Mechelen

---

We had no plans when we woke this morning. All of our motivated house guests were out the door early and the girls were happy to stay in their pajamas until noon. It was nice to have a lazy morning, of course this is the kind of lazy morning you are expected to have after a meter of beer the night before. When I returned from my run Jonathan and I looked at each other and decided we needed to get moving. With only two weeks left we could just sit back and be idle and wait for our departure, or we can attack this time as we have the rest of our European adventure. We quickly found a few places that we thought would merit a look. Due to the late hour and our state (sweaty, or still in jammies) we opted for the closest option: Mechelen.

It is only a 1/2 hour by train to Mechelen, which sits between Brussels and Antwerp. We forgot the guidebook but managed to get a photocopy of a map from the train station. We walked into town and initially we were not impressed at all by the buildings. But, the first big sight we saw was the seriously impressive and imposing Onze Lieve Vrouekerk. From here as we approached the center of town we were rewarded with some beautiful Flemish architecture and marvelous squares. The St. Romboutskathedraal with its 97 meter high tower truly did tower over the city. The cathedral is topped by the country's heaviest carillon, which is appropriate since Mechelen is home to the world's most prestigious school of campanology (bell-ringing). You could hear the amazing bell music all over the place and I only wish I had gotten it on audio or video. The town was converted to Christianity in the 8th century and has gone church happy ever since; in addition to the main one in the center there were many more churches dotting the landscape, all huge and beautiful, in a typical Flemish way.

We found a great little cafe across from the square where Jonathan and I had cappuccinos and the girls each had a very memorable bowl of ice cream. We continued exploring this sweet town and found the statue of Op-Sinjoorke, the town's mascot being hurled into the air form a blanket. It is a really cute statue and the girls had fun playing under it. We ambled some more and made it back to the train station to catch a 6pm train back to Leuven. Another late dinner for the girls but we had a great little afternoon together. We are really going to miss things like this when we return home.

---

Photos

Sint Romboutskathedraal
This massive structure is one of MANY churches in this small town. The 97 meter high tower sports some serious bells that ring the whole day.