Category Archives: BeNeLux

BeNeLux

Our trip to The Netherlands via Luxembourg… part 4

Monday night, Bill and I walked all over creation…  Well, maybe that’s overstating things a bit, but we did take a very long walk.  I was already a little fatigued from the first walk to the Centrum earlier, but I was a bit curious to see if there was a shorter route to the Centrum.  I have concluded that there probably is one, but the walk Bill and I took on Monday night was only successful in that I found a grocery store, which I had been wondering about during my first long walk to town.

As we started in the direction opposite of the one I’d taken earlier in the day, I had a nagging thought that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to go exploring.  But the air smelled of horses and the houses in the neighborhood were cute.  We ran into one guy with an energetic spaniel who was playing with its leash.  We started walking and soon ended up in a part of town that looked a bit seedy… or as seedy as a neighborhood can look in The Netherlands.  The truth is, it was still a fairly nice looking living area, it just wasn’t as cute and polished as the other homes we’d seen.  I spotted a grocery store and wondered if maybe there was a restroom in there.  There wasn’t, but we did find a wine tool, which we ended up not needing because I already had one packed in my bag.

The need to pee was overwhelming, so we visited a fast food joint called Charly’s.  Bill ordered a couple of Cokes and a couple of orders of frites with ketchup.  I relieved myself of the beer I had enjoyed while waiting for Bill.  We ate the fries and drank the Cokes and started walking.  As we got deeper and deeper into Apeldoorn’s “projects”, I started to get a little worried.  I usually have a very keen sense of direction and rarely get lost.  Bill doesn’t completely trust me, though, and goes into Army officer mode.  He whips out his iPhone and consults the compass, not at all interested in letting my intuition take over.

We passed a duck pond near a tired looking apartment complex and I wanted to turn right because that was where my intuition was leading me.  But then we saw a bus stop, so we turned left and approached it, only to find out that my intuition had been correct.  We followed the stops for Bus 11, which we knew went to the Centrum.  Our walk led us past what looked like a brewery, a couple of industrial looking businesses, and perhaps a municipal dump…  I stopped to snap the picture below, because it was surreal.

A very large, pink, ten speed bike replica was in this lot full of cut tree branches and other debris…

My hips were starting to hurt and my feet were sore.  Just then, Bill said he thought he heard someone playing tennis.  He glanced to his left, only to see a very tall Dutch guy wearing traditional Dutch wooden shoes.  He was walking his large dog and the clogs made a regular popping sound, as if he was playing tennis.  He was the first guy I’ve seen in wooden shoes, but perhaps not the last.

We eventually ended up near a canal.  I knew we needed to turn right, but was enchanted by the canal and wanted to see more of it, so we went straight, then turned into another apartment complex.  There were what looked like large plastic spoons attached to the side of the canal.  I should have taken pictures because it was a weird sight.  But by the time we reached the canal, my hips were screaming and I knew we still had a long way to walk.

I did take a picture of this sticker because it describes me.

We finally got to the Centrum, though it was a part I didn’t explore earlier.  Bill was still in Army mode, while I was relying on my intuition.  We approached a group of guys who appeared to be drunk or high or both.  Bill wanted to avoid them.  We crossed the street and I spotted the mall where I had stolen a free piss earlier in the day.  We walked through the Centrum and looked for a place to have dinner, but it was getting late and I truly worried that if I sat down somewhere, I’d have real trouble getting up again.

So we headed back toward the hotel, the same way I went when I had walked back from the Centrum earlier in the day…  and on the way there, we ran into a group of Americans leaving an intriguing looking French restaurant.  I would have liked to have tried it had it not already been about 9:00pm and my hips weren’t bellowing in pain.

Bill was very apologetic when we got back to the hotel.  He handed me a bottle of Trappist Ale and a couple of ibuprofen.  It wasn’t too long before I was sound asleep.  I woke up yesterday morning vowing that I would enjoy a lazy day…  I think, all told, I walked over ten miles on Monday.  That may not seem like a big deal to some people, but I am a confirmed fattie who is about to turn 43.  It was pretty strenuous for me.

In the lobby of the hotel…

Me, yesterday…

Standard
BeNeLux

Our trip to The Netherlands via Luxembourg… part 3

All week, we’ve been enjoying breakfast in the hotel.  They have a really nice spread here; 15 euros a person for an all you can eat buffet.  That’s less than a lot of places charge, which is a good thing.  You can have scrambled eggs, bacon, tomatoes, cold cuts, fruit, bread, cereal, yogurt, juices, smoked salmon, and roast beef.  The roast beef is a particular hit as far as I’m concerned.  I have yet to have really good roast beef in Germany, so it’s been a treat to be able to get it here.

