Ten things I learned (this time) in Belgium and The Netherlands…

Here it is… my usual ten things I learned post. I like to do these lists after I take a trip, to remind me that travel isn’t just about changing scenery; it’s also about making discoveries and becoming smarter. I also find that people tend to like these more concise posts about my travels. So, here goes… ten things I learned in Belgium and The Netherlands!

10. There’s some really good food in Mons, Belgium. Bill and I were pleasantly surprised by the number of good restaurants in Mons, as well as the variety of different cuisines. They had everything from sushi to cous cous!

9. Delhaize– a grocery store in Belgium– owns Food Lion in the United States. When we were in Mons, I noticed a grocery store called Delhaize, which had a logo that looked like the one used for Food Lion grocery stores in the United States. Well, it turns out Food Lion was purchased by Delhaize in 1974!

8. Germany shut down all of its nuclear power plants as of 2023. This tidbit came up as we were passing what appeared to be a functioning nuclear power plant in Germany. I took a picture of it and included it in one of my posts. A German friend explained that nukes are “out” in Germany. I’m not sure what was going on with the place we passed, though. It sure looked like a nuclear power plant that was functioning. And it was located in Germany.

7. There is a concentration camp near the Dutch town of Den Bosch. I found this out as I was writing about our visit to Den Bosch and learned that from 1943-44, the Germans ran a concentration camp there known as Herzogenbusch.

6. Tipping is not much of a thing in The Netherlands. I probably knew this after an earlier visit, but it became clear again when we visited this time. Bill tried to round up a bill at a restaurant and the lady who took his money asked him if he was sure. Same thing when we checked out of The Duke Suites. There seemed to be no expectation of a tip. It was quite nice.

5. Some businesses don’t take foreign based credit cards in The Netherlands. This issue is slowly being resolved now, but we did run into a business that couldn’t take our American credit cards. If you don’t have an EU issued credit card, you may want to carry some cash with you, just in case. Mastercard/Maestro seems to be the preferred card in The Netherlands.

4. Facebook ads can lead a person to beautiful places… I found The Duke Suites through a Facebook ad. I’m so glad I did. We had a fantastic time there, even though we aren’t golfers.

3. Dutch beers are tiny. Okay, so I kind of knew this, already. But when you live in Germany, where you can buy draft beers by the half liter or more, it can be a shock to order one in The Netherlands and have it come in a .33 liter glass!

2. If we ever go back to Mons, we’ll stay in a different hotel. Self-explanatory.

And finally number 1… Sometimes visiting lesser known places can turn into unforgettable experiences… I had never heard of Nistelrode when I discovered The Duke Suites. It’s certainly not a place that is high on most Americans’ radar. But I’m glad we did visit there, because that place made our 22nd wedding anniversary very special and unforgettable. I hope we can spend more time in Holland. It is a very beautiful country with wonderful people!

BeNeLux, Luxury

Time to go home and face the music… (part nine)

At last, it was Tuesday, November 19th, the day we would have to check out and go back to our regular lives in Germany. To be honest, as much as we enjoyed our stay at The Duke Suites, I think Bill and I were both ready to go home. I know we missed Noyzi and Charlie, and I was starting to run out of clean underwear. I can’t speak for Bill’s situation in that department.

We packed everything up before our final decadent breakfast, and at 8:00 AM, headed back to the Clubhouse Restaurant with the new butler on duty. I didn’t catch his name, but he was also very pleasant and cool. He said he’d talked to Marco the night before, so he knew about us. Once again, we were the only ones having breakfast, although I did see some people pulling into the parking lot to play golf, in spite of the rainy weather.

After yet another breakfast of yogurt, eggs, cold cuts, smoked salmon toast, fresh orange juice, coffee, and breads, we went back to the room and called the butler to help us get the bags to the Volvo, which he had helpfully brought to the front door. After we loaded the car, we went into the butler’s office to settle the bill. For three nights of lodging, we paid 1650 euros. We also had charges for the massages, The Charles Experience six course dinner with wine pairings, two dinners in the Clubhouse, and a couple of bottles of wine as well as other assorted beverages. All told, I believe the bill came to about 2700 euros, give or take.

