We had to get up this morning at 6 am (Yikes!) to get to the airport to catch our 9 am flight. Our cabbie drove a Mercedes Benz - nice. John said he got up to 100 miles per hour. I never felt it.
This was a wonderful trip. Both The Netherlands and Belgium were fabulous. I would come back to either of these places. I'd want to spend more time in both.
Amsterdam was about what I expected. It was beautiful with all the canals. The Anne Frank House was...I don't even know what to say. It was very moving and humbling. Amsterdam was everything I thought it would be.
There was the surprise of Delft. I hope that I have the opportunity to go and spend a little time there. When I read about Delft in the guide book, all that was mentioned was the pottery. Boring! But the reality of Delft was a lot different. It was very quaint. The town square rivaled any of the others that we'd seen. There was a lot to explore there.
Belgium was a great surprise. I didn't really know what to expect since the only Belgian I knew of was Hercule Poirot. The movie, In Bruges, gave me an idea of what to expect there but the other places were a blank page. I thought I might be bored there, quite honestly but bored I was not.
Brussels was fantastic. In retrospect, I'd have stayed closer to Grand Place since that's where all the action was. Ghent was very cool. I'd like to have spent more time there as well. The history of these places is overwhelming.
I think we could have spent the whole 10 days in either country and still probably not have seen everything.
The other cool thing was traveling by train. I don't know why but I think it's awesome. I like it way better than flying. I realize that it takes longer but it much more interesting.
While it was all wonderful and we really enjoyed ourselves, when all is said and done, there's no place like home.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Day 9 - Brussels
Today was our last full day in Europe. We decided to take it easy and spend the day wandering around Brussels. There were so many things I wanted to see but I knew that we wouldn't have time or energy to see them all so we picked things we could see that were within walking distance. The first stop was the Sablon Church (Our Lady of the Sablon).
The was initially a chapel built in 1348 by the guild of Archers. It became a pilgrimage site in 1348 when a woman claimed to have a vision of the Holy Mother. The chapel was transformed into a Gothic church from the 1400's to the beginning of the 16th century.
The church used to be surrounded by houses until about the 19th century when the houses were demolished during the urbanization projects of King Leopold II.
This is one of the beautiful stained glass windows in the church.
I'm not sure what this little statue represents as far as the rowboat but I liked it.
The altar.
The next place we went to spend time was the Grand Place. This is the King's House or Maison du Roi which now houses the Museum of Brussels which shows the history of the city. We went into the museum, which was pretty cool but no pictures allowed. One of the things that the museum had was an exhibit of all the outfits that had been donated to cloth the Mannekin-Pis.
After the French bombardment, the building was restored enough to keep it standing. In 1860, the Mayor of Brussels convinced the city to buy the building. It was torn down and completely rebuilt in this gothic style.
We stopped in a cafe to try another Belgian waffle. (Here they're just called waffles). These things are meals by themselves. You can get them with pretty much anything on them. We each got one that had fresh strawberries and chocolate syrup. It was very good but very rich. There was a bit too much chocolate for me. (I never thought the day would come when I'd think there was too much chocolate on anything!). We thought this would just be a little snack. We were STUFFED!
Back out into Grand Place, we stood in the middle of the square and just read the Frommer's book as to what all the buildings were. This building is House of the Dukes of Brabant. There are actually seven mansions behind this single facade.
On the building are 19 busts of the Dukes of the duchy of Brabant.
This house is No. 9 and is called Le Cygne because of the Swan above the door. It dates back to 1698 and from about 1720 was the butcher's guildhouse. It is currently a restaurant called La Maison du Cygne. Very original.
This next house is No. 10 and is called the Golden Tree. This is the headquarters of the Brewer's guild. It also houses the brewery museum. 
On top of the Brewer's Guild is a guilded statue of Duke Charles of Lorraine. It was built in 1901.
This is the town hall. It dates back to 1402. We wanted to take the tour but it's only offered on Tuesdays.
The spire of the town hall is what King Louis XIV used as a target to bomb the city back in 1695. He destroyed most of the square but the spire and town hall walls were only slightly damaged.
The statues above the entry of the town hall.
The center statue above the town hall entry is of St. Michael slaying a dragon.
Another view of the guilded statue of Duke Charles of Lorraine...with someone's head almost blocking the view.
The guild houses in Grand Place.
Grrr.. This is supposed to be a shot of the Fox, which you can see right above someone's head...