After breakfast, Bill went to work and I went back to the room where I started blogging.  I was interrupted by the housekeeper, who wanted to service the room.  I decided to take the opportunity to walk to the Centrum, which is where all the Apeldoorn action is, right?  It’s actually kind of a long walk from the hotel and it’s a bit chilly this week.  Nevertheless, I put on my shoes and started walking, amazed by how pretty and quiet the town is.  I was almost to the Centrum when I heard someone wolf whistle softly.  It was a Dutch guy on a bike.  He actually gave me an appreciative smile as he passed.

I am turning 43 on Saturday, so being noticed was kind of flattering.  On the other hand, it’s possible that he lacked a bell and just wanted to let me know he was behind me.  I have to admit, being whistled at actually made me feel a little paranoid.  I wondered if my pants had split or something.  I did a quick check and found that they hadn’t.

There is a dog park near the hotel and a special area along the street where dogs can be walked.  I dodged a few landmines…  It’s fun to watch the dogs play in the park.

 

Awesome church on the way into town…

 

Walking around the Centrum was interesting.  A lot of stores and restaurants appeared to be closed.  I wandered into a Dutch mall, mainly because I wanted to use the restroom.  I found one and didn’t realize until I had gone that I was supposed to pay 35 cents for the privilege.  There was a plate on a table near the door.  I hope no one thinks poorly of me when I admit that I just said “fuck it” and kept going.  I don’t mind paying to use the bathroom as long as it’s attended.  No one was attending that bathroom, so what was I paying for?  The water?  The toilet paper?  Like I said… “fuck it”.

Open on Sunday!  What’s the world coming to?

 

Market shots… everything smelled good here.

 

I walked around some more, noticing a number of touristy looking bars and a few that appeared to be rather prurient in nature.  I wandered around an outdoor market that smelled of fried fish, spices, and cheese.  I saw a number of Muslim vendors selling garb to wandering women wearing headscarves.  I got bored with the scene and headed back toward the hotel.  Noticing that De Heerlijekheyt, the restaurant next door, was open for lunch, I decided to stop in and try a couple of dishes that had attracted me on Sunday night.  This time, my server was a young lady.

Delicious tomato and chorizo soup…

 

Shrimp stuffed ravioli and scallops with lobster foam.  Two glasses of white wine accompanied this meal.  I paid 30 euros plus tip.

After lunch, I went back to the hotel and changed into my swimsuit… it was a little like stuffing ten pounds into a five pound bag.  The hotel has a really nice pool and fitness area that include a sauna, steam bath, and a “solarium”, which is actually a tanning bed of some sort.  The sauna and pool are free, but you have to get tokens from the front desk for the steam room and tanning bed.  They cost four euros.  I have used the pool, which is unheated and uniformly about 4.5 feet deep.  I am guessing at the depth.  I am about 5’2″ and the water comes up to my shoulders.  I like it…

Awesome pool!

Fitness center…

This is the way to the sauna, steam room, and tanning bed…

You won’t catch me in one of these things.

I spent awhile at the pool, then got dressed and went to the bar area to wait for Bill.  I enjoyed a glass of wine and some beer.  Some of Bill’s fellow conference attendees came over to talk to me, including a general who lives in Italy.  Bill didn’t see me in the bar area as he came in.  I ended up having to send him a Facebook message to tell him where I was.

He got changed and decided he wanted to walk to the Centrum.  I wasn’t all that keen on the idea, having already done it earlier in the day.  But we set off… and went in a different direction, which led us on a very long detour that exhausted me and put me in a mean world.  That experience deserves its own post.

Standard
BeNeLux

Our trip to The Netherlands via Luxembourg… part 2

On Sunday morning, we took off for Apeldoorn, Netherlands.  It was a beautiful country drive through a bit of Luxembourg and into Belgium, where a cow welcomed us as we passed by taking a huge, marathon, liquid dump.  Seriously…  it was quite impressive.  I thought we’d never get past that bovine, though Bill and I had a good laugh.  We can’t help it because we enjoy juvenile humor very much.  I got a kick out of all the signs for frites, too.

