Bruxelles, Belgium (Feb 2013)

Benelux.  What?  Where in the heck is Benelux, and while I'm at it, where does Holland fit in?  A trip to Brussels (Bruxelles as they spell it here) helped answer that question.  Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg joined together (BeNeLux) several years ago to form a united economy that would help them compete in the larger EU.  Seems to have worked, and Holland is really Netherlands and neither of them has anything to do geographically with the folks in Norway, Sweden or Finland.  Geography lesson complete with my apologies to our friends from way up north!  (I'll save the language complications for another day.)

Cinquantenaire Park:  Quote of the Day "I'll bet this place is beautiful in the spring."  It was cold, but I thought the misty, gray fog was kind of ethereal!  The park was designed in 1880 for the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence from the Netherlands.

We arrived in Bruxelles and discovered the parking area for the hotel was impossible to find: our GPS “Heather” was quite confused!  After several passes around several *not so straight* European “blocks”, I ran to the hotel to inquire while Mike circled around again to wait for phone instructions.  

• Lessons learned: call ahead to find out where to park and get those directions;  
•  be prepared for your prepaid phone to run out of minutes/money really fast when “roaming” in a foreign country!  

Hotel Matignon, run by a wonderful French-speaking Belgian couple, was magnificent and only 2 blocks from the Grand Place!  Because we have a large family by European standards, we required 2 hotel rooms-- lofted “junior suites” right next to each other with views of the beautiful La Bourse (former Belgian stock exchange).  La Bourse was built in the late 1800’s with sculptures by Rodin adorning parts of the building. (This particular building project early in Rodin's career actually provided him the means to study in Italy and eventually be "discovered".)

View from our room--down the street into the Grand Place and the ruins under the street.  Right outside Hotel Matignon was an underground museum --during street renovations in the 1980’s, a large section of the medieval city was discovered.  Road work ceased, and a permanent museum was put in place for all to see!  Ruins from 12th century buildings and the bones of a nobleman were discovered at the site.

Waffles, real Belgian waffles, were the real conquest for this trip!  Zach had been dreaming of eating authentic waffles for several months!  One can find 2 types of waffles in Bruxelles:  Liège waffle--softer texture, sweeter batter with carmelized sugar coating, typically not rectangular,  and the Bruxelles waffle: crispier waffle, rectangle shape made from yeast batter with larger indentations on the top to hold all the gooey yummy toppings!  Just like there’s a coffee shop on every corner in Seattle, the same goes for waffle shops in Bruxelles!  Only €1 if you didn’t want all the gooey, sticky messy good stuff on top.

Of course, a trip to Belgium isn't complete with chocolate!  Truffles, rich and
creamy, in all sorts of shapes, colors and sizes!  Imagine our surprise in the chocolate
store when we spotted an old NCR (Dayton, Ohio) cash register being used for display!  

From the waffle shop, we wandered all over the town and discovered many beautiful buildings, interesting shops and lots of people.  Established as a market place in the 11th century, the Grand Place is an expansive square surrounded by Guildhalls (trade unions) and the City Hall --"Hotel de Ville".  The Grand Place now contains museums and shops--many of which sell Belgian lace and chocolate.  Near the Grand Place is Europe's first indoor mall, the beautiful St. Hubert Gallerie.  The glassed covered shopping center was constructed in 1846 and featured a glass barrel vaulted roof.  Inside, shops provided a meeting place for such giants as Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas.  Now it's full of high-end shopping and eating experiences.

top left:  guild halls; top right: City Hall
bottom left:  inside the Galleria; right: Belgian lace store

Manneken Pis is quite the tourist magnet and has achieved much fame for the city.  The sculpture, by Duquesnoy, was commissioned in 1619.  Legend claims a wealthy man lost his son in a crowd and discovered him 5 days later piddling in the street.  

Our boys had a hard time understanding why all the fuss over the peeing statue!  More intriguing to them was the escargot cart across the street!  However interesting, the only brave soul was Zach who discovered eating snails tasted better than it looked!

And, of course, eating dinner…when in Brussels, one must eat mussels!

The menus were fun to read--French & Flemish
 (or Dutch, depending on which you prefer to call this strange looking language!)

