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Published: June 15th 2011
Walking Path
Taken from the waking path around the Kasteel Vaeshartelt hotel.After the ceremony – to Maastricht
Saturday, May 28th, evening After leaving the cemetery, we drove to Maastricht, Netherlands, only about a 40 minute drive. We arrived around 6:30 and checked into our hotel, the Kasteel Vaeshartelt. This was probably the nicest place we stayed on this trip, a three star hotel in an old castle on the outskirts of Maastricht. The rooms are in a new section that has been added and are large by European standards, including the bathroom. After checking in, we went to the bar where I sampled a couple of more beers, Anne was able to get a Bloody Mary, and we ordered a bite to eat. As it turned out, lots of bites. Anne doesn't eat much meat anymore, and there was an appetizer on the menu that listed an assortment of meats and cheeses. Anne asked if they could just do the cheeses, and they said sure. I ordered a sandwich of some sort, and we sat back and enjoyed our drinks. I had probably the best beer I'd had so far on the trip – a Westmaale Tripel, a beer brewed by Trapist monks (and triple fermented I think). When our
Kasteel Vaeshartelt Hotel
Our hotel near Maastricht, Netherlands, where we stayed on Saturday night. food came, they gave Anne a HUGE platter of at least 6 or 7 types of cheeses, with sides of fruit and bread. I ate my sandwich and part of her cheese/fruit, and we still had to ask for a doggy bag – actually a take-away box. They took the left-over cheese and packaged it in separate plastic containers and put it in a big bag, and we had lunch for the next day. Back to the room and checked out e-mails and to bed.
Sunday, May 29th
Up fairly early and went down for the breakfast that was included in our room price. Without a doubt the biggest spread we have ever seen on any of our trips. Just about anything you could ask for was available from eggs, bacon, cheeses, toast and bread of all kinds, french toast, yogurt, fruit, coffee, tea, juice, etc. After that breakfast, we didn't need much for lunch. Finished eating and went back to the room and packed up, then went out and explored the grounds of the hotel/castle. There was a nice walking trail around the property which we took to settle that big breakfast, then checked out and hit
Goddess of the Wind
A statue on the beach at Newport-Bad, Belgium the road again. Did not get to see much of Maastricht, since we were headed for a Belgian National Park called Nationalpark Hoge Kempen to try to do a little hiking before going on to our B & B near Brugge.
Made it to the park but were disappointed to find that the park trails were closed due to dry weather and the fire danger. So, got back in the car and headed to the small village of Wijnendale-Torhout, only about 12 miles or 30 minutes from Brugge, Belgium, and the Woodside B&B. Found it without too much trouble and were able to check in. Then decided to drive to the coast and the resort town of Nieuwpoort-Bad just south of the larger city of Oostende. Found a place to park and walked to the beach. Wind was blowing a gale, but the beach was super wide since it was low tide. Walked probably a total of 2 miles down the beach (with the wind at our backs), then back up the boardwalk to our car. Interesting area.
After the beach we decided to drive to Ieper, Belgium (Yepres in French). Got there, found a restaurant open and
Newport-Bad, Belgium
From a breakwater that extended out some 100 yards into the sea. got a bite to eat (& drink). Our main reason for visiting this city was to see a ceremony at the Menin Gate, a British war memorial built on the site of an original city gate that was destroyed in WWI. In fact the whole city of Ypres was destroyed in WWI since it was in the middle of the frontline between the German and the Allied Armies. It has since been pretty much rebuilt and has become pretty touristy as a center of WWI history. Every night at the Menin gate, the Ypres Fire Department plays 'The last Post' at 8 p.m. as a tribute to the fallen soldiers, and various groups lay wreaths at the memorial. That's what we wanted to see. By the time we found the place, it was pretty well mobbed by other tourists, and we weren't able to see a whole lot because of the crowds, but we heard the drum and bugle corps play 'The Last Post” and saw a few of those carrying the wreaths to be laid. Probably a lot more impressive if we could have seen it better. Back to the B&B and checked email and to bed.
Monday,
Menin Gate
The Menin Gate ceremony in Ieper, Belgium. The gate is a British WWI war memorial. Every evening at 8:00 PM the Ypres Fire Department plays 'The last Post' as a tribute to the fallen soldiers. May 30th
Up and had breakfast provided by our hostess, Stacey. Not as much as at the Castle but good none-the-less. Plan was to drive to Brugge (Bruges in French) on this day and do the touristy stuff there. Fortunately our hostess insisted on letting us borrow her GPS. I was reluctant to borrow it at first, but she showed us how easy it was to operate and assured us it would help. Help it did. Took us right to the parking lot we wanted and brought us back to the B&B when we were through in Brugge. If ever again I visit Europe and rent a car, I will be sure to have one of those gadgets. If we'd had one when we arrived in Brussels, we might have made that tour in Aachen.
So we found the parking area near the train station in Brugge easily (cheapest parking area there at 2.50 euro) and walked into the quaint, really quaint, city. Brugge is an unabashed touristy city with a lot more people than we usually like but thoroughly enjoyed walking around and seeing the sites.
