Brussels--good beer, chocolate and smurfs?

Yup!  Smurfs are from Belgium!  First created by Belgian cartoonist, Peyo, in 1958 but it took until the 80's to reach the U.S.  

Our first excursion in the city was of course the Grand Place.  Unfortunately every day we have been here the square has been filled with cranes either setting up or tearing down stages for musical performances, so we really haven't gotten the full effect of how beautiful the square really is.  Here are just a few pictures we took while trying to avoid the machinery in the middle!

One of these buildings houses the City Museum of Brussels and since it was a rainy day, we decided to check it out.  It was your typical museum for the most part except for one room which is dedicated to the Manneken Pis, Brussels' infamous statue of a little boy peeing that dates back to 1619.  There are over 700 costumes for this little statue from everywhere around the world but unlike most of the countries that chose to send costumes that represent their national dress, the United States chose to send a miniature version of the iconic white costume worn by Elvis in Las Vegas!  The highlight of this museum was an exhibit of black and white photographs from the 40's and 50's of the city and its people.  These were incredibly moving and captured the rebuilding of the city  after the war.  A surprising fact to learn, Belgium was established as a new state in Europe in 1830. 

Using the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tour we visited the Atomium.  This was created for the 1958 Brussels World Fair and stands 335 feet tall.  We were able to go to the top-most sphere for an incredible panoramic view of the city.  You'll notice in one of the pictures workers cleaning the panels of one of the spheres.

The Royal Palace was our next hop-off.  This is where the current King of Belgium (Albert II) works, but not resides.  We noticed many similarities to Buckingham Palace.  

By now it was time for yet another coffee-break.  Here's Tom enjoying his cappucinno with his new best friend . . .
 

who ditched him for a lady next to us who actually had food to share!

Here's a picture of one of the first ever indoor malls, a vision of a Brussels architect who designed this in 1847.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner at one of the restaurants here for our last night in Brussels.

It's 11 pm and we are packing our suitcases, heading out in the morning for our next stop.  We just watched several hundreds of roller skaters and bicyclists go by our hotel on a major street here in Brussels, being escorted by the police. I guess they start their marathons a little later than we do in the midwest.  As we have witnessed all week, it's a bustling city that stays alive until the wee hours of the morning.  It was a fun city to experience, but we're ready to move on. 

Happy trails,
TnT    

  

   

Best doggone train ride to Bruges!

Our first leg of the trip to Bruges was uneventful.  We enjoyed watching the countryside as we left Amsterdam.  Then we had to change trains in Antwerp and it got a little more interesting!  We quickly learned that traveling second class was dog-friendly on Belgian trains.  A very large black lab and its owners sat across from us.  At first we were very impressed with how well the big dog settled in underneath the seat in front of its owners with only his tail extending into the aisle.  But 5 minutes into the trip his back-half was in the aisle, and 10 minutes into the trip his whole body was in the aisle, with his back-half resting on Tom's left foot!  But that's O.K., it's part of the European experience and Tom likes dogs.  No one really seemed upset as they made their way up and down the aisle, they simply stepped over him.  As we approached the station in Bruges, the locals began assembling in the aisle with their luggage.  As polite Americans, we remained seated to allow the dog owners to leave ahead of us--big mistake!  By the time Tom got our luggage down and we made our way to the door, the doors locked and the train took off!  So this is how we added a side-trip to Oostende.  So we got off in Oostende, and being the savvy travelers that we are, we purchased tickets back to Bruges only to find out later if the train doors close before you exit you can ride for free back to your original destination.  And Shannon's inheritance is dwindling one mistake at a time!

We're staying at our first B&B on our trip and the proprietor (Bennie) is a wonderful host.  It's a lovely, off-the-main-square residence in Bruges dating back to 1865.  The owner resides in half the home, welcomes guests on weekends to breakfast in his own dining room and weekdays a tray is delivered to your room.  We've enjoyed talking at length with Bennie and the other guests, one couple from London and another gentleman from Minnesota who works for an art museum and gets to travel all over the world.  (Now that's a great job!)  Canal tours are very popular here as well, rain or shine.

We have spent our days in Bruges admiring the many cathedrals here, the beautiful architecture, Tom is sampling Belgian chocolate and I've enjoyed a glass or two of recommended wines.  We're saving our beer-sampling for Brussels! 

 We had laundry done in Amsterdam for 15 Euro.  In lieu of that choice, we elected to save money by doing our own laundry today.  After spending 18 Euro on washers, dryers and detergent, we had to purchase two cappuccinos at the Bistro next door so that Tom could use the water closet.  That was another 5 Euro.  So our laundry ended up with a gross cost of  $23 Euro.  However, we did get two unexpected cappuccinos in the process.  And Shannon's inheritance is nicked once again unnecessarily!