Yes, it was a lot of money, but at this point, we can still afford it. While I would have liked to have done more touristy stuff during our stay in Nistelrode, the experience at The Duke Suites was unforgettable enough. And it was also very restful and luxurious after a work week spent at a considerably less posh hotel in Mons, Belgium.

Overall, we had a great trip to Belgium and The Netherlands. I enjoyed both components of our travel, and the visit to The Duke Suites really was a wonderful reward for 22 years of marriage.

Back in 2015, we did something similar with a couple of Bill’s work trips. At that time, he worked for a different contractor, and they usually didn’t mind if he drove our personal vehicle on business trips. That year, I went with Bill to Apeldoorn, a nice city in The Netherlands, by way of a one night stay in Luxembourg. When the business part of that trip was over, we went to Haarlem, a city close to Amsterdam. I tried marijuana, for the very first time, on my 43rd birthday.

Later that year, Bill had to go to Vicenza, Italy. I went with him on that trip, too, and we stayed in Seefeld, Austria on the way down, and Vevey, Switzerland on the way back. The Swiss part of that trip was especially lovely, as we booked a luxury hotel for a couple of nights so Bill could visit Gruyeres and see the Giger Museum. I remember being wowed by the upgraded lodging in that situation, too.

As we’ve gotten older, and Europe is less novel to us than it once was, we tend to be more low key when we travel. We like to stay in very comfortable places, when we can. I definitely believe The Duke Suites qualifies as one of the nicest places we’ve ever stayed, and we have stayed in some very nice places, indeed! Well… at least in Europe, we have. Our stays in the United States have been less posh.

After we paid the bill, the butler gave us a couple of bottles of water and mints for the trip, which he tucked into a branded container for us. He also gave us a beautiful book/brochure about the property. Of course, it’s in Dutch!

Our drive home was mostly uneventful, except I made another YouTube video in the car. I did it partly to try out the YouTube video function on an iPad, and partly because I wanted to respond to some guy who said he feels “sorry” for Bill, because he didn’t like one of my videos. I don’t think he needs to feel sorry for Bill. We’re both living our best lives.

In any case, I think I’d like to spend more time in The Netherlands. It’s a beautiful, civilized, clean, and safe country. I’d like to spend more time in Belgium, too, for different reasons.

So ends my series on our 22nd anniversary/work trip to Belgium and The Netherlands. Stay tuned for my ten things I learned post!

BeNeLux

A day in Holland… (part eight)

We didn’t have any big plans for Monday, November 18th. Marco, the butler, told us that a lot of shops in the area near The Duke Suites are closed on Mondays. We did have nice weather, though, so after yet another sumptuous, languorous breakfast, we decided to head out and explore the area. I wish I could say that we saw and did a lot during our car ride, but the drive mostly consisted of killing time.

*I love the beautiful tree lined roads in Holland…*

There are a couple of cities near Nistelrode, namely Oss and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which is locally known as “Den Bosch”. Den Bosch’s official name translates to “the forest of the Duke” in archaic Dutch, referring to Henry I, Duke of Brabant. It’s funny, because when I was growing up in Gloucester, Virginia, the “Village Secretary’s” last name was “Brabant”. Every time I see a place in The Netherlands referred to as “Brabant”, I’m reminded of her! I guess her husband was of Dutch descent.

Anyway, we drove around both towns and I got some photos, but we didn’t really see a place in Den Bosch that invited us to stop and walk around. Or maybe I just didn’t feel like it… According to Wikipedia, there was a German concentration camp located just a few kilometers south of Den Bosch. It was known by the Germans as Herzogenbusch, but to the Dutch, it was called Kamp Vught. I didn’t know about this history last week, as we were driving around the town.

After awhile, Bill said he needed a potty break, so we stopped at a gas station. When we went inside, we found the toilet, which required 80 cents. However, it could only be paid for by card. This was actually a good thing, because we had been fretting a bit over the denial of the Visa card Bill tried to use at the first restaurant we went to upon arrival. It worked at the bathroom at the Shell station. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, the toilet I used was clogged. I just managed to escape the stall before it came close to overflowing!