Bill has a conference all week and I had never been to The Netherlands, except in transit through the airport.  I was excited to see yet another European country.  I have seen a lot of Europe and quite a few countries more exotic than The Netherlands.  Or so I thought before we got here.  The truth is, things are different where the Dutch are.

Our nannyish rental car tells us we are in The Netherlands right after it demands that Bill take a coffee break…

 

We stopped at a Texaco for a potty break and coffee, since the hotel’s coffee wasn’t doing it for Bill.  I was impressed when I found this…

Yes, that is fresh squeezed orange juice.  I bought mine already squeezed, but the Texaco actually had a machine where people could make and bottle their own.  And the mineral water has a slight essence of mint.  How refreshing!  This isn’t your German mama’s mineral water.

Bill figured out the coffee machine, which required him to use coins, got himself a healthy shot of Italian java, and we were soon back on our way.  If we had wanted to, we could have used a tunnel under the autobahn/interstate/whatever the Dutch call it to access a full service restroom on the other side of the road.  It was pretty cool.  As it was, just trying to use the bathroom at the Dutch Texaco was confusing since men were using the “ladies” room.

Our drive was maybe three or four hours.  I was enjoying all the weird sights on the road, including a lady biker with a sidecar occupied by dogs, a couple of guys riding in a classic Triumph with the top down, and what looked like a very muddy military style obstacle course on the side of the highway.  I noticed it; then Bill had to tell me about his days as a young cadet, writhing around in muddy obstacle courses.

When we got to Apeldoorn, I immediately appreciated the very cute Dutch houses with their steep slanted roofs or barn style roofs.  So many houses look like showplaces with perfectly manicured lawns and shrubbery, beautifully painted and accented exteriors, and huge picture windows.  I thought Germans had big windows but they have nothing on the Dutch.  Contrasting the lovely Dutch architecture was a huge sign featuring a picture of a dog and the caption, “No shit!”  The Dutch would like to remind everyone to clean up after their pets, but I saw lots of evidence that many people don’t follow that rule.

Our hotel is the Bilderberg de Keizerskroon, which is an older chain hotel property located on the outskirts of town.  It’s right next to the Palais Het Loo.  I should probably go tour that, but I don’t feel a pressing need to.  What I really want to do is see the monkey zoo, Apenheul.  And I don’t want to go see it alone.  Maybe I’ll manage it before we leave this cute little town.

We checked into the hotel, which has a large free parking lot.  Our room was ready, so we dropped off our bags and had some lunch…

They brought out some nice bread and garlic butter…

We both enjoyed the local brew.  I don’t know why, but beers here are smaller than they are in Germany.  However, they are also a little more interesting.

This asparagus and ham soup was delicious.  It had gotten chilly outside, so this really hit the spot.  I probably could have just had this and been happy, but…

I had a grilled tuna salad and cheese sandwich, too.  It came with a nice sweet chili sauce.  

Bill had an open faced smoked chicken sandwich with Dutch cheese.

And we both enjoyed more beer…

After lunch, we went back to our room.  Bill did schoolwork and I passed out for a two hour nap.  It was very nice.  Later, we had a fabulous dinner at the restaurant right next door to the hotel.  The place is called De Heerlijekheyt.  Don’t ask me what that means…  All I know is that the food is exquisite.

They brought us a smoked salmon and seaweed amuse that tasted like it had a light peanut dressing on it.

And a small loaf of bread.

We were still somewhat full from lunch, so we didn’t have starters.  Bill ordered a South African sauvignon blanc to go with what turned out to be a delightful fish dinner.

I had sea bass with littleneck clams, rosette biscuits, and a delightful cream sauce.  Under the fish I found some very fresh carrots, snow peas, tomatoes, and something that I couldn’t identify.  It looked a little like asparagus, but was much thinner.  

Bill had half a lobster and the “fish of the day”, which we think may have been halibut.  It came with a tomato risotto.

Service was professional and very unhurried, with two handsome waiters taking care of us and the few others in the restaurant.  There’s a large open kitchen and you can watch the chefs work.  It was a far less chaotic scene than what I remember when I worked at a restaurant.  But then, the restaurant wasn’t all that busy on Sunday night.

For dessert, I had a coffee creme brûlée with a side of vanilla ice cream and crushed pecans.  Bill had a small cheese plate that came with an apple syrup and a few small pieces of fruit.

And we capped things off with a double espresso, which came with a small plate of sweets.  There actually was no need to order dessert, but I’m glad we did. 