The Atomium was a cool structure to visit:  contracted for the 1958 World's Fair, a series of elevators and escalators transports one from one sphere to the next --each one with interesting science exhibits, amazing panoramic views of the city and even an area reserved for overnight school groups--sleep in a rain molecule!

Near the Triumphal Arch in Cinquantenaire Park was the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History --it was not really that interesting to the boys who spotted Auto World museum across the plaza!  TopGear fanatics, these boys really enjoyed seeing all their favorite European cars under one large roof!

Just when we thought the only sweet shop in Bruxelles was a waffle or chocolatier, we stumbled upon Sucx --a kid's dream--every kind of candy imaginable and available for purchase by the pound! 

As we wandered the streets of Bruxelles, we kept running into comics painted on building facades. Brussels is the birth place of many famous comic strips, including the Adventures of Tintin and the Smurfs!

None of our European visits is complete without stepping inside a cathedral --this one, St Nicolas, was just down the street from our Hotel.  The organ was just fantastic to look at --I'm sure it sounded even greater!  The beautiful dove window, tucked into an alcove of the sanctuary, was positioned above the baptismal font.
.  

Built in the 11th century, St Nicolas is the patron saint of traders.  How apropos the church was surrounded by trade booths--people selling all sorts of things and squeezed into the smallest of spaces.

Pub Crawls & Village walks

Pub crawling & Village walks with the Mench family in Kent, UK….

1.   Duke William Pub Ickham.  Gigantic burgers, tasty ale and my favorite, cider! plus delicious desserts.  The Duke was a perfect way to introduce pub food to the kids and start our holiday off in a beautifully atmospheric place!  

Christmas lights, fireplace AND a Christmas tree?  I'm sold --this place is awesome!
Duke William Pub, Ickham, Kent, UK

2.  Sandwich, Kent.  In search of the "Ham" sign, but couldn't find it….but, we did find a charming village bustling with last minute preparations for Christmas on this most special day, December 23rd.   Yes, December 23rd is "not a holiday, per se," however, for Mike & Zach the day is marked with a special song they wait ALL year to sing! (you'll have to click this link)

It seemed every door in Sandwich was adorned with a wreath.  St Peter's church even had a unique door --the blue was so striking against so much green and gray.  And, small village homes don't have street numbers--instead they have names.  What would you name your house?    

3.  Lunch beckoned us to Deal, Kent, a short drive from Sandwich.  There we found a beautiful pier and quite possibly the windiest day ever (there was severe weather in the area later!)   When asking a few die-hard fishermen why they were even trying to fish, they answered pragmatically, "We had leftover bait."  Well...wouldn't want that to go to waste!

So windy it parted Nate's hair and nearly knocked his iPad out of his arms--his video clip is pretty crazy!

4. Deal, Kent:  Hunger pangs and the need to escape the 40mph winds, we enjoyed fish & chips with the BEST mushy peas in all of England (according to 3 of 4 boys in my house) at the  Sir Norman Wisdom Pub.   The sausages and mash were pretty darn good too.  Sir Norman Wisdom was a famous British comedian who hailed from Deal.  According to the locals, it just seemed "right" to name the pub in his honor.

(bangers) sausages & mash...yum!

5.  The Cliffs of Dover:  A little farther down the coast, we drove to the beach front at St Margaret's --the jumping off point for those famous "channel swims" commencing here since 1875.  We'd heard about tunnels in the cliffs dating back to Napoleonic Wars and later learned the wooden structure jutting out from the cliff face was a machine gun post, now only accessible by the rope dangling below.  We also discovered some interesting small caves, carved by erosion.  A piece of the cliff had broken off and was interesting to touch and feel the chalkiness -- Zach, searching for creatures, was positive he saw the largest, ugliest, red-eyed spider ever.  Turned out it was a coke can when big, brave Alex shined his flashlight into the cave.

Machine gun post --no way I'd venture out there to climb that rope!

Driving around to the other side of the cliffs, we were literally "blown away!"
Keeping the camera steady, let alone one's body, was impossible.  In the distance,
the Ferries were having quite a day as well--one of them was stuck in the harbor
14 hours trying to dock.  SO glad we didn't ferry over this trip! 

6.  The Coastguard,  hailed as the closest pub in Britain to France, or the "last beer in France before you reach Britain" (supposedly UK phone carriers don't recognize this little beach area as anything other than France!) The pub appeared to be an unpretentious, weathered shack; but upon researching it later, one I wish we'd ventured into!  Next time….