We decided to drive to Oss to look for lunch. We ended up parking at a very large public lot and walked into a “Walkplatz”, where workers were starting to put up Christmas decorations. I spotted a nice looking restaurant on a corner called Brasserie La Colline. It turned out to be a great lunch stop. The food and service were very good, but so was the music. I ended up downloading a lot of it!

*Bill had a cheese toast. And non-alcoholic Trappist beer.*

I found myself wishing we had a restaurant like this one near us. I really enjoyed the atmosphere.

After awhile, we decided to head back to The Duke Suites and enjoy our final evening in our very unique lodging. We decided to have a relatively small dinner at the Clubhouse restaurant again– lobster soup for me, and venison for Bill… The service was, again, excellent. We were the only ones in the dining room. The night before, there was one other party, but they appeared to be businesspeople. On Monday, night, a man in a suit who spoke excellent English took care of us. He gave us some of the history of the property. We found out The Duke Suites was built just a few years ago.

When we went to bed later, we discovered that the bed was actually adjustable! The head and base could be raised or lowered with the push of a button. I would love to have that bed in our house! Marco, the butler, told us he would not be working when we checked out on Tuesday. I was sad to say goodbye to him, but it was such a pleasure to meet him. He was really cool. He cracked up when he asked us if we were going back to the USA for Christmas and I said I hadn’t been back there in ten years! 😉

There’s one last entry to go before this series ends… Stay tuned!

BeNeLux

My first massage in years… (part seven)

After a peaceful first night at The Duke Suites, Bill and I had a breakfast date at 8:00 AM in the Clubhouse restaurant. The night before, the butler had asked us when we wanted breakfast. We kind of shrugged and said “8:00 AM”. We were told they would escort us to the restaurant, which is right next to where The Charles Restaurant is.

Breakfast at The Duke Suites is a lavish affair. They brought out coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, yogurt with fruit and granola, Eggs Benedict, bread, cold cuts, vegetables, smoked salmon on whole grain crackers, and pastries. It was quite a feast. Naturally, we couldn’t eat everything they brought out for us. But compared to our breakfasts in Mons, it was really very decadent.

There was one other couple having breakfast. They had been in the restaurant the night before. We later saw them checking out, after we went for a walk in what had started out a sunny day and then turned into a stormy one. We got pretty wet in the sudden hale storm and I had neglected to wear a jacket. I did manage to get some nice photos on the walk, before it got rainy and haled all over us. The rainbow photos alone were worth getting caught in the weather.

We had a couple’s massage appointment at 1:00 PM. At The Duke Suites, guests can reserve the spa room for two hours, so it’s totally private. They have a Finnish sauna and a jacuzzi, as well as an outdoor lounge area for when the weather is nice. I brought my own robe with me, because I’ve found that hotel robes don’t always fit me right, and I know that when I bring my own, it will be clean and cover everything. Bill used a hotel robe.

A very friendly lady named Tina greeted us and gave us each massages individually. There are two tables, but I guess Tina was the only therapist on duty on that day. I went first, and really enjoyed the hour of attention to my sore muscles. Tina did one thing that blew my mind. She pulled my legs gently, which felt almost like aligning my spine. I mentioned to her that I liked that, and she made sure to tell Bill.

While Bill got his massage, I enjoyed the whirlpool and the sauna, and once I got good and wrinkled, I sat and waited for Bill’s session to end. I brought a bathing suit with me, because I didn’t know what kind of facilities they had and I wanted to be prepared. It turns out the bathing suit wasn’t necessary. The spa truly was totally private. So, if you go to The Duke Suites and use the spa, just know that all you really need is your robe and maybe some slippers… and if you get a massage, a pair of underwear. I was actually relieved that she didn’t ask me to don a pair of spa panties, because again, they don’t always fit properly.