As we walked back to the hotel, I took a shot of the front…

You can rent a bike here.  Bikes are EVERYWHERE in The Netherlands.  I used to ride a bike all the time as a kid, but I’m not sure I’d remember how to now.  But they do say riding a bike is as easy as riding a bike, right?

Standard
BeNeLux

Dinner in Clervaux, Luxembourg at Hotel du Commerce…

Saturday night, after we checked in a Hotel du Commerce in Clervaux, Luxembourg, we were too tired to go searching for the perfect meal at a stand alone restaurant.  Since the chef had checked us in and obviously had a big stake in the hotel (as in he probably owns it), we decided to just eat there.  We were invited to choose a table in the pleasant dining room.  We picked one in the corner, where I hoped we wouldn’t be too conspicuous.  Clervaux doesn’t seem to attract a lot of Americans.

The menu was in French with no English translations, which was fine with me.  I don’t speak French, but I find that reading the menus helps me learn.  Bill overheard a male waiter advising a young female waitress to let him handle us.  He asked her if she spoke English and she gave him the “sort of” hand gesture.  It was pretty funny.

Bill enjoys a little sparkling water to go with the nice tannic red he picked out…

I started with a salmon and toast appetizer.  This was kind of expensive at 14 euros,  but I was wanting protein.  It came with some raw onion and capers.  I shared a lot of it with Bill, who opted for the soup of the day.  It was a delicate vegetable soup that was pureed into creaminess.  

I enjoyed duck breast with pommes and a delicate and slightly sweet sauce…

Bill had a veal cordon bleu with mushroom sauce.  I didn’t try it because mushrooms are of the devil.

For dessert, I had delicious chocolate mousse…

Bill had a molleux.  Based on the description listed in the menu, I told him I bet it would be a lava cake.  Lo and behold, I was right.  Lava cakes are also of the devil.  Just kidding.  This was a nice dessert, but everybody is doing lava cakes.  They are EVERYWHERE.  For that reason, I don’t like them.

We end with a lovely coffee…

I think our bill for this meal was about 139 euros.  I had a brain fart, got up, and went to the room without my purse, so our waiter kindly delivered it to me.  Good thing we were staying in the hotel.  We were only stared at by one person.  She probably wondered why I was taking photos of all the food.

I enjoyed our meal at the Hotel du Commerce.  I think the food is the star attraction, rather than the accommodations, which were plenty adequate, but not all that luxurious.  I’d eat there again and would stay again… if I could find a place to park.

Standard
BeNeLux

Our trip to The Netherlands via Luxembourg… part 1

Ordinarily, I write blog posts about my trips after I get home.  That’s because if I have to fly, I don’t usually take my laptop computer with me.  Since Bill and I drove from the Stuttgart area on this trip, I’m going to write my posts as I enjoy my time in Holland.  This is my first real experience in the country.  Before now, I had only seen Amsterdam’s impressive airport.

We left Germany at about 1:00pm on Saturday.  I had booked us a room in Clervaux, Luxembourg.  I actually meant to get us a room in Bastogne, Belgium and had plugged that location into Expedia.com.  I decided to go to Clervaux because the hotel where we stayed looked nice and was attractively priced.  For some reason, it popped up as a choice near Bastogne.

On the way to Herrenberg from our home, we came across a pink stretch limo… Don’t see these every day!

This isn’t the first time I meant to go to Belgium and ended up in Luxembourg.  Back in May 2012, Bill and I took our first military hop and ended up spending a few days in Trier, Germany.  We took a day trip to Luxembourg City, visiting again after having visited there for several nights in honor of my birthday in June 2009.

I’m not sure we meant to go back to Luxembourg City in 2012 because, although it’s very pretty, there isn’t that much to see there.  But we happened to end up there for the day, where we enjoyed a nice afternoon listening to a German high school band play live music in a gazebo and watching a drunk guy trying to conduct the teenagers while drinking a can of Carlsberg beer and staggering around the main square.  I eventually concluded that Luxembourg City is, if anything, a great place to people watch.

The next day during our visit in 2012, we ended up back in Luxembourg.  We went to Rodange.  We actually meant to visit Belgium or France, but made a wrong choice when we bought our train tickets.  It turned out to be a good choice, though, because although Rodange is a boring suburb, we had a wonderful lunch at a Portuguese restaurant and then ran into a hen party where we saw a woman wearing adult diapers and a rubber phallus on her nose.  The hen party ended up on our train with us, along with a couple of nuns and a few Japanese tourists who had no qualms about taking pictures.