At the Market Square, we bought a batch of chips
Boat Tour Dock
Where we embarked on the tour of the canals in Brugge. (French fries which apparently should be called Belgian fries since they were invented in Belgium) and had them with the condiment of choice in Belgium - mayonnaise. Pretty good. As we enjoyed our chips & mayo, I noticed a lot of bleachers being set up in the square and asked the chips guy what it was for. "For de oly blude", he replied. I asked him to repeat it several times and only when he threw his arms wide and said "you know - Jesus" did I remember. The Holy Blood. It is a crystal phial that is supposed to contain the blood of Christ. The patriarch of Jerusalem gave it to a Crusader for saving the city from the Muslims in 1150. He brought it back to Brugge and gave it to the city. A church was built to hold the phial called the Basilica of the Holy Blood. I had read that every year on Ascension Day the priests have a huge ceremony where they parade the phial through the streets. Ascension Day was the Thursday, June 2nd, after we were there on Monday. Just missed it.
We also took a boat tour along all the canals
A Canal
Typical canal in Brugge. Taken from the boat tour. and toured the Half Moon (De Halve Maan) brewery - (probably the highlight of the visit for me) where I sampled three of the kinds of beer they brew there - Brugse Zot Blonde, the Brugse Zot double, a darker and slightly more potent, beer and finally, the best one, Straffe Hendrik, or 'Strong Henry', a Bitter Tripel Ale of 9% alcohol by volume (abv). There is a fourth type brewed there, called Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel, which is the most potent and I would have tried that one but the waitress wouldn't serve it to me since it was, according to her, drunk as the last one of the day. Apparently, the continuing process of re-fermentation in the bottle creates a beer which can be stored over a number of years, with an ever-changing and ever-improving taste, and ever increasing potency, as a result. After the tour, a free glass of the Zot blonde was given to each one on the tour. Since Anne doesn't drink beer, I got two free. WOOHOO.
We bought chocolate and lace and a few other things for souvenirs while in Brugge and drove back to the B&B. GPS took us right to the
The Church of Our Lady
The tour of the brewery included a climb to the roof where I took this. The church contains the only statue by Michelangelo to leave Italy in his lifetime - a "Madonna and Child". Church was closed the day we were there so didn't see it. spot, showing every turn. How does it know??? Am thinking about getting one for any more trips even in the USA. Checked email and got to bed at a fairly early hour.
Tuesday, May 31st
Up and got breakfast again at the B&B. Another good one. Bid farewell to our hostess and headed for Brussels and our hotel for the night there. We had reserved a room at a hotel fairly close to the airport in preparation for our departure the next morning. I had been warned by several reviews online that the hotel, the Campanile Bruxelles, in Vilvoorde, a suburb of Brussels, would be hard to find. It was, but we really didn't have too much trouble. I had gotten over any reluctance to ask for directions by this time on the trip, so when we got close, I stopped at a Renoult dealer and asked. Turned out we were within a stones throw of the hotel. It was just a bit hard to get to – behind a chain link fence and a gated driveway. Neighborhood did not look that bad but guess it could have been. It was very close to the local train station
Making Lace
Lady along the street making handmade lace. I've added the short video I took of her at the top of this entry. so had a bit of a noise issue but not too bad.
Found the hotel, checked in and decided to do a dry run to the airport so as not to get too lost the next morning. Got good directions from the desk clerk and got to the airport with no problems. Back to the hotel and decided to walk to a large store in hopes of being able to buy some beer to take back home. The store was called Makro and is like a big, smelly, Sam's or Wal-mart - only bigger. We went in with no problem, walked around, found beer, chose some, went to the check out line and waited. Long lines. As we got close to the cashier, I noticed folks showing their card and charge cards. Asked the lady in front if we were in the right line and would we be able to pay cash. She spoke only French (it seemed) but seemed willing to try to pay for us with our money. Got to the cashier and it turned out we were in the credit only line. Whatever. We thanked the lady profusely who tried to help us, put the beer
Brugge - Market Square
In the lower left you can see the bleachers being set up for the ceremony display of the Holy Blood, held once each year on Ascension Thursday. We were there Monday. back and tried to find the exit- no small task. Got out and walked back to the hotel. No beer but Anne was happy to have walked a bit.
Back at the hotel we went down to the hotel's restaurant to find that it didn't open until 7:00. Looked at the very overpriced menu and decided to sample a few more beers – Anne had wine. Did that. The desk clerk, also the bartender, was a really nice guy. Guess he got nicer the more beer I drank, but we had a nice conversation about Belgian beer and the fact that all Belgian pubs/bars/etc. serve each brand of beer in that brewery's unique glass. If a pub or bar there serves 300 different beers, they have to stock 300 different glasses. Guess not many serve that many but however many they do serve requires a stock of that many glasses. It seems that beer is to the Belgians as wine is to the French. They appreciate the bouquet as much as the taste, and the shape of the glass lends itself best to the aroma of that particular beer. Worked for me. I sampled three beers there - Leffe
The Bell Tower
Located on Market Square in Brugge, the Bell Tower was originally built in 1300 with the octagonal lantern added in 1486, making it 290 feet high. Bruin (Brown), Leffe Blonde, and, Chimay Rood, another dark Trapist beer that was very good. Did not get dinner. Back to the room and to bed. Up the next morning and made it to the airport with absolutely no detours. A first for our last trip in the car.
Had a wonderful time but so glad to be back home on Wednesday, June 1.
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