Category Archives: Belgium

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Turning 50 in Antwerp… Part four

One thing I noticed and really liked about Antwerp is that there’s a huge variety of different types of food available there. Yes, you can find the usual Belgian inspired cuisine, with croquettes, frites, and waffles, but there are also more exotic choices. There’s plenty of Italian food, Spanish food, Greek food, Asian food, and even some fun fusion, like Peruvian-Japanese! For lunch on Saturday, we found our way to an Israeli place called Shuk. Bill and I actually ended up eating on the backside of the restaurant. The front side was facing the street we’d need to cross to get back to our hotel. It was super close!

The weather was very hot and sunny on Saturday, so the first thing we did when we sat down was order lemonade. I had a mint lemonade, and Bill had pomegranate lemonade, plus we had a large bottle of sparkling water. For lunch, I had Za’atar chicken hummus, which came with pita bread, red onions, pickles, and tomatoes. Bill had a chicken schnitzel sandwich. Of all the places we ate during our visit to Antwerp, I think I might have enjoyed the food at Shuk the best. It was very fresh, wholesome, and interesting. Service was also good; our waitresses all spoke perfect English (as did many of the people we encountered) and they were prompt about delivering the food. I’m actually remembering that lunch at Shuk and wishing I could repeat it today. We had beer for dessert, too, although they had some tempting choices for real desserts.

Shuk’s menu offered a lot of healthy options, and would have been a good stop for vegetarians or vegans. I actually felt really good about eating there. If we ever get back to Antwerp, I’d make a point of stopping there again. I think we spent about 60 euros.

Lunch at Shuk!
I loved my dish. I need more hummus in my life.
Bill liked his sandwich, too.
Bill enjoyed an Israeli beer, too.
Stairs to our room at the hotel.
It got much busier as the day went on.

After lunch, the temperature seemed to get more extreme, so we headed back to the hotel for a rest. Bill took a nap, while I did some writing, then ended up having to chat with USAA because they erroneously put a fraud alert on my credit card. I was trying to update a subscription to Internet security, of all things, and it tripped their security system. It was irritating to have to contact USAA, but I was actually glad to have the option. I would rather wait to chat than sit on the phone, listening to their God awful hold music from Hell.

As the weather got cooler, we decided to go back into the city to see what was going on. As I mentioned in part 3, there was some sort of festival going on in the Grote Markt with radio DJs playing music, lots of dancing, drinking, and merry making. We did ask two people at the hotel if they knew what the festival was about. Neither seemed to know, although it was totally free of charge to walk through and listen to the music.

There was much merriment in the market square!
I felt like dancing.

We mostly just walked around and people watched for awhile, until it got closer to dinner time, which we enjoyed at a Greek restaurant called Griekse Taverne. Again, we entered the back way, and sat inside, instead of in the huge outdoor area. Neither of us were really hungry, but Saturdays can be crazy, especially when a fest is going on. So we decided to go ahead and have dinner, just to be sure we got it before the hour got too late. The downtown area was really slammed with people!

I had souvlaki… Couldn’t finish this!
Bill had bifteki (ground beef).
Then we encountered this nightmarish building with toadstools on it! I wanted to scream.
Beer break…
The cops showed up, sirens wailing and lights flashing. They came back with food.
In Belgium, you can buy bread from a vending machine.

We enjoyed the food at the Greek place, although the servers were pretty “weeded” and we kind of got forgotten sitting inside. The outdoor terrace was really hopping. Our waiter looked like a Greek God, though…

We did more people watching after dinner, watching many Belgian youths play basketball as we sipped Omer beers. As the sun went down, we headed back to the Grote Markt, where things were really wild. We thought about sticking around for some of the party, then heading back to the hotel for bed, but then I spotted the piano bar. More on that in part five.

More music!
It’s good that we didn’t have a hotel room there!

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Turning 50 in Antwerp… Part three

I got sort of a rude awakening at about 4am, on Saturday morning, as I tried to roll over. My left calf suddenly seized up in a hellacious cramp. I was still sort of asleep when it happened, so I just started whimpering pitifully. I wasn’t quite conscious enough to let out the scream that I really felt brewing. That cramp hurt like a mofo! But I was still kind of out of it, thanks to still being half asleep.

Bill woke up and asked me what was wrong. I somehow told him the back of my calf was cramping. He very calmly and gently reached over and put his hand on my spasming limb, which was healing enough. Then, he slowly forced me to stop pointing my toes. The cramp gradually went away and I was left amazed, and with a sore lump where the muscle bunched up. Yes, I know it would have gone away anyway, but there’s something about Bill’s touch that is very comforting to me. He’s very good at making my pain and discomfort vanish.

I managed to doze for a bit longer, until it was time to get up and face the day. We had told the night receptionist that we’d have breakfast at 8:00am. Breakfast at De Witte Lelie does not come with the room, and costs 30 euros a person. I suppose it’s not mandatory to have breakfast there, since the hotel is so close to the old town, but we found it convenient. The first morning, we ate outside, since it was sunny and warm outside. The manager, an Australian lady, brought out a basket of bread, fresh pressed coffee, and a bottle of fresh squeezed orange juice. I was delighted by the orange juice. That’s one thing I’ve noticed in Belgium and the Netherlands; they have great orange juice. Even if you get it at the gas station, it’s likely to be fresh!

