Belguim - Beer, waffles, and chocolate. Oh la la!

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Hello!

It turns out they speak english, dutch, and flemish in Belguim, and it turns out flemish is just dutch with a flemish accent. You learn something everyday!

Belguim is warmer than France, about 3-4 degrees, and its quite noticeable. So far this is Gins favourite country, though no suprises there with their reputation for making delicious, delicous chocolate! Here's some stuff we have seen and done here:

-Wandered through the christmas markets - they have stuff like fresh crepes, toffee grapes (like a toffee apple but grapes on a stick - awesome!), chocolate covered everything, mulled wine, real hot chocolate with a shot of amaretto (mmmm!), big pots of saurkraat and wurst, or paella, or other yum looking food, and lots of imported crafty stuff that wasn't as good as the edible stuff!

-drank belgian beer (well duh!) and ate strudel in a belgian pub

-ate belgian waffles and advocaat milkshakes (which is NOT avocado Jacko!) in a belgian pub

And before you start sensing a theme here, we also:

-Went for a few touristy walks around the city centre

-Did a tour of Pachendale (more battlefields)

-did our laundry (not so exciting, but equally as important!)

-visited the towns of Leuven (university town - hundreds of hot chicks on bikes for jacko) and Ieper (formally Ypres - big WWI memorial town and more awesome christmas markets).

Tot ziens!

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Photos

Ieper
Main St of Ieper - completely rebuilt after the war

Ieper
WWI First aid post / dressing station in flanders fields - this is where Lt Col John McCrae was stationed when hewrote the famous poem "In Flanders Fields".

Ieper
German war cemetery - under this land is a crypt where 25,000 german soldiers are buried, their nameses are on the plaques around the outside.

Ieper
The fields of Passchendale. It is farmland now, but it is where one of the biggest battles for the NZ'ers was fought, and where we suffered heavy casualties, as they had the heaviest rainfall in 40 years at the time and the soldiers got stuck in the mud and drowned.

Ieper
Tyne Cot cemetery near Passchendale - the biggest commenwealth war cemetery. It holds 11,954 fallen soldiers, compared to the 25,000 in the german mass grave.

Ieper
Jacko in a preserved trench at the Sanctuary Wood Museum, near Passchendale.

Leuven
Delicious belgian beer in Leuven

Leuven
Renton's delicious sundae in Leuven.

Ieper
The most delicious sausage in the world, and Gluwein (warm wine) and amaretto. Awesome.

Ieper
If you look carefully, you can see Jacko and Renton on top of the bridge. There are footprints painted on the path up there to encourage you to climb it... there clearly isn't OSH over here!

Comments

[maree]

Gin you must be in Chocolate heaven. Matt your eyes look bigger than your tum in the photo. Jacko you look like you have had a couple of mulled wines. lol. the news tells us the snow is really bad over there & airports are closed all over the show so just as well you guys have the motorhome.. The girls have just had a look over my shoulder to see what u guys are up to & their comments were they are having a ball. Look forward to seeing more photos. LOL OL

[Possum]

Whats in that sausage Jacko?

[Gin and Renton]

Hey Boss, pretty sure that sausage was horse meat... but the look on Jacko's face was probably from too much delicious hot wine!