After our spa appointment, we went back to the room and enjoyed the delightful chocolate cake the restaurant gifted us the night before. There was a bottle of champagne in the minibar, which was included in our room rate, so we drank that…

Since it was later in the day, we decided to have dinner in the Clubhouse at 7:00 PM. The Clubhouse is a much less formal setting than The Charles restaurant is, although the suggested dress code is business casual. It occurs to me that jeans are usually not kosher in golf clubs. I don’t remember if Bill wore jeans, but no one said anything about it if he did.

I had a steak sandwich for dinner. Bill had truffle linguini with shrimp. We shared water and a rather expensive bottle of wine. Yeah… lots of drinking on Sunday. But at least we got a walk in, right?

*Another fruit cocktail waited for us after dinner…*

After dinner, we stayed up a little bit later so we could digest things. The TV was controlled by a tablet, which also controlled the lights and curtains. It was all very high tech. We had programming in Dutch, German, French, and English!

Soon enough, it was time to go to sleep. Mondays can be pretty quiet in The Netherlands. We were told a lot of shops are closed on Mondays there. That’s true in Germany, too. But we had plans to drive around and see the area. More on that on tomorrow’s post.

BeNeLux, Luxury

A massive lodging upgrade in The Netherlands… (part six)

We arrived in the village of Nistelrode, North Brabant in The Netherlands at some point around lunchtime. Because we didn’t know much about the policies at our next stop, we decided to have lunch at a little restaurant in Nistelrode called De Eeterij (The Eatery). It was pretty novel, because it had its own parking lot with free parking!

We went into the place and had a rather large lunch, coupled with tiny Dutch beers. Seriously, it was interesting to come from Belgium to The Netherlands, where draft beers are served in much smaller glasses. But it’s probably just as well, since I ended up drinking Heineken. I used to like Heineken when I was younger and less of a beer snob. Now, I find it pretty skunky.

I had spare ribs with fabulous frites. Bill had chicken satay, which seemed to be a common offering in The Netherlands. The only thing that would have made my dish better, is if they’d offered ketchup for the fries, instead of mayo. I remember in the early 90s, meeting a Belgian guy who played tuba for the “Boogie Band” at Busch Gardens. He ate mayo with his fries, and everyone thought it was so weird! Of course, over here, a lot of people think eating ketchup is weird. I will admit, it does have a lot of sugar… but if you grew up on it, it’s definitely a comfort!

I was amused by the faucets in the bathrooms. They had installed what looked like Heineken beer taps as faucets! However, the rest of the bathroom looked like it could use refurbishing. A new toilet seat would be a step up, at the very least.

Bill went to pay the check, but his Visa cards didn’t work. It turns out that many businesses in The Netherlands don’t take Visa. They prefer MasterCard. Fortunately, he had enough euros to pay for the meal. The lady who took the money asked him if he was sure when he told her to keep the change (about 2,50). Tipping doesn’t seem to be a big thing in The Netherlands.

After we ate, it was closer to the customary check in time. We decided to head to our next lodging, the magnificent golfing resort called The Duke Suites. I found this wonderful spot on Facebook, of all places. I got an ad for it while I was looking for places for us to stay for our anniversary. Although Bill and I are not interested in golf at all, I was intrigued by how beautiful the place looked. It appeared to be a perfect spot for a short (and expensive) rest.

I sent a booking request weeks ago, and it was promptly answered. I didn’t even have to submit a credit card, although the rate was a princely 550 euros per night– more than the monthly rent on my first US based apartment. But, for that, we got a gorgeous room, butler service, included minibar, and a bathroom a person could live in.

A couple of days before we arrived at The Duke Suites, I got an email asking for final details, such as when we would be arriving. I had also booked us a couples’ massage in their spa, and The Charles Experience, which is a six course tasting menu in their restaurant, offered only from Wednesday to Saturday each week. It was lucky that our anniversary fell on Saturday. The email also had instructions about what to do when we arrived. We pulled up to the covered area by the entrance and were met by Marco, who was our butler for most of our stay.

Bill and I are not fancy people, but we do like to splurge sometimes. We once stayed in another golf property, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, back in February 2012. I remember it distinctly, because it was when Whitney Houston died, and she was all over the news. That property also offered butlers, but I don’t remember them doing anything but checking us in. The room we stayed in was beautiful, but it was very much an American resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The experience we had at The Duke Suites was very different… and vastly superior.

