Place to Place!!!

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Finally we have an opportunity to sit down for a few moments to let everyone know how our trip is going...things have been a bit crazy because we have only been staying in each new location for 2 or 3 days and therefore we spend most of our time siteseeing rather than sitting in a cafe. However, we just arrived in Amsterdam yesterday and already you can smell the weed all around town...we haven't been to the red light district yet here but we did see the red light district in Brussels while we were in Belgium. Belgium was really beautiful and the people were the nicest that we have encountered in Europe.

Here's the scoop on our time spent in Belgium. When we arrived in Antwerpen we met our hostess Jef and two other guests that were staying with him. Elisabeth and Rene were two young travelers from Vienna, Austria and I must say that we liked them almost immediately. They were very kind, funny, and respectful travel buddies and together we made our through most of the major cities in Belgium. First was Antwerp, which turned out to be a very cool city. We wandered through the diamond district, too bad we couldn't afford anything, as well as wandered through the narrow streets towards some very historical pubs. One of them was down in a cellar of this old medieval house. Jef, our hostess and tour guide extraordinaire, told us the story of why this pub runs underneath all of the houses on the block...5 cellars all connected to make one pub...So 20 years ago the own of house on the block discovered that he had a cellar. The law in Belgium is that if you find a piece of property with only one entrance and exit then you are legally allowed to own the entire area...confusing I know...so the guy decided to explore his cellar and as he kept walking he realized that the cellar just kept going and going and going. Eventually he realized that he could keep going for about 5 houses before he hit a wall. So he claimed the entire area as "his cellar" and turned the whole thing into a pub/restaurant. It looks like a cave inside because the ceilings are low, there is only candles to create light, and the only decorations are the huge wooden tables/chairs and oak barrels. Of course we all had a beer and then continued our tour. When we arrived home to Jef's house we had steak and salad for dinner along with homemade Belgian waffles...yum yum!! We spent the evening just talking and sharing our travel stories.

The next day the five of us explored the city of Brussels. This city was much like any other city with its busy streets and noise. However, Jef made it interesting by telling us several stories about the buildings and famous people from the area. One of them is about this statue called Mannekin Pis...yes it is actually pronouced just like it sounds....mannekin piss. It's this statue of a little naked boy peeing water into a fountain. Supposedly a long time ago there was this little aristocratic boy that ran away for 4 days. Finally, his parents found him but he was in a most embarrasing pose...peeing butt naked onto the side of a building. Despite his embarrassing behavior his parents were so glad to see him that they created a statue in his honor depicting the EXACT nature in which he was found....funny huh?? In Brussels, Alliey and I were finally able to get the famous Belgian fries...they are not french fries but rather originated in Belgium and are therefore Belgium fries. The story goes that a long time ago, along the canals, fisherman used to catch fish and fry fish to eat but during the winter it became very difficult because the canals would freeze up. So the townspeople went in search of something that they could fry that was hearty enough to keep you warm and full. So they decided to try potatoes which were cheap, starchy, and plentiful....Okay so in World War 1 when the Belgians were based in northern France the men would make these fried potatoes in order to survive. However, when other soldiers from other countries saw what these men making fried potatoes in France they began calling them 'french fries'' without realizing that the men making the fries were actually from Belgium...crazy huh??

Okay so onto Leuven...and sadly this was our last day with our Austrian travel buddies. They hung out with us for the day and then took a train to Amsterdam. So this small city was so beautiful...It was Sunday so everything was closed but we found this free student garden to wander around and a Beguinage to explore. The local university created this very large garden in order to provide a peaceful place for students to study. There is pond with fish and turtles, a chicken coup, a cactus house, and of course plenty of trees and plants. It was very relaxing. However, the Beguinage was the coolest part of this area. A beguine was a woman who was very similar to a catholic nun but did not take orders (ergo she could have sex and was not married to God)...she took a vow of poverty that's it. The Beguinage was a whole community of beguines (NO MEN ALLOWED) who lived together and worked together. It was very similar to a modern day cult but not nearly as evangelical. These were very peaceful woman who lived very simple lives. We got to go into the small museum where they had a replica of what a house would have really looked like. We also saw the chapel and several of the "business'' buildings...very cool...At the end of the day our friends left and we went home with Jef to have wonderful croques monsieur sandwiches and homemade custard...yum yum!!!!

Here's a cool fact about Olen where Jef was from: 5 years ago the mayor decided that it was cheaper to give every citizen, who wanted them, 2 chickens that could eat all of the food leftovers than to have the garbage man collect it. So Jef has 3 chickens as do many of his neighbors that eat all of the leftovers from every meal...funny huh?

Here's another funny story about why Olen is famous for the three handled mug. Charles V was visiting his territory in Belgium when he stopped at a pub in Olen. The bartender tried to hand him a mug of beer but he was holding onto the handle so the king couldn't grab it from him. The king said, "here's a gold coin. Take it and make a mug with two handles so that I can grab the beer from you. I will return in a year and ask for another beer". So the next year Charles V returns to the same pub and orders a beer except that when the bartender hands him the beer he is holding onto both handles...so the king can't grab the beer from him. So again the king gives him a gold coin and tells him to create a mug that has three handles so he can actually grab the beer. Finally the king comes back to pub a year later and is finally able to grab the beer from the bartender using the third handle on the mug...silly huh??

So back to our tales of Belgium. The day after our friends from Austria left we were greeted with two annoying travelers from New Zealand who were going to stay with Jef. They were young, tired, and bitchy...plus they did not really want to anything in the city of Ghent (Gent) which was very frustrating...All they enjoyed was getting drunk...Anyways, Ghent is a beautiful historical city. We met Jef's friend Victoria, who guided us around the city. She took us to come beautiful catherdrals and churches and bought us a box of Belgian chocolates...yum yum!!!! This city was filled with canals...which we thought were beautiful. Around 2:00pm Jef gets a call from a local television show saying that they want to do a 5 minute story about him and his guests...of course that meant us!!! So the next morning, Alliey and I were being interviewd for a Belgium television show about culture. They filmed Jef making breakfast, all of us eating and packing our bags, and all of us getting on the train to Brugge...It was so nerve-wracking...but in the evening we were able to watch ourselves on Belgium television....My interview was actually dubbed into Dutch....YEAH BABY!!!

Brugge was where we left Jef, tear tear, and met our new hosts Marc and Anne-Marie...They are a retired couple who really did an excellent job of showing us around Brugge. We got to touch holy blood...YEAH the real thing. Supposedly the vile of blood, which is under the strict supervision of a priest, was from the stab wound that Christ received while on the cross...Alliey and I both went up to touch the vile. We wandered around the canals and took a boat ride. We visited another beguinage and various churches. We went to a free bell concert at the bell tower (belfry tower) and then to a salsa club for mojitos...very tasty!!! Anne-Marie was a retired lace maker and therefore we learned how to make lace. I even bought a small piece for 10€...We were so sad to leave Belgium. The people were so nice and welcoming....

More adventures to come,
Miranda and Allison

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