7.  The Rose Inn in Wickhambreaux:  Later that evening, we ventured out to the Rose Inn for dinner.  The boys wanted to return to the Duke William, but with so many great pubs to choose from, we really wanted to keep the adventure going.  And, boy were we glad.  The place was packed with locals celebrating, Christmas crackers popping at every table, holiday lights and decor (the green stuff hanging from the ceiling?  Hops.)  And dessert.  I don't remember what I ate for dinner, but it was melt in your mouth amazing!  Mike's vote?  Come back to this one.

8.  Maidstone & Leed's Castle area:  The windy day in Dover resulted in much damage in the Kent area the next day.  Flooded roads, downed trees and power lines made Christmas Eve difficult for many locals we encountered.  Just down the road from Leed's Castle, we walked into a rather dark pub with a blazing fireplace, candles on the tables and Christmas lights illuminating the bar.  The George Pub had lost power due to the storms, were using a generator and could only serve sandwiches and ale.  They could certainly understand if we didn't want to stay.  Down on their luck, we were hopeful and once again, delighted.   Bacon and brie sandwiches on grilled toast with a hearty, warm soup.  Kudos to the folks at George's, who wouldn't let obstacles prevent them from keeping and sharing a Merry Christmas Eve!

Lucky for George, the sun was shining to illuminate the place a bit!  

9.  The Anchor in Wingham was yet another culinary and atmospheric delight.  We were treated to a wonderful meal for Christmas Eve; Rudolph the Blinking Red Nosed Ale on draft (not sure that was Mike's favorite, but the draw knob was so darn cute) and a silly drawing game to pass the time (Christmas trees, fireplaces, stockings and more, all with ones' eyes closed!) as we waited the long hours til Christmas morning!

The Anchor in Wingham

10.  Margate, Whitby & Faversham, Kent:  Finishing up the Pub crawl, we were the epitome of the accidental tourist on Christmas Day.  You see, we didn't make reservations for dinner, assuming that surely something, somewhere would have open seating.  Turns out on Christmas Day, that's not so much the case.  But, let me stray from the pub for a moment….

  

After a hearty breakfast and unwrapping gifts from Father Christmas, we decided to head out for a drive to Margate.  We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather!  This coastal town boasts the Turner Contemporary and Shell Grotto, however, this day, everything was closed.  The area reminded me of dilapidated Atlantic coastal towns--places where things were once hopping.  But, this being a very quiet time of year, I would imagine a much different scene here in the summer.

Margate seaside

Later that afternoon, armed with a cooler full of oranges, apples, nuts and granola bars; we picnicked in the car as we drove out of Margate to search for real food.  Several inquiries proved futile and even finding a open public toilet was becoming an issue! Drove into beautiful, trendy Whitby…nothing open.  Decided to hop on the carriageway and find a petrol station --I guess we weren't the only haphazard tourists as the "gourmet" sandwich bar was picked over.  Deciding whether to press on into London or return to our dwindling picnic supply back at the B&B, the gas attendant suggested we try Faversham.  Highly doubtful, but with a glimmer of hope, we decided to give it a try. First stop…closed.  2nd stop…the Railway Hotel.  

I ran inside to inquire at the bar --perhaps they would be able to scrounge up a sandwich and a beer for us weary travelers.  The bartender listened to my tale …"driving around for hours, 4 hungry boys, Christmas, no reservations, tourist…please we'll eat ANYTHING!"  He smiled and pointed to the empty table behind me, "I'm sorry this is all we have, if you don't mind sitting in the bar.  And, we might not have the full Christmas menu, but we'll do our best to find you something."  Blessed Jesus, Mary and Joseph!  I think I understand how they felt.  No room?  The stable?  YES!!!  WE'LL TAKE IT!

I can't say enough about the hospitality, ambience and delicious food at the Shepherd Neame Railway Hotel!  We enjoyed wonderful conversation with the bartender and several other guests at the bar; the kids enjoyed their drinks and we all had the best 3 course Christmas dinner ever.  We were pleasantly surprised with Black Pudding for dessert!  Most of all, we were so very grateful to the gas station guy who encouraged us to try Faversham, and to the bartender at the Shepherd Neame, who, incidentally, turned out to be the owner of the Inn.  We will come back.  That's for certain!  