Marco offered us coffee, tea, or champagne. We had some champagne, since it was our anniversary, and because I am a lush. He showed us our room, explained almost everything (he forgot to tell us the bed was adjustable), and left us there, mouths agape, as we took in the absolutely beautiful accommodations. Then he offered us more champagne, which we declined, since we would be having a lot of wine at dinner. Below are some photos:

We’ve stayed in some very beautiful hotels, but this one just might be in a class by itself. There were very few people there during our stay, so we pretty much got the place to ourselves. The staff was absolutely wonderful and low key. We never felt awkward or weird, even though we aren’t used to such great service.

After a couple of hours of enjoying the much improved lodging, it was time for dinner. We got showered and changed and called Marco, who escorted us to The Charles Restaurant, which is the club’s “fancy” restaurant in the Clubhouse. The Clubhouse is actually in another building, but The Duke Suites and the Clubhouse are connected by an underground tunnel that make them seem like the same building. If you look at the buildings from the outside, you don’t know that they’re linked, and when you are moving between them, it doesn’t seem like they’re separate. But we later found out that the Clubhouse has been around longer than The Duke Suites. After a couple of days, we realized that a lot of people go there to make business deals. 😉

The Charles Restaurant was a wonderful treat, and to be honest, I don’t know if I can name everything we ate. They did give us cards with the names of the food… You can see it all below. Dinner went on for four hours, but each course was small, so we weren’t stuffed. I think there were three or four other couples there besides us. Fortunately, some of the staff spoke English, so they could describe everything. The only low point of the meal was the foie gras… but I understand that some people love it. Bill opted for a cheese course instead of dessert.

The price for The Charles Experience with wine was 300 euros for both of us. It was expensive, but not the most expensive meal we’ve ever had. And I’m really glad we got to try it, because they even gave us a little cake for our anniversary, which we enjoyed the next day. There was also a little glass of fruit cocktail waiting for us at our bedsides each night… We were way too full to eat it on Saturday night, but it made a nice prelude before breakfast on Sunday.

*Each night, they left us fruit before bed!*

To say we were delighted by The Duke Suites’ first impressions is an understatement. It really was wonderful. More on how wonderful it was in the next post!

BeNeLux

We are now back from Belgium and the Netherlands…

I have a lot of writing to do about our trip, which was mostly for business, but also to celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary. Our trip began on Monday, November 11th, which was Veteran’s Day, and ran until this morning. We stayed five nights in Mons, Belgium, where Bill attended a work conference, and three nights at The Duke Suites in Nistelrode, The Netherlands.

I made a few videos for my YouTube channel while we were traveling, but they weren’t about travel. They were mostly about politics. This trip didn’t allow for a lot of videos, anyway, because Bill was working for most of it. I did get a lot of nice photos, eat in some great restaurants, and rack up a few new stories. Just the difference between our Belgian and Dutch accommodations are worth discussing…

I hope you’ll join me on the upcoming blog series about this trip, which may or may not be as long as usual. A lot of this trip involved me sitting around waiting for Bill to get off duty, but we did meet some new people. There were a couple of guys I met that I hope I won’t run into again… unless I’m driving, that is. 😀

Anyway, I’m going to go hose off, maybe get a snack, and perhaps get this series underway. Stay tuned!

Hessen

Last night’s wine stand and upcoming travel plans…

There was a wine stand last night, but Bill and I almost didn’t go because it looked like it was going to rain. However, because I’ve been way too cooped up lately, we decided it would be a good thing to attend and support the hosts. So we went and enjoyed the somewhat agreeable temperatures, even if the sun was behind clouds. I didn’t even bother to wear a sweater. I didn’t get many photos, because it was a relaxed gathering. We could have brought the dogs with no problem.

Last night’s wine stand was a fairly low key affair, as I think a lot of people are either on vacation due to school holidays, or they had the same idea that it might rain. Nevertheless, we ended up meeting an interesting person last night. She heard us speaking English and came over to ask us if we knew any lawyers who could help her with a problem her “niece” was having. I got the sense that maybe she was actually the “niece”, given how urgent and personally invested she seemed about the issue… which I seem to recall had to do with money, the US military, and local taxation. Bill spoke to her longer than I did, since he knows more about military policies than I do.