Killer orange juice!
And sprinkles… milk
or dark chocolate.

Aside from the bread and juice, there’s also a small buffet with everything from Belgian cheeses to vegan charcuterie. I helped myself to some smoked salmon and avocado, and Bill had a ginger shot. We also had eggs and bacon, although we only did that on the first day, since it was a lot of food that neither of us needed.

As usual, we didn’t have any big plans. We almost never plan specific activities on our trips. Our style is more about going places and letting stuff happen. There are exceptions, of course. When we were in Florence a couple of months ago, we did plan to visit the Uffizi ahead of time. That was necessary, because of COVID and the number of people who want to go to the art gallery. But we didn’t have big plans for Antwerp. It didn’t find it to be the kind of place that requires a lot of planning.

We started out by heading toward the Grote Markt, which is the main attraction in Antwerp. We saw the couple who run the Brewers’ Kitchen, who were recovering from Friday night! The chef told us that he was born and raised in Antwerp and offered some tips on how to see the city. I was especially glad we stopped in to his restaurant on Friday.

Before we had a chance to explore the Grote Markt, we stopped at the Handschoenmarkt, which is where an adorable statue of a boy and his dog are located. I didn’t know anything about the 19th century novel, A Dog of Flanders, which is the heartwarming and tragic story about a little boy named Nello and his dog, Patrasche. The story, which was written by English author, Marie Louise de la Ramée, is well-known, especially in Japan, so the powers that be commissioned a statue to please tourists. The statue was created by Batiste Vermeulen (‘Tist’) and is absolutely adorable.

Healthy stop. 😉
Nello and Patrasche!
Antwerp’s beautiful Cathedral of Our Lady.
A clever card. I should have bought this.

We went into Cathedral of our Lady, which is a huge, beautiful church in the middle of the city that dates from 1352 (with earlier churches dating from even earlier), but was consecrated in 1521. If one isn’t a child under 18 or a resident of Antwerp, there is a 12 euro charge to visit this church. We didn’t mind paying, though, since the Cathedral of our Lady is full of beautiful art, and is very much akin to a museum. We spent some time walking around, taking in the tremendous beauty of the vast cathedral itself, and the wonderful paintings and sculptures within it. We also visited the crypt, where we could see examples of the tombs buried under the church. Burials were allowed within the church until the 18th century, so as you walk through the cavernous interior, you are passing graves of people who died many years ago.

This glass crown was made by a Spanish artist in 2011. I thought it was very beautiful.
Bill lit candles for departed family members.
Pray for peace…
The crypt!
Information about the Belgian invasion of Africa.

After we walked through the cathedral, we decided to visit the bistro. Yes, this church has an actual bistro, where you can get coffee, cake, and beer. We initially went in there to use the restroom (very handy), but later came back to try the excellent beer out in the courtyard.

I love a church that serves beer.
Exciting cuisine!

On Saturday, we also made our way to the Scheldt River, which flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands. I wouldn’t say the Scheldt River is a particularly beautiful body of water, but it is what makes Antwerp an important port city in Europe. Next to the river is a huge ferris wheel called The Big View. I didn’t know this at the time, but our ride on the ferris wheel was Bill’s very first, ever! He’s going to be 58 years old next month, and he just now took a ride on a ferris wheel. We got three turns, which allowed us to mug for photos and get pictures of the Steenplein (Stone Square).

Bill says he had never been on a ferris wheel before Saturday, because he’s afraid of heights. He probably felt okay on the wheel in Antwerp, though, because it was completely enclosed. I wished we had an open car so I could get better photos, but this is probably a year round attraction. I’m sure enclosing it makes it usable in bad/cold weather. After we got off, Bill said he’d do it again. It always amazes me the things Bill is doing for the first time with me.

It turned out on Saturday, there was some kind of festival going on in the Grote Markt. It was quite the blowout. When we were passing at one point, an opera singer with an absolutely beautiful voice serenaded everyone. She was dressed in shorts and a short sleeved blouse, enchanting everyone with her dulcet vocals. After her first song, she was inexplicably joined by a beatboxer, who was also pretty good… although personally, I preferred her solo performance. I got some video of her singing, which I added to my first post about Antwerp. It made me cry. We also saw a guy balancing three beers on his head while riding a bike!

Off he goes.
Very impressive!

By the time the ferris wheel ride was finished, it was time to look for lunch. More on that in the next part, since this post is loaded with photos!

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Turning 50 in Antwerp… Part two

When Bill made the hotel reservation, he mentioned it was my birthday. De Witte Lelie Hotel offers upgrades, when available, to those who book directly. Bill booked a Junior Suite. The next step up was, of course, the Presidential Suite. I’m not sure if anyone booked it. We were given Room 9, which is pictured on the hotel’s Web site. All of the rooms are individually decorated. Room 9 really is a very unique room, accessible by a couple of flights of stairs. Room 9 has gold wallpaper that made me feel like I was in a glass of champagne.