This year’s trip to Luxembourg wasn’t as exciting as the one in 2012 was.  The GPS took us all the way up to Trier.  We couldn’t go the way the GPS wanted us to, because there were a number of detours.  Consequently, we drove on a lot of back roads populated by farm vehicles, bikers, and other frustrated drivers.  The back roads were pretty, but they took us through mountainous areas with lots of switchbacks.  Our drive was supposed to take about four hours but ended up taking over six.

We were going to stop for lunch at the truck stop in Pforzheim, but it was jam packed with people, to the point at which we would have had trouble finding a place to park.  We decided it wasn’t worth the hassle…  which, of course, made us “late” for lunch.  Being late for lunch means we have a lot fewer pickings to choose from and I am more likely to get “hangry”.

I took this as we passed through Saarland.  This was after we were in Kandel.  Had to get a shot of the horses.

On the way to Trier, we stopped in a town called Kandel, which is very close to the French border.  It’s a very cute town, but we stopped there because I needed food.  Every Saturday, it seems like Bill and I go somewhere and set off too late to catch regular lunch hours.  We end up having to find a place open past 2:00.  I get really cranky and annoyed when I get really hungry.  Fortunately, Bill is very patient.

We did eventually find a cute French style cafe that served soup, sandwiches, and salads.  We had salad for lunch, which probably wouldn’t have been my first choice.  It was healthy and tasted good, though, and helped me with my “hanger” problem.

Kandel is pretty cool…  I snapped a few photos during our brief stop.

Where we stopped for lunch… it was a God send…

 

Beer from Karlsruhe…

A very refreshing chicken salad.  Bill’s was the same, only made with tuna.  I thought the salad included kraut, but it was actually a celery salad.  Yummy and healthy!

 

If you’re ever in Kandel and need nourishment, this little cafe is a good place to go.  We also picked up a couple of eclairs for the road.  They have a nice bakery.

Once we got to Clervaux, I was immediately impressed with how beautiful it was.  The town is very close to the German border.  It’s also very close to the Belgian border.  It’s basically located in a valley and is surrounded by natural wooded beauty and a couple of very impressive churches.  I was a  little enchanted by it, until it came time to park.  Clervaux has a very serious parking problem.  Our hotel supposedly offered parking, but it was extremely limited.  We ended up having to park in a business parking lot that had a sign up that said “gratuit”.  We figured (correctly) that the car would be alright for a night there, since it was a Saturday.  I ended up just pulling out what I would need for one night rather than hauling all my stuff to the hotel room.

Hotel du Commerce in Clervaux is a nice three star accommodation.  It offers a good restaurant, bar, pool, and spa.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to really explore what the hotel offers because we didn’t check in until about 7:00pm.  By the time we arrived, the pool was closed and we were both tired and crabby.  Nevertheless, the place was cute enough.  We were checked in by a guy in a chef’s jacket; I’m guessing it’s his hotel and he’s the chef.  He and his kids are featured in a portrait in the hotel dining room.  They also have a big, sweet, friendly dog who came over to greet Bill and me.

Our no frills hotel room in Luxembourg.  It was a little over 100 euros a night and had a WC separated from the shower.

Tiny balcony…

View…

Seating.

And an old style TV that we never turned on.

 

Simple breakfast…

The room we stayed in was basic, save for the tiny balcony overlooking the little parking lot.  But it had everything we needed.  We enjoyed a very nice meal in the restaurant and went back to the room to crash until early Sunday morning.  After a quick breakfast, which was included in our rate, Bill and I were on the road to The Netherlands.

I wouldn’t mind going back to the Clervaux area.  It’s very beautiful there and I understand there is a nature park nearby.  It’s also close to some good beer.  Next time, I might choose to stay in a place with better parking or take a train in.  There is a severe shortage of parking in that little town.  We saw a lot of illegal parking and people lurking for spots.

Parking is less of a problem if you drive a motorcycle.

Look at that!  A phone booth!

Cool looking hotel near ours.

Charming little downtown area.

 

Chateaux…

 

Even a sports bar!

Love the public WC built into the wall.

Border of Germany and Luxembourg…

Beautiful hillside church in Clervaux.

As I was taking this photo, a older woman approached us… She spoke German first, then French.  At first I thought she was looking for a laundromat, but she actually wanted to find a wrestling match…  We were no help.

Belgian border…

 

I will post a separate review of our dinner at Hotel du Commerce.  It deserves its own post.

Standard