But while we were searching, I was able to get some nice photos.

Ghent is actually a very beautiful town, though perhaps not as quaint as Bruges is.  It was also pretty crowded, but not as obnoxiously so as Bruges was.

I think this was once the post office, but it now appears to be a mall.

I didn’t take a lot of photos in the Ghent cathedral, but I had to get one of the choir loft.  On the other side, there was identical seating.  That must be quite a choir!

American themed clothing store.  

Bill and I thought it was funny that the Marriott was offering “High Wine”… especially since it’s historically tied to a high profile Mormon family.

We stopped for lunch at a little restaurant called de Grill.  There was a lot of outdoor seating under umbrellas and they were offering an attractive special involving steaks.  Bill and I went for seafood, though.

And beer…  I had a tripel and Bill had an amber by Gentse.  Again, it was good enough that we bought some to bring back to Germany with us.

We watched people in boats passing… many of them had rainbow colored parasols.  Actually, both Bruges and Ghent appeared to be very LBGT friendly.

I had a fish brouchette, which included salmon, shrimp, and whitefish.  It was excellent!  I was especially pleased by the salmon, which was perfectly cooked.  And of course, there was a trough of fries and Bearnaise sauce.

Bill had croquettes made with shrimp and cheese.  He said it was good that I didn’t order the croquettes because the cheese was pretty strong.  He loves his strong cheeses.  

I had a Gentse Gruut Inferno for dessert.  I think it annoyed the waiter, who was clearly in a hurry to shut down. 

He closed the unused tables at 1:45pm and was happy to bring out the check for us.  Bill says lunch was just under fifty euros.

I could have spent a little more time in Ghent.  I’d like to go back sometime without the dogs and walk around for awhile.

Ubiquitous Coca-Cola!

We stopped at the store again on Monday to stock up for our drive back to Germany.  We stocked up on beer, cheese, and hair products.  After another low key evening at our rural hideaway, we were well-rested for the very long drive back to Stuttgart.

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My Belgian birthday! Part four

Bill and I visited Bruges (or Brugge, if you prefer) back in September 2008.  I remember very clearly why we were on our first trip to Belgium.  He had been working hard on an exercise at EUCOM and was exhausted from the late nights and demands of his bosses.  Labor Day was coming up and he knew we’d have a long weekend.  So he sent me an email that read, “Darling, I think we should go to Belgium and see Mannekin Pis.”

I could practically hear in my mind the edge to his voice.  Bill is usually a super laid back, easygoing guy.  But the demands of his job had put him in a foul mood.  I could tell.  So I found us a nice hotel in Brussels and we visited, traveling via first class on the Thalys train.  While we were in Brussels, we took a day trip to Bruges.

Bruges is a beautiful city, but it’s generally packed with many tourists.  Such was the case on Sunday, when we visited again after an almost nine year absence (wow– time flies!).  I figured things would be open in Bruges on Sunday and I was right!  After about a forty-five minute drive on a fine highway, we found ourselves in the quaint city.  Bill found a very convenient parking garage that actually won an award for being as awesome as it is.  It even has red and green lights to show which parking spots are open.  I was delighted to find a clean public restroom, even though we had to pay 40 cents each to use it.

As nice as the garage was, I can’t say the same for the area just outside of it.  Apparently, extensive renovations are going on, so we ended up walking through a construction site that butted up to a row of restaurants and bars.  Once we got through that mess, we were in familiar territory.  We walked toward the train station to see if the restaurant where we had lunch the last time was still operating.  It was, and it smelled good— in fact, we probably should have eaten there.  They have great Middle Eastern food.  But Bill wanted to go somewhere different.

Anyway… if you find yourself in Bruges and want something vegetarian or made with curry, De Stoelpa is a good bet.

It offers a good place for pictures, too…

I took this next to an art gallery that we didn’t visit.  We probably should have gone in and checked out the art.  

But we went into the cathedral instead.  As usual, Bill was moved to tears.

Since it was Father’s Day and my dad is now in the great beyond, I lit a candle for him.  I also unloaded a lot of loose change.

We wandered around the city for awhile in the hot sun until we came upon the “Little Venice of the North” area (seems like so many European cities have Little Venices).  Although I usually prefer to find places that are off the beaten track, it was hot and I was hungry.  And Jilles Beer & Burgers sounded like it was just the ticket.

We sat at a table right next to the window, which proved to be an excellent spot for people watching.  Jilles Beer & Burgers has all kinds of burgers– everything from the usual beef burger to veggie burgers.  They also have a large beer list and beer pairings for their sandwiches.

Bill checks out the burgers.  He had some trouble deciding because there were several appealing choices.

 
 

This was the suggested brew for my choice.  I think it was called the Bacon Eli.  Basically, it was a bacon cheeseburger with a sauce that tasted Thai inspired.  It was sweet, spicy, and a little peanuty.

 

Not bad.  The frites came with mayo, but I was also happy to see a big bottle of ketchup on the table.

 

Although the label was a little odd.

 

Bill’s burger… the name of it escapes me.  The burgers all came with side salads.  Frites were an extra three euros.  We shared an order and that was plenty!  I don’t think we finished them.  