Hard to believe we were just here…
The gold wallpaper with bubbles is festive!
The tub was huge and awesome.
I loved the tiles.
It’s strange to think of having such a famous face that it becomes wallpaper.
Nice touch!
Huge artsy photograph book in the hall.
It was full of sexy celebrities.

On the back wall, there was a sliding door decorated with flowers and multi-colored holograms. Inside the bathroom, there was a huge bathtub, shower, and turquoise blue tiling with silver and shiny multi-colored flecks. One wall was decorated with Marilyn Monroe wallpaper. Another had a huge tiled mosaic of flowers. Three glass fish hung from the ceiling over the tub. It was definitely the funkiest, most stylish hotel bathroom I’ve ever seen. The toiletries were Hermes, which I loved!

The room had a king sized bed, made up with a duvet and several comfortable pillows. We brought two of our own, just in case, but we would have been very safe leaving them at home. They don’t skimp on pillows at this hotel. The bed was VERY comfortable. I wish I had thought to ask who provides the mattresses to De Witte Lelie, since we both really liked the one in Room 9. There was air conditioning that worked well, and a complimentary minibar stocked with local beer, still and sparkling water, Coke, and juice. There was also candy and applies available if we had the munchies, but if we needed anything stronger, the reception was willing to bring drinks to the room. Or, we could have hung out in the courtyard and enjoyed libations there.

Don’t let your dog pee on the building!

Since there was no restaurant at the hotel, we did decide to venture out for food. By sheer luck, we ended up at a very cool restaurant called Brewers’ Kitchen. Open only a year, this place focuses on dishes that use beer, and it’s run almost entirely by its chef and his girlfriend, who is, herself, very knowledgeable about beer. There were only two tables outside, and both were taken, so we sat by the window. That was actually a lucky thing, since we got quite an interesting show while we dined on innovative beer inspired cuisine…

But before I get into the side show, I want to write more about the restaurant. The chef/owner quit his job in 2017, got trained to be a chef and zythologist (beer sommelier). The restaurant has a small menu, and everything is made at the moment. I liked that, since everything on Friday night’s list of main dishes included mushrooms, and I don’t eat mushrooms. Since nothing was pre-mixed, the chef was able to make my dish without fungus. The chef only buys ingredients that come from within 40 kilometers of Antwerp, to include local beers from Belgium and the Netherlands. He also told us that he is interested in buying from farmers, brewers, and suppliers who respect the planet. Everything he presented was organic, and could be matched with a beer.

Bill and I went all in with the experience. The menu changes often, since it’s based on what is available. Most days, the chef has a meat, fish, and vegetarian dish. Vegan is possible if one makes a reservation and mentions a desire for vegan cuisine at the time of booking. Brewers’ Kitchen had no fish option on Friday, since there was an issue with their supplier. However, he did have lamb chops, which Bill loves. I went for the vegetarian option, roasted celery root, which I had never had before. I have to say, I found it surprisingly enjoyable. It might have been because there was a lot of butter in it! We prefaced the main courses with a starter of white asparagus with smoked fish and a poached egg.

Our first beer was served like champagne, since it was produced in a similar method.
Amuse… cauliflower soup.
Dutch SeaWise beer, has a hint of salt. We shared the first two beers.
White asparagus with smoked fish and a perfect poached egg.
Bread and butter
Noblesse beer.
The roasted celebry root served with barley, watercress, garlic, and beer.
Bill’s lamb came with the same set up, plus mushrooms.
Bill’s dessert.
My Dame Blanche.
They just got their sign.

After the main course, we both had dessert. Bill had a small warm cake with buttermilk ice cream, fresh strawberries, and salted chocolate caramel sauce. I had a Dame Blanche (white lady), which is vanilla ice cream, warm chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. What made the desserts special, though, is that the ice cream was house made. The vanilla ice cream was actually made while we waited!

The whole time we were eating, there was some kind of party going on in the street. Next to the restaurant was a little art gallery of some sort. The chef’s girlfriend told us that Antwerp is a very artsy city, and there are a lot of young people who attend the university there. I was astonished by the fashion show going on… which she said was probably prompted by the local fashion institute. We saw all kinds of looks going on. Most of the people were very young and hip looking, although some wore clothes that looked like they were influenced by the 1970s. There were plenty of smokers and drinkers, which made me glad we were sitting inside. Still, it was fun to look at the styles they were wearing!

I see from their Web site that they also have an Air B&B apartment for rent. That may be why the chef asked where we were staying. He was very approving when we told him our hotel. Dinner came to about 134 euros, before the tip. We thought it was well worth the money. Bill paid with a credit card and we walked back to the hotel, where we enjoyed our first good night’s sleep. Until 4am, that is… more in part 3.

Below: scenes from our very short walk back to the hotel…

One of the sitting rooms in De Witte Lelie.

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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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