At the very far left is No. 7. This is Le Renard or the Fox. It was the guildhouse of the Haberdashers.
There are reliefs in the building of typical haberdashery tasks as well as a statue of St. Nicholas on the top.
This is the top of No. 6, Le Cornet. Above the door is a relief of a horn. This was the boatman's guild house. The top of the building (above) looks like the back end of a ship. It would have been easier to see had I not zoomed in so close. Unfortunately, I didn't see the resemblance when I was actually taking the picture.
This is the doorway over No.5 which is called La Louve (She-wolf). This is the image of Romulus and Remus being suckled by the she-wolf. This building used to be the Archer's guild house.
This one is called La Brouette or the Wheelbarrow. It's No.3. The lower floors of the building actually survived the bombardment of 1695.
The top of the building has a statue of St. Gilles who is the patron saint of the guild.
Nos 1 and 2 make up Le Roi de Espagne (the King of Spain). This was the Baker's guild and dates from 1697.
The gilded weather vane on the cupola of La Roi de Espagne.
The figure on top of the building are those of Marcus Aurelius, Nerva, Decius and Trajan.
The next place I wanted to see was St. Nicholas church. The inside was supposed to be beautiful. This is one of the oldest churches in Brussels, built back in the second half of the twelfth century. It was dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of traders. The inside was beautiful but no pictures. I lit a candle for my dad.
Walking back toward the hotel we stopped to check out a statue of Albert I of Belgium.
This is an exhibit by Javier Marin.
John at the foot of the steps of a really beautiful garden. In the background is Royal Square.
This place is called Old England. It was built in 1900 and has recently been renovated. It will eventually house the museum of musical instruments.
The Royal Square.
A close up of the statue of Godfrey of Bullion, who led the first crusade back in 1096.
This is the waffle guy. He parks his van right on the corner near our hotel and sells waffles. He's got like two or three waffle irons in there. This is where we bought our first waffle. It was yummy!
So ended our last day in Belgium.
The was initially a chapel built in 1348 by the guild of Archers. It became a pilgrimage site in 1348 when a woman claimed to have a vision of the Holy Mother. The chapel was transformed into a Gothic church from the 1400's to the beginning of the 16th century.
The church used to be surrounded by houses until about the 19th century when the houses were demolished during the urbanization projects of King Leopold II.
This is one of the beautiful stained glass windows in the church.
I'm not sure what this little statue represents as far as the rowboat but I liked it.
The altar.
The next place we went to spend time was the Grand Place. This is the King's House or Maison du Roi which now houses the Museum of Brussels which shows the history of the city. We went into the museum, which was pretty cool but no pictures allowed. One of the things that the museum had was an exhibit of all the outfits that had been donated to cloth the Mannekin-Pis.After the French bombardment, the building was restored enough to keep it standing. In 1860, the Mayor of Brussels convinced the city to buy the building. It was torn down and completely rebuilt in this gothic style.
We stopped in a cafe to try another Belgian waffle. (Here they're just called waffles). These things are meals by themselves. You can get them with pretty much anything on them. We each got one that had fresh strawberries and chocolate syrup. It was very good but very rich. There was a bit too much chocolate for me. (I never thought the day would come when I'd think there was too much chocolate on anything!). We thought this would just be a little snack. We were STUFFED!
Back out into Grand Place, we stood in the middle of the square and just read the Frommer's book as to what all the buildings were. This building is House of the Dukes of Brabant. There are actually seven mansions behind this single facade.
On the building are 19 busts of the Dukes of the duchy of Brabant.
This house is No. 9 and is called Le Cygne because of the Swan above the door. It dates back to 1698 and from about 1720 was the butcher's guildhouse. It is currently a restaurant called La Maison du Cygne. Very original.
This next house is No. 10 and is called the Golden Tree. This is the headquarters of the Brewer's guild. It also houses the brewery museum. 
On top of the Brewer's Guild is a guilded statue of Duke Charles of Lorraine. It was built in 1901.
This is the town hall. It dates back to 1402. We wanted to take the tour but it's only offered on Tuesdays.
The spire of the town hall is what King Louis XIV used as a target to bomb the city back in 1695. He destroyed most of the square but the spire and town hall walls were only slightly damaged.
The statues above the entry of the town hall.
The center statue above the town hall entry is of St. Michael slaying a dragon.
Another view of the guilded statue of Duke Charles of Lorraine...with someone's head almost blocking the view.
The guild houses in Grand Place.