In the end, we told her there’s an American lawyer who lives in our village and works in Frankfurt. Maybe she knows someone who can help her with her problem. In fact, she even got up and went to their house last night, but they weren’t home. My guess is that the lawyer and her spouse took their kids on a trip somewhere. We were trying to tell us who the American lawyer is, and another German lady sitting with us spoke up and told her about her in German.

What was especially interesting was that the woman, whose name I didn’t catch, though she gave Bill her former business card, spoke absolutely flawless English. She said she had lived and worked in Washington, DC for a long time. She even knew about Fredericksburg, Virginia, and we had a good laugh, because Bill and I used to live in Fredericksburg 22 years ago, just before and after our wedding. And then I told her that I grew up about 90 miles south of Fredericksburg. Then we had a chuckle about how redneck parts of Virginia still are.

I sensed that maybe she’d married an American and they were now having issues with taxes… or maybe she really does have a niece with that problem. I don’t know. The wine might have made things less clear. She said she no longer works, although she still has business cards. I noticed that it looked like she was wearing a wig, but who knows why… She did say that Breckenheim started the local wine stand tradition some twenty years ago or so.

When it started getting darker and we both needed to pee, we went home to the dogs, who were very excited to see us. Charlie even pulled his bed into the dining room so he could hang out with us in comfort.

We have a short break coming up at the end of the month in Bad Wörishofen, Bavaria. After that, Bill has to go to Mons, Belgium for work. Since it’s right before our 22nd wedding anniversary, and about a four hour drive, he invited me to go with him. So that’s what we will do this year. Go to Belgium so he can work and I can enjoy some museums and beer, then afterwards, book at stay at a nice hotel in Belgium or The Netherlands and celebrate our anniversary.

Facebook has already suggested a lovely looking hotel in Nistelrode, The Netherlands. The hotel is on a golf course. We don’t golf, but we can appreciate the beauty and quiet of golf courses. Maybe we’ll go there, or maybe I’ll something even better. I’ll keep looking.

It’s hard to believe we celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary in Armenia last year. The year has flown by, and a lot has happened. I’m glad we got to go there last year… I’d love to go back again sometime, if the opportunity presents itself. I had meant for us to visit Spain for our anniversary, but Bill’s work schedule won’t accommodate that this year. Maybe we’ll go sometime in the winter.

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We went Dutch for MLK weekend 2019! Part five.

On Sunday, we decided to visit Maastricht. I really didn’t know what to expect, since I had never been to the city before. I did know that there aren’t any “coffee shops” open to foreigners in Maastricht. It’s one of the areas in the Netherlands that has chosen to restrict pot sales to people who aren’t locals. If you want marijuana, you have to go west.

It was no big deal, though. Maastricht proved to be entertaining without the benefit of pot. Not only is the city beautiful, it’s also wide open on Sundays. Yes, you can go shopping, have lunch, or simply people watch. There was some kind of race going on there Sunday, so there were several brass bands playing along the route, along with a drum band and a group of violinists. As a music lover, this really appealed to me. Despite the bitter cold, I stood there and listened to a group of musicians play “Canon in D” and Vivaldi. I’m not ashamed to admit that their version of Pachelbel’s masterpiece had me openly weeping.

We parked in a huge lot on the outskirts of town and walked in…

Right off the bat, we heard the thundering sound of drums. An awesome drum band was beating an infectious rhythm and had attracted a crowd. The music would be a theme in Maastricht on Sunday, as we ran into a number of bands playing in the street.

What’s that sound?

You can also load up on cheese! I wish I liked cheese more.

We rounded the corner, just out of earshot of the drummers and promptly encountered a quartet of string musicians.

I often get choked up when I hear really well played live music. I was listening to these people with tears streaming down my cheeks. They played so well out in the cold and their music went straight to my heart.

As you can see, other people were affected by the music, too.