The Shepherd Neame Railway Hotel in Faversham

Cheers to a wonderful Christmas!
Linda

the Chunnel, Christmas and LEFT!

This Christmas would be different:  our first in Europe; our first in many, many years without Papa.  It was good therapy to plan a trip to the English countryside and experience "Christmas in Canterbury".  And, I wanted to find an amazing worship/music experience for Christmas Eve in my own language (resolution: learn more German this year!)   This was the first time in many years I wasn't the church musician during the holiday.  It was very strange to only be a participant.  Lovely, but strange.

Fortunately, I'm blessed with an adventurous husband who wanted to try driving in the UK.   (and blessed with 3 boys who knew Christmas wouldn't happen if they didn't come along for the ride!)   At first I thought we should take a train, but I'm really glad we drove --there was so much beautiful country to see in Kent!

Our vacation commenced with a morning drive thru pothole-ridden Belgium to the Chunnel entrance.  Failure on my part to read all the ticket info properly resulted in missing our train load-in by 10 minutes.  UGH!   We had to wait for the next one, 1.5 hours later.  Hanging out in the Chunnel oasis wasn't so awful: we bought ginormous Toblerone bars and Christmas wine (since I accidently drank our special wine a few weeks earlier.  Alone. oops! But it was SO tasty!)

No joke, toblerone bars the size of your head!  Perfect for the emergency chocolate stash….

Next, we followed the signs to load our car onto the train.  Our language expert, Alex, claims to have not retained any French, so we assumed this was the right way. 

"Le tunnel sous la Manche" (you have to read that with a grovelly French accent)

Once parked, we could get out of the car and walk around the sides of the train, just not between the cars.  The way they jostled around, I can see why the parking brake sign was illuminated!  Watching more cars and buses load onto other trains, soon there was nothing to see from the windows.  Zach was really hoping to glimpse some fish….no dear, we're not in a floating tube, although it would be pretty cool to be "in" an aquarium for 50km...

Closing the fire doors inside the train

 Finally, the doors opened, we were all still alive,  James, our GPS desperately searched for a signal and we cautiously followed the signs out.  As the murmuring of "left, left, left" echoed in the car, sighting a giant horse "sculpture"on the hillside did not interest the driver nor my fellow passengers iPad game junkies.

"Left" became easier after a few days, but those first harrowing hours in the rain were a bit, well, harrowing.  Especially for this writer, seated on the right.  Closest to the oncoming traffic.  On the narrowest roads ever.  Never doubted Mike once (well, ok, a couple times I did have to shout "LEFT! after a left turn --you try turning left and staying left!)  It was the oncoming traffic that I feared most.

Twitham Court Farmhouse was our resting place for the next few days.  Located in the countryside near Canterbury, it was a peaceful haven after driving the narrow, scenic roads.  Our hostess, Sally, was ready with maps, pub reservations and places to visit--all of which were wonderful recommendations.  Click here to read all about the pub adventure! 

Sally, and her beautiful family, were gracious hosts --the house was a cross between contemporary fresh decor and nostalgic history surrounded by gorgeous landscaping, free range chickens and walking paths.  

Sally's hens made the BEST breakfasts every morning and Sally's authentic English Breakfast Tea became a fast favorite of Nate & Zach! (We have yet to replicate that taste!)

Spending Christmas Eve & Christmas morning in someone else's house was a bit of a worry for the boys.  Would Santa really find us here?  Just in case, Zach wrote a letter to Santa and left some cookies & water on a try by the fireplace.  We didn't have any hot cocoa, but figured the old man might like a change of pace for at least 1 stop!  

Christmas morning, another delicious breakfast AND Sally left Christmas crackers for the boys--an English tradition we had never encountered, but will definitely incorporate into our celebrations as we remember this special time together!  

Not a huge amount of gifts were left for us, but each of the boys asked for a couple of reasonable things and Santa came thru with just that.  OH, but there was 1 gift that just wouldn't fit in the car to bring home, so Santa stopped by our house in Germany and left a BIG package….

Nate's new Xbox controller, Zach's minecraft legos, Alex's airsoft vest

Back home to Germany a week later….oh yeah!  Carera slot cars!

More Christmas in England stories to come!

Cheers!