Grrr.. This is supposed to be a shot of the Fox, which you can see right above someone's head...
At the very far left is No. 7. This is Le Renard or the Fox. It was the guildhouse of the Haberdashers.
There are reliefs in the building of typical haberdashery tasks as well as a statue of St. Nicholas on the top.
This is the top of No. 6, Le Cornet. Above the door is a relief of a horn. This was the boatman's guild house. The top of the building (above) looks like the back end of a ship. It would have been easier to see had I not zoomed in so close. Unfortunately, I didn't see the resemblance when I was actually taking the picture.
This is the doorway over No.5 which is called La Louve (She-wolf). This is the image of Romulus and Remus being suckled by the she-wolf. This building used to be the Archer's guild house.
This one is called La Brouette or the Wheelbarrow. It's No.3. The lower floors of the building actually survived the bombardment of 1695.
The top of the building has a statue of St. Gilles who is the patron saint of the guild.
Nos 1 and 2 make up Le Roi de Espagne (the King of Spain). This was the Baker's guild and dates from 1697.
The gilded weather vane on the cupola of La Roi de Espagne.
The figure on top of the building are those of Marcus Aurelius, Nerva, Decius and Trajan.
The next place I wanted to see was St. Nicholas church. The inside was supposed to be beautiful. This is one of the oldest churches in Brussels, built back in the second half of the twelfth century. It was dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of traders. The inside was beautiful but no pictures. I lit a candle for my dad.
Walking back toward the hotel we stopped to check out a statue of Albert I of Belgium.
This is an exhibit by Javier Marin.
John at the foot of the steps of a really beautiful garden. In the background is Royal Square.
This place is called Old England. It was built in 1900 and has recently been renovated. It will eventually house the museum of musical instruments.
The Royal Square.
A close up of the statue of Godfrey of Bullion, who led the first crusade back in 1096.
This is the waffle guy. He parks his van right on the corner near our hotel and sells waffles. He's got like two or three waffle irons in there. This is where we bought our first waffle. It was yummy!So ended our last day in Belgium.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Day 8 - Ghent
Ghent is another town that's a short train ride away from Brussels. It's very similar to Brugge but smaller. This day started out bad. First of all, it was raining. Luckily, we had umbrellas. When we got to Ghent, I couldn't figure out which tram to take to get to the center of the city. The Frommer's really let me down here. They weren't specific enough on where to go so we milled around the train station trying to figure out what to do. Finally, we found someone to ask and he said take tram 22. So we did. Unfortunately, he didn't say where to get off. I rolled the dice and picked a stop.
I didn't recognize anything from the Frommer's so I suggested we go into a cafe and get a coffee and regroup. I was looking for the balfort because they were supposed to have maps of the city, which we desperately needed. We asked our waiter if he could tell us where to go and he said, go out of the cafe, turn right and go all the way to the end of the block. You'll see it from there. He was right.
This isn't actually the balfort. It's St. Nicklaus Church.
Another view of St. Nicklaus Church.
That big tall spire is the balfort. We went in and asked for a map. I noticed that they had tickets to go up to the top of the balfort. I know what you're thinking but I couldn't help it. I wanted to go. You're probably wondering how I got John to go up with me. One word: Elevator. We had to climb about 50 steps but then they had an elevator that would take us to the top.
This was the bottom of the stairway that we had to go up. These people must have been really small. It's very narrow.
The balfort and cloth hall date from 1425 and was the gathering place of the cloth and wool merchants. The belfry holds all the bells. The most beloved bell, Roland, cast in 1315, was destroyed in 1540 by Charles V as punishment for Ghent's insubordination. The new Roland (above) was cast in 1660.
Now THIS is a view! This is St. Bavo's Cathedral as seen from the top of the balfort.
St. Bavo's was built back in the 13th - 15th century by the wealthy merchants of Ghent. Inside is the painting the Mystic Lamb.
St. Nicklaus Church.
After the belfry, we decided to have some lunch. I'm not sure what the deal was with the Big Ben look alike but it was a very pretty view. With my new map in hand we found the canal area and picked out a nice sidewalk cafe for lunch. We thought it'd be a touristy place but we were pleasantly surprised. We hadn't really been bowled over by the food over here. But this place was really good.
After lunch, again with my trusty map in hand, we walked around a bit.
This is Gravensteen Castle. It was built by Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders in 1180. This was cool. A real castle
Looking for the front door of the castle..
Up on the turret. I think that's the flag of Flanders.
One of the rooms - the ceilings are really cool.