We reluctantly moved on, because it was so cold and Bill needed to get some cash. I managed to get a few more pictures as we searched for an ATM. We were looking for lunch and a place to pee.

Our route took us past the runners and several more excellent brass bands!

We walked through one area near a mall and several very touristy looking restaurants. One alley smelled distinctly of cheeseburgers, which was kind of strange. But then I noticed we were near a McDonalds.

And these guys were playing jazz… I loved that they had a tray of empty beer glasses nearby.

Just as we encountered our fifth musical ensemble of the day, I turned to the left and we found a place to have lunch…

I have a knack for finding good places to eat. There are a few things I look for. Mainly, I like places that aren’t either too crowded or too empty. I prefer them to be off the main drags. And it doesn’t hurt if it smells good outside of the restaurant, too. A lot of people were sitting outside, despite the cold weather. I didn’t want to sit outside, but Bill was about to bust. So we walked inside De Twee Heeren, which turned out to be a pretty awesome bar/restaurant. They were playing good music and had menus in English, as well as places to sit. We ended up spending a couple of hours in there, enjoying lunch, good Dutch and Belgian beers, and fun music.

Obligatory menu shot of Bill. They had a number of appealing choices, everything from steaks to falafel.

Bill had what amounted to a “sauerbraten stew”. It came with a big basket of frites and a salad.

I had fish and chips. I considered a few of the other choices and actually had some trouble deciding, but since the Netherlands is a sea faring nation, I figured the fish and chips would be good. And they were! I even tried the fries with mayonnaise. That’s how they eat them… Not bad at all, though a little bit of mayo goes a long way.

Bill had a double espresso while I enjoyed an excellent Belgian brew suggested by the waiter.

And one more for the road. It’s probably a good thing German beers aren’t this interesting.

It was late afternoon by the time we were finished at De Twee Heeren, so we decided to get some cheese for Bill and head back to the dogs. I might have liked to have tried another restaurant later, but I just can’t eat as much as I once did. You’d never know it to look at me, though.

This place had lots of free samples, which Bill was happy to try.

Here he’s trying the gouda with garlic. I think he brought some home. I found us some beers and waffle cookies, too. If it turns out he loves the cheese, we can order more.

We headed out of the city and I took a few more photos.

The grand looking building houses the visitor’s center, which sadly, does not have a public toilet. Fortunately, I found one at a bustling looking hostel with a huge bar. It was nothing to duck in, which was a huge relief.

So long, Maastricht. We’ll be back!

I missed the lunar eclipse, but did manage to get a picture of the huge full moon.

Yesterday morning, we got up bright and early, had breakfast, let the dogs have one more romp with Yogi, and loaded up the car for the drive back to Germany. Nel was the most awesome hostess and invited us back. I think she said we were her first real American guests, although she has hosted Canadians. I’m hoping a few of my American readers living in Germany might visit Vijlen. I have a feeling we’ll go back, especially if we stay in Germany for much longer.

I love visiting small towns and talking to locals, getting a feel for the real culture. While we always enjoy visiting big cities, I find that it’s harder to get a feel for the culture, mainly because so many other international visitors are also there. So, if there’s anything to be learned by this trip, it’s that small towns are worth a look. They tend to be less expensive, safer, and the locals are more likely to make a connection. I felt like we’d made a friend when we left Nel’s place yesterday. I hope this series will inspire a few others to visit her in lovely Vijlen!

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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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We went Dutch for MLK weekend 2019! Part two.

Off to the Netherlands!

I had let our hostess, Nel, know that we would be arriving sometime between four o’clock and five, since we needed to check our APO box on post. Bill is going to be out of town for the rest of the week and I can’t be arsed to go to Clay Kaserne to check the mail. I don’t even have the combination to our mailbox. That turned out to be a good plan anyway, since we had a few chores to do before we could head for the Autobahn. From Wiesbaden, Viljen is about a three hour drive, but most of it is on high speed highways. And unlike Stuttgart, it appears the the Autobahn up here is pretty well appointed. There are probably more people here than down there, but traffic isn’t as bad.