Linda

2013 in review

We've just finished our first year in Germany, that is, the 5 of us all together in the same time zone.   The new year always begs me to stop and reflect not just to formulate new resolutions or revisit old ones, but also to really savor the memories. We've met some wonderful people, traveled to some interesting places, made some great new friends, kept old friends close thru the wonders of technology…the following is a recap of our adventures.

10
Mike was our first tour guide and excited to share his experiences with us.  He helped us find a taste of Christmas before the markets all closed in January with an adventure to Metz, France.  King's Cakes & Glühwein for Epiphany!

9 Tirol, Austria: thanks to new friends, our first trip took us to a beautiful country and a great weekend of skiing…. but even better, spending a day in Innsbruck and eating Kaiserscharrn!

8 Birthdays and long weekends made for a perfect opportunity to run up to Bruxelles, Belgium.  Why all the fuss about the peeing boy statue, we'll never know.  We enjoyed the arches, Atomium, waffles & chocolate!

7
In April, Jennifer came to visit and off we ventured to the Netherlands! There were no blooms in Keukenhof, just acres of dirt, so our imaginations filled in the blanks.  Haarlem was a delightful little gem --we wished to rent bikes and stay there longer!  Amsterdam was where surprise met our eyes --we found the Van Gogh exhibition when the Anne Frank line was too long.  

top of the spire, Köln Cathedral

6 April far from over, Spring Break travel took us for a quick 2 night trip to Venice, Italy.  We enjoyed watching the gondolas, walking thru the bridge of sighs, listening to dueling orchestras (but learned not to order food in the piazza!) and discovering the greatest gelato ever!

5  As soon as we could shake the dust from our school books, we were on a plane to Faro, Portugal.  The week split between 2 great places --Seville, Spain and the beach resort at Faro!  The bullfight ring tour beckons our return for a real fight, the cathedral in Seville -a monstrosity;  the Roman ruins in Carmona and a B&B stay in the countryside awesome; sailing trip along the coast of Portugal to see Columbus's view followed by swimming, picnicking and sandcastle building at the beach.  Hard to decide what we liked most!

Faro, Portugal

Carmona, Spain

 4  Next  Vienna, Salzburg and Budapest!  SO many wonderful things--staying with Edith in Vienna where the breakfast conversation was remarkable; the playground across the street, Vienna Woods, dinner with Leonard's family, Klimt museum, Schönbrunn Palace…..

Budapest was a magical city--Olympic pentathlete host, dinner and sightseeing with good friends, markets, the shoe sculpture, Parliament at night and did I mention amazing Hungarian food?!

Budapest!

 The tour continued with a mountain/lake retreat at Lake Wolfgangsee, Austria.  Home to Mozart, Sound of Music and just a stone's throw to Salzburg.  Favorites included the Salt mine tour, zug to the highest peak, another awesome playground, beautiful hikes and boating on the lake.  Actually enjoyed the country so much we never made it into Salzburg!

 3  The events from mid July thru most of September were not on the "original plan" --a last minute trip to Iowa for me to help dad move to assisted living.  While there, the mayor dedicated the bandstand to dad for his 60+ years of bringing music to the city.  It was a difficult, stressful time sprinkled with a few comical moments, Ragbrai, good old Iowa cookin', renewing friendships from long ago and most of all spending time with dad.  The 5 of us were together in Iowa for dad's funeral in September for this picture.  Who would've thought the USA would be on our list of countries visited this past year?!

Fairfield, Iowa Central Park "Ron Prill Bandstand"

2  I actually returned from Iowa for a few days in early September and together with friends, our family enjoyed the winefest and parade at Bern Kasel Kues!  

Mike has never enjoyed a parade.  Until now. 

1  In mid October I journeyed without the family to Poland for a little Polish Pottery therapy.  It was a wonderful experience with some new friends --great food and new dishes for our table!

                                                       

0  Zach discovered we didn't need to go far from home for excitement --walking the meadows and fields around our village we found miniature horses and even sheep using our main street to find greener pasture!

Finally, finished up the year celebrating the Christmas season with concerts:  Mike's band, Alex & Nate's band concerts, Zach's Nutcracker performances, Christmas Markets and a beautiful holiday in Canterbury area and London!

Big Ben & us 

Canterbury Cathedral Christmas Eve

Happy New Year!

Einen guten Rusch ins Neujahr :)

Linda