The wall around the castle. I'm thinking this is where the guards would stand and make sure no one was going to storm the castle.
Guess what this is. John's not really "using" it. He's just a goofball. But this was out along the wall. Can you imagine that you're a guard out there defending the castle in the middle of winter and this is where you have to go? I'd be inclined to get another job.
There was a bit of a dungeon. The lower part of the castle actually had the water in there where you could park the boat. I didn't see how you'd get out but I'm sure there was something.
I'm not sure why he's got his head down. Maybe he's crying because I'm as goofy as he is.
We spent quite a bit of time at the castle. We had time to do one more thing. We could either find a place to hang out and people watch or we could do the canal cruise. We chose the canal cruise. This makes four canal cruises in one trip. Everyone of them was worth it.
I thought this was a really pretty view of the canal. I think the tower in the back is St. Nicklaus Church.
The Graslei. The architecture is gorgeous. All the gables are a little different but they are step gables.
Waiting for the cruise to start.
It took a while for the boat driver to show up so we got bored. This was the best of the bunch.
Another of the guild houses. They have a Big Ben clock in the back. It's really a gorgeous view. Notice the step gable on this house.
This narrow house was the toll collectors house. If you wanted to bring your boat of goods into the canal, you had to pay a toll.
Guild houses.
So back in the day, the people couldn't read. Instead of street addresses, they put pictures on the houses. This was the ship house.
St. Michael's Bridge facing one direction.
St. Michael's Bridge going back the other way.
The three towers of Ghent. The St. Nicklaus, The balfort and St. Bavo's.
I think this is a convent.
Convent. There are doors that open right onto the water. I wonder what they were used for.
I don't know what building this is but I thought it kind of cool because it had a statue on the side.
More guild houses. I'd like to have seen the inside of that really narrow one. I'm guessing these houses are used as apartments now.
Ghent's version of the Mannekin-Pis. They keep theirs clothed. The guide was saying that all the cities in Belgium had a Mannekin-Pis statue as the mascot. It's odd that in Ghent the statue is on top of a doorway..
Another lovely view along the canal.
So check out the door that's right there. There's not even a step or anything to keep you from going straight into the water. What if it rains really heavy and the level of the canal rises? Is that door going to keep the water out? What's the purpose of that door!!!
Gravensteen Castle.
Just another view from the canal.
The Monastery.
Augustine Monastery - still in use. There are 12 monks that live here.
I just thought this looked kind of cool - the building right on the canal and the weeping willow..
The Rabot Gate
The return trip up the canal. That's the monastery directly in front.
The castle.
This looks like some sort of secret exit, don't you think? An obscure door in the wall that leads right to the canal?
Gravensteen Castle.
St. Nicklaus Church. After the canal ride, we headed back to the train station. We caught tram 1, which was the tram we were looking for in the morning. The trip to Ghent was fabulous. The rain went away and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I think I could have spent a couple of days here.
When we got back to Brussels, we decided to grab a burger at the Quick. They had Quick in Paris. It's the European equivalent of McDonald's. So in Belgium EVERYTHING comes with fries. In Ghent, John ordered some ribs and it came with a baked potato and fries. Really. A baker with a side of fries. We were so tired of fries that when we went to Quick, we just wanted the burgers. When we ordered, we told the girl that we didn't want fries. I guess that was pretty unusual because she had to void out order and start over.
One other thing that we've noticed while we were here is that all the stores close pretty early. I'm talking like 8-ish pm. We're staying in the shopping mecca of the city and all the stores shut down at 8. Sheesh. Well, I mention this because this particular night the city was celebrating "The Louise Night". It's Louise because that's the name of the street that all the stores are on.
So all the stores stayed open late (11 pm!). The press was there, the stores had DJs and girls dressed to the nines handing out fliers. One place even had a jazz band and it was a pen store. (Mont Blanc) Unbelievable! There were red carpets everywhere - for some fashion expo. It wasn't even like there was a fashion show. It was just the stores staying open late.
We went and found an ice cream cafe and people watched. The guy serving us ice cream was wearing a suit. It was interesting for about 10 minutes. Then we got bored and went back to our hotel.
I didn't recognize anything from the Frommer's so I suggested we go into a cafe and get a coffee and regroup. I was looking for the balfort because they were supposed to have maps of the city, which we desperately needed. We asked our waiter if he could tell us where to go and he said, go out of the cafe, turn right and go all the way to the end of the block. You'll see it from there. He was right.