 

Beer for dessert!  This one was so good, we bought some to bring back to Germany.

 

Too bad I quit coloring my hair.  How would they know if the rug doesn’t match the drapes?

 

A guy on a trike.  Little did we know it, but a bike race was scheduled… and we were at a great vantage point for watching.

 

I did get some film footage.  Maybe later, I’ll upload it.

 

Below are more shots of Bruges.  It really is a beautiful city, although there were so many people there the other day.  I don’t have the tolerance for crowds I once had.  But we did manage to find our way to a chocolatier.  All the while, Bill was quoting lines from the film In Bruges, which we discovered during our last time in Germany.

This is a pretty funny film, though it’s not for the straightlaced.

Bill just before we bought a kilo of chocolates.  Hello!  Present for my ass!

The candle on the end was for my dad.  I’m not Catholic, but it seemed appropriate to light one for him.  Bill used to be Catholic (and Episcopalian, Methodist, and Mormon)…  He suggested it.  I think of all the religions he’s tried, Catholicism speaks to him the loudest.  I have always been Presbyterian and have no urge to change, not that I go to church much anymore.  Incidentally, we were married by a Presbyterian minister whose parents immigrated to Canada from Scotland.  I recently reconnected with the minister who married us (and was my boss for awhile).  He’s now Catholic and has changed careers!

I got a kick out of the award our parking garage won!  It’s good to have goals.

When we got back to the house, the boys were waiting for us.

So was the couch and Belgian TV… and beer.  Actually, I think we ended up watching an Australian soap called Neighbors.  It was different!

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My Belgian birthday! Part three

On our first morning, Bill headed into the very small town and picked up some croissants from one of the two local bakeries.  He also bought a loaf of very fresh farmhouse bread, which we didn’t end up finishing.  It was huge!

As we enjoyed eggs from Marianne’s chickens and milk from the farm next door, we discussed what our plans were for the day.  Although I hadn’t expressly planned it, our location put us very close to the beach.  Since I grew up near the beach and miss the water, I decided we should head there for lunch and a stroll along the shore.  It turns out Koksidje, located on the North Sea, is maybe about a half hour’s drive from Alveringem.  I was impressed by the beach.  The sand was really nice and the water was warm and inviting.  I wished I’d brought a bathing suit!

The tide was way out when we visited.

Bill checks out the long walk to the water.

I thought this was a crack pipe at first.  Gotta stop watching cop shows.

I took a picture of this house because it was cool looking.

We found a parking spot in a shopping area right next to the beach, took a short stroll around the neighborhood, and stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Rimini.  There was plenty of outdoor seating, but I preferred an inside table.  I like to spare my skin from too much sun if I can .

Bill looking severe.  I’m not sure why.

 

The menu was in French and Dutch, but our waiter spoke perfect English.

I took a picture of this so I wouldn’t forget the name of the restaurant.

I decided to have shrimp croquettes.  It turns out croquettes are very popular in this part of Belgium.  I saw them offered everywhere.  These reminded me of crabcakes.  I have never been a fan of crabcakes, but I did enjoy the shrimp croquettes.  They were very flavorful and kind of moist.  I’m not sure if they were going for moist, but it wasn’t a bad thing.

Naturally, we also had frites.  Frites are everywhere in Belgium!

Bill had a skewer of grilled shrimp seasoned with curry and served with tartar sauce.  He really enjoyed the shrimp, but I think I liked my moist croquettes more.

I saved room for dessert.  This was called the Grand Dame.  It was bourbon vanilla ice cream with warm chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a waffle cookie.  How Belgian can you get?  I usually don’t have ice cream for dessert, but I had a craving.  This hit the spot nicely.

Bill had chocolate mousse, which was also very satisfactory.

After we finished eating, we encountered the first of many unisex public restrooms in Belgium.  I actually found that kind of refreshing.  I mean, the stalls were totally private, so it was no big deal.  Of course, I made a mistake and accidentally used the men’s stall.  I guess the urinal should have given me a clue.

Outside of the restaurant.

 

Bill was concerned about our two hour parking limit, but I was dying to walk on the sand and test the water.  I convinced him no parking authorities would come running out to ticket him if I took a few minutes to enjoy the beach.  He relented and I went down to the water, which had very gentle surf and was pleasantly warm.  I could have stayed there all day.  It was just lovely.  The sand was lovely, too… no pebbles or rocks.

On the way back to the car, we got mooned by a statue.

The Hokey Pokey perhaps?

One last shot of the sand.  I think we may have to come back and do this beach properly.

On the way back to the house, we stopped by the Carrefour.  It’s a very nice place to shop with high quality groceries and home goods.  I liked it because it had a public restroom and nice lighting.  And if I had wanted to, I could have bought a bike.  Like their northern Dutch neighbors, Belgians in Flanders are very partial to biking.  Bikes are everywhere!  And I saw everything from tandem bikes to tricycles!

They even had an electric bike for sale.

You’d never guess this picture was taken next to the Carrefour.  It’s a very pretty area.

