Blogs from Belgium, Europe - page 2

This morning was a crisp, early start, and after a few free coffees from the hotel we slept in, Natalia drove us to Kinderdyjk, a cluster of 19 traditional windmills that has been preserved for tourist and cultural reasons. The complex offers a boat ride/ mill inspection guided tour for a small ransom, so we opted to walk along the tarred tracks that line the banks of the canal. Once again we have been blessed with unseasonal sunshine, as we dodged speeding cyclists, broke through large groups of old, and I mean old old, tourists travelling on the super long Viking Cruises Barge docked nearby. It was like stepping back in time, and some of the windmills dated back to the early 15th century. Modern windmills are electric powered and while they don’t have the smooth ... read more

We headed 15 km south of Brussels on Wednesday to the Waterloo Battlefield. June and I had listened to Bernard Cornwall's excellent audiobook on the battle so had some background before we got there. As you can see, the battlefield is working farmland today but keep in mind that on June 18th 1815, there were about 185,000 soldiers in the frame (or nearby). Of those, over 50,000 were wounded or killed. This was truly a fight to the death with consequences that influenced the next century of European history. The chateau Hougoumont which never fell that day played an important role in events. In the middle of the main British position, the King of Belgium built a monument to his wounded son (whose irresponsible behavior almost cost Wellington his victory). The edifice is called the Lion's ... read more

We left LA on Thursday, September 1st and arrived in London Friday about 10 am. It was the usual dehumanizing, maddening journey in a cramped plane with the lights out for unending hours through the night. Then, the Tube to a Holiday Inn near St. Pancras station for some catchup sleep, a meal and an overnight stay. Boarded the Eurostar Saturday for a three hour journey to Brussels. Rented a car and drove to Bruges for a 3-day stay in a lovely apartment just off the Markt Square. On Sunday, I got King Leopold's Revenge and there were no pharmacies open to deal with the problem. Nevertheless, after a late start, we drove to Dunkirk to see the "Mole" and the beach where the troops were rescued during that awful week in 1940. We drove further ... read more

Ettelbruck, Luxemburg: de start van de Escapardenne Trail. Deel 1 wordt ook wel de Lee Trail genoemd en loopt tot Kautenbach waar vandaan de route Eisleck Trail heet om in La Roche En Ardenne te eindigen.Vergezeld door Brigitta liep ik de Lee Trail.Veel uitzicht op de rivier de Sauer / Sûre, maar de maker van de route vond het niet nodig dat water vaak te volgen. Flinke uitdaging in de hitte. Positieve kant van het verhaal: aan mooie uitzichten en smalle paadjes door prachtig bos en langs akkers ontbrak h... read more

SUN, 17 JUL 2022 TRANSFER TO BRUGES, BELGIUM: The train ride itself was uneventful, as expected. I had a 24-minute layover in Brussels, Belgium to make my connection for Bruges, Belgium. No problem. Plenty of time. After all, this isn’t O’Hare. After I disembarked the first train, I looked at the tote board and found nothing going to Bruges. The line at the information/ticket counter was long enough to take me well past my departure time, and there were no apparent service representatives within sight, so I pursued the next logical option and went to the platform with trains departing at 1652. When I arrived, I showed an attendant my electronic ticket. While he was fumbling about, another customer service person approached and informed me that I was at the International Annex. That made sense as ... read more