As we settle in for our last night in Bruges, we're still laughing about the dog, the extra train ride and our self-inflicted laundry experience--life's good!

Happy trails,

TNT

We say goodbye to Amsterdam.

After five days on the Singel canal in Amsterdam, it's time to leave our comfortable location.  It has been a fun city to spend time in--certainly a challenge when you first get here just trying not to get run over by the thousands of bikes whizzing by you!  What a vibrant city to be in!  What we found is that the Amsterdamers are incredibly friendly, very patient with foreigners and seem to enjoy life!  We also observed there are way more young people here than old-timers.  

Our last few days in Amsterdam were spent touring the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum, a stroll through Vondel Park and just a lot more walking, coffee-drinking and people-watching.  The weather in Amsterdam this time of year requires frequent switching between sunglasses and umbrellas.  The showers are light and typically last about 5 to 10 minutes and the sun returns.  It really is perfect fall weather to be roaming around Europe.  

Here are a few shots of canal scenes from various bridges and the middle picture is of our hotel taken from across the canal (it has the striped awnings). 

 

Four days in Haarlem come to an end

Sunday was our last day in Haarlem and we really enjoyed our stay there.  Our highlights included a boat tour on the canals, several museums (Frans Hals, Teylers, and Ten Boom) and the beautiful St. Bavo Cathedral.  We were not familiar with the story of the Ten Boom family of Haarlem.  During the Nazi occupation in Holland this family risked their lives to hide many of their Jewish neighbors and friends.  A local informant betrayed them and the entire  family was arrested and sent to concentration camps in Feb. 1944.  Corrie Ten Boom was the only family member to survive the camps and went on to author "The Hiding Place" which was also made into a movie in 1975. Here is a picture of the small hiding place in the Ten Boom home.  Yes, I know it's sideways, but I couldn't figure out how to flip it--sorry!  (Shannon or Jess--I could use a little blogger help here!)

The Teylers Museum is the oldest museum in the Netherlands, and the building itself was as impressive as the exhibits, having changed little since 1784 when it first opened.

Here are a few pictures from Haarlem. 

  
Sunday we were off to Amsterdam via the train, only to find out the trains weren't running that day from Haarlem due to maintenance.  We were directed to busses that would take us half way to Amsterdam and then we figured out what train to get on.  Apparently it was the right train because we ultimately arrived in Amsterdam Central.  Whew!  Then we saw a Starbucks and life was good again!  

We'll skip all the details about how many times Tom's debit card was rejected at several ATM's and our plans to survive on 35 Euro for the next few months, but praise the Lord for the 800 number on the back of debit cards!  Alonzo (from the Visa Rescue Squad) unblocked Tom's debit card and again, life was good!  (Found out primary holder on account is Trudy, not Tom!)  

So now we have finished two wonderful days in Amsterdam!  Monday we enjoyed a long canal cruise to get a feel for the city (our hotel is on the inner-most canal in Amstersdam--the Singel which served as a moat around the city from 1480-1585); today (Tuesday) we climbed 240 steps to the top of Westerkerk Bell Tower.  We were the oldest climbers--but made it up and made it back down!  Tom said in another year we'll be looking for churches with 24 steps to the Bell Tower.  By a stroke of luck we were at the right place at the right time--only once a week the carillon bells are played and we were fortunate enough to actually climb to the 9th floor and watch him play!  It was amazing--he even played an American medley for us!  That was definitely the day's highlight.  The rest of our day was spent enjoying walking around, having yet another cappuccino (prepare yourself Diane!) and ending with a good meal and glass of wine.  

Here is a picture of where Amsterdam Yuppies are choosing to live (300,000 - 700,000 euro!).

Happy trails,
TnT

Greetings from Haarlem!  We begin our nomadic lifestyle here in the Netherlands.  Our first toast was "Wow!  Can you believe we're here?!"  

First of all, we want to warn our readers not to expect too much -- similar to our photographic talents, this blog may be lacking in substance and interest . . . but then you can always log off!

So we find Haarlem a very pretty and friendly city (except for the check-out lady at Aldi's!).  A favorite mode of transportation here is the bicycle and you see every variation you can think of, which includes: baby in box in front of Mom; baby in box in back of Mom; dog in box in front of rider; and 6-yr-old child standing on a bar behind the seat hanging on to Dad's shoulders (very scary sight).  Tom's favorite was the lazy man's ride, which is comprised of a guy on a motor scooter with his right foot pressed on the back fender of his friend's bike.   This allowed them both to zoom along at about 25 mph.

We have had some wonderful meals and last evening we had a chocolate tart with warm cherries for dessert that was unbelievably tasty. (Last statement posted by Tom . . . I wonder what we'll weigh in December!)  We are here for a total of 4 nights, then on to Amsterdam.  Will post again in a few days.

Happy trails,
TNT