 

Although it was only mid afternoon, it was hot out and Bill and I felt like hanging out with the dogs and drinking beer.  So that’s what we did.  We went back to the house and watched American TV on Belgian cable, drank some excellent Belgian brews, and hung out with Zane and Arran.  Bill cooked dinner and we turned in early with big plans to visit Bruges on Sunday.

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My Belgian birthday! Part two

We arrived at Holiday Home Bonjour Clara at about 7:00pm, having originally overshot the driveway and ended up at the dairy farm next door.  Marianne, the proprietor of the vacation home, was waiting for us.  While I walked and watered Zane and Arran, Marianne showed Bill around the humongous house.  She told him it was built in 1670.  Looking around the impressive brick house, I totally believe it’s that old.

Marianne was very surprised there were only two of us and dogs.  She said she usually rents her house out to large groups.  Holiday Home Bonjour Clara has sleeping space for at least ten people.  There are three rooms that could be considered master bedrooms, along with two “cubby” type rooms.  One has a full sized bed and the other tiny nook has bunk beds.  There are also two sofas downstairs, a crib, and plenty of floor space for cots and/or sleeping bags.

Holiday Home Bonjour Clara has two bathrooms, one on each floor.  One has a shower and the other has a large bathtub.  There’s also a water closet.  Should the need arise, you can even do laundry in the house.  Marianne has thoughtfully included a washing machine, which we did end up having to use.

The kitchen is enormous!

 

The kitchen in this house is huge and inviting.  There’s a large table with seating for several people.  In the dining room, there’s another large table, as well as several tables outside.  The kitchen has a stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher, and fridge, as well as plenty of other appliances you might want or need.

Huge table for a group.  In the next room are a couch and a loveseat, as well as a flatscreen TV with plenty of channels in English.  I love that Belgian TV has programming in English with French or Flemish subtitles.

Living room.  Wood stove for the winter.  There’s also another fireplace in the dining room.

The upstairs bathroom has a shower.  Arran is checking it out.  Marianne supplies plenty of towels, so there’s no need to worry about bringing linens.

The downstairs bathroom.  A water closet is next to it.  This is also where the washing machine is.

 

The cool looking sink in the WC.  Marianne has decorated this house with a lot of art.  I don’t know if she’s an artist herself, but I would not be surprised if she was.

 

The foyer.  Steep stairs lead to the upper level.  The downstairs bedroom also has a small set of steps to climb.  Those with mobility issues may have problems in this house because getting into all of the rooms involve climbing steps.

 

A couple of the bedrooms.  We stayed in the one pictured with Zane on the bed.  Every morning, we awoke to birds chirping, owls hooting, and the smell of beer.  I’m pretty sure the local breweries were supplying their spent barley to farmers for feeding their cows.  There is a dairy farm next door.

This house is equipped with WiFi.  The signal went in and out, which was a little annoying.  However, I was surprised it worked as well as it did, since the building is very old.  It’s been my experience that Internet in older buildings can be a bit dodgy.

After we toured the house, Marianne showed us the coolest (literally) feature her holiday home offers.  She has a “swimming pond!”

Bill checks out the “pond”.  It was refreshingly cold!

This pond is also home to two fish.  They aren’t koi, but they are similar to koi.  Marianne couldn’t remember what they were called in English.  She says they are smarter than koi because they somehow avoid being snatched by birds of prey!  The fish aren’t bothered by human guests.  I did take a short dip just to say I did.  Unfortunately, I was visited by my unpopular “Aunt Flow” over the weekend.  She always shows up at the worst possible times.

A bench near a very pleasant sitting area.

Large yard for the dogs.  This was not completely fenced in, so we couldn’t let them off lead.  Marianne has a dog, but he stayed near the house.  He seemed very friendly.

Next to the house is a canal, where a family of birds was living.  They looked a little like ducks.

I thought they were ducks at first, but upon closer examination, they looked more like small pheasants.

A morning shot of the pond.

 

Lily pads.

 

The pond has a rope that facilitates getting in and out.  Otherwise, you have to be pretty careful getting in and out.  I noticed Marianne’s college aged son seemed to take a leap into the water.  In any case, this isn’t your typical American pool with lots of safeguards.  Use at your own risk and be careful!  We thought it was a pretty nice feature, though.

After our dip in the pond, we sat by the canal and drank beer.

This was the view.

 

Besides birds, Holiday Home Bonjour Clara has a wild bunny who visits in the mornings and evenings.

And two chickens who were almost tame!  They let me get within a foot of them.  And every morning and evening, they peeked into the house.

On our first night, we arrived too late to get to a grocery store.  Marianne very kindly brought us eight eggs from her chickens, some ham, butter, and bread.  The eggs were especially delicious!

Breakfast for dinner!

 

Since we didn’t have any cream for my coffee, Bill went to the farm next door and purchased a liter of milk.  This very fresh milk cost 50 cents.  The farm also has potatoes, but Marianne said they’d been experiencing a drought and the potatoes are very difficult to unearth right now.

All in all, this house was a delight for four nights.  If you’re looking for a home that can accommodate a group and is pet friendly, I would recommend Holiday Home Bonjour Clara.  Besides being in a delightful rural area, it’s close to Ghent, Bruges, and the beach.

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