We had a mostly uneventful, yet beautiful, drive to the Netherlands. Here are a few pictures I took on the way.

As we got closer to Aachen, I noticed these signs on the side of the Autobahn. They were names of trees and years. My German friend explained that they are “trees of the year“. The count started in 1989 and every year, a new tree and year is erected. On the Autobahn, you can see the signs from 1989 to 2014, although I saw no evidence of actual trees planted there. However, they are planted at the Berlin Zoo. Since 2010, a German “tree queen” is also elected to represent the project.

Another tree…

I also noticed this interesting truck, which had artistic depictions of the Crusades painted on it…

The art was pretty cool looking, although I wouldn’t be surprised if some people were distracted enough to have a wreck at the sight of it.

We stopped here for a little late lunch. This rest stop has a Nordsee, which had pretty good food. Since we had the dogs with us, we ate in the car.

I always enjoy the reading material on the stall doors in German rest stops. They’ll let you charge your phone, but you still have to pay 70 cents to pee.

Thanks for being there, Serways.

We arrived in the Netherlands at about 3:40pm and arrived at our apartment less than 20 minutes later. Our hostess was waiting for us.

I like how some places have a canopy of trees formed by lines of them on either side of the road.

Pretty country on the way in, with rolling hills… this is the most “mountainous” part of flat Netherlands.

One of the reasons I like border towns is that you can see how countries change. You cross the border and the signs change, the language changes, and the laws change. In the Netherlands, I noticed a difference in architecture, with many brick buildings and painted shutters. And yet we were really just minutes away from Germany.

I remember enjoying our first trip to the Netherlands in 2015 and wanting to go back there, but it was so much easier to go to France from Stuttgart. Now that we’re in Wiesbaden, I predict a lot more trips to Benelux, where the beer and the chocolate is better.

Below are some photos of our accommodations, which were very reasonably priced. I paid just 336 euros for three nights in this two room apartment in rolling farmland. We also paid 9 euros taxes in cash on the way out today.

The living room area… note the very steep stairs. Our dogs had a little trouble with them at first, but then got used to them. The bathroom is on the first floor, which makes our middle of the night pees a little less fun. We left a light on in the living room for safety, although there is a hall light, too.

A washing machine, but no dryer.

The master bedroom has what I presume was a queen sized bed. This room also has a TV.

These are two twins pushed together, I think. There is no TV in this room.

Steep!

It’s a little like climbing a ladder.

The dining area is adjacent to the living room and kitchen. It does not have a traditional oven, but there is a microwave that has a convection setting. There’s also a dishwasher.

Another view of the bedroom. It was a bit chilly during our visit, but the bed linens were warm enough.

There is a TV in the living room and a broken DVD player. The are also a few board games like Rummikub and Yahtzee.

This was a hit at our family reunions when I was growing up. Nice to know the Dutch like it too.

But probably my favorite part about the accommodations was the big fenced in paddock. Our dogs were welcome to run around in the paddock to their hearts’ content. They were also allowed to play with Nel’s dog, Yogi, an adorable Shiba Inu. These Japanese dogs look just like foxes and are bred to hunt birds. Yogi is just eight months old at this writing and she had a good time getting my 9 and 10 year old dogs to play with her.

Nel also has chickens, which were kept very safe from the dogs and foxes, and she offers boarding for two horses who made Zane and Arran bark. In warmer weather, we could have walked a route around town, stopping at different restaurants and bars for refreshment every few kilometers.

We decided to stay in on Friday night after Bill made a quick run to the grocery store. After a good first night’s sleep, we did some exploring on Saturday. More on that in the next post.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: The Netherlands

Ten things I learned (this time) in Belgium and The Netherlands…

Time to go home and face the music… (part nine)

A day in Holland… (part eight)

My first massage in years… (part seven)

A massive lodging upgrade in The Netherlands… (part six)

We are now back from Belgium and the Netherlands…

Last night’s wine stand and upcoming travel plans…

We went Dutch for MLK weekend 2019! Part five.

We went Dutch for MLK weekend 2019! Part three.

We went Dutch for MLK weekend 2019! Part two.