This isn't actually the balfort. It's St. Nicklaus Church.
Another view of St. Nicklaus Church.
That big tall spire is the balfort. We went in and asked for a map. I noticed that they had tickets to go up to the top of the balfort. I know what you're thinking but I couldn't help it. I wanted to go. You're probably wondering how I got John to go up with me. One word: Elevator. We had to climb about 50 steps but then they had an elevator that would take us to the top.
This was the bottom of the stairway that we had to go up. These people must have been really small. It's very narrow.
The balfort and cloth hall date from 1425 and was the gathering place of the cloth and wool merchants. The belfry holds all the bells. The most beloved bell, Roland, cast in 1315, was destroyed in 1540 by Charles V as punishment for Ghent's insubordination. The new Roland (above) was cast in 1660.
Now THIS is a view! This is St. Bavo's Cathedral as seen from the top of the balfort.
St. Bavo's was built back in the 13th - 15th century by the wealthy merchants of Ghent. Inside is the painting the Mystic Lamb.
St. Nicklaus Church.
After the belfry, we decided to have some lunch. I'm not sure what the deal was with the Big Ben look alike but it was a very pretty view. With my new map in hand we found the canal area and picked out a nice sidewalk cafe for lunch. We thought it'd be a touristy place but we were pleasantly surprised. We hadn't really been bowled over by the food over here. But this place was really good.
After lunch, again with my trusty map in hand, we walked around a bit.
This is Gravensteen Castle. It was built by Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders in 1180. This was cool. A real castle
Looking for the front door of the castle..
Up on the turret. I think that's the flag of Flanders.
One of the rooms - the ceilings are really cool.
The wall around the castle. I'm thinking this is where the guards would stand and make sure no one was going to storm the castle.
Guess what this is. John's not really "using" it. He's just a goofball. But this was out along the wall. Can you imagine that you're a guard out there defending the castle in the middle of winter and this is where you have to go? I'd be inclined to get another job.
There was a bit of a dungeon. The lower part of the castle actually had the water in there where you could park the boat. I didn't see how you'd get out but I'm sure there was something.
I'm not sure why he's got his head down. Maybe he's crying because I'm as goofy as he is. 
We spent quite a bit of time at the castle. We had time to do one more thing. We could either find a place to hang out and people watch or we could do the canal cruise. We chose the canal cruise. This makes four canal cruises in one trip. Everyone of them was worth it.
I thought this was a really pretty view of the canal. I think the tower in the back is St. Nicklaus Church.
The Graslei. The architecture is gorgeous. All the gables are a little different but they are step gables.
Waiting for the cruise to start.
It took a while for the boat driver to show up so we got bored. This was the best of the bunch.
Another of the guild houses. They have a Big Ben clock in the back. It's really a gorgeous view. Notice the step gable on this house.
This narrow house was the toll collectors house. If you wanted to bring your boat of goods into the canal, you had to pay a toll.
Guild houses.
So back in the day, the people couldn't read. Instead of street addresses, they put pictures on the houses. This was the ship house.
St. Michael's Bridge facing one direction.
St. Michael's Bridge going back the other way.
The three towers of Ghent. The St. Nicklaus, The balfort and St. Bavo's.
I think this is a convent.
Convent. There are doors that open right onto the water. I wonder what they were used for.
I don't know what building this is but I thought it kind of cool because it had a statue on the side.
More guild houses. I'd like to have seen the inside of that really narrow one. I'm guessing these houses are used as apartments now.
Ghent's version of the Mannekin-Pis. They keep theirs clothed. The guide was saying that all the cities in Belgium had a Mannekin-Pis statue as the mascot. It's odd that in Ghent the statue is on top of a doorway..
Another lovely view along the canal.
So check out the door that's right there. There's not even a step or anything to keep you from going straight into the water. What if it rains really heavy and the level of the canal rises? Is that door going to keep the water out? What's the purpose of that door!!!
Gravensteen Castle.
Just another view from the canal.
The Monastery.
Augustine Monastery - still in use. There are 12 monks that live here.
I just thought this looked kind of cool - the building right on the canal and the weeping willow..
The Rabot Gate
The return trip up the canal. That's the monastery directly in front.
The castle.
This looks like some sort of secret exit, don't you think? An obscure door in the wall that leads right to the canal?
Gravensteen Castle.
St. Nicklaus Church. After the canal ride, we headed back to the train station. We caught tram 1, which was the tram we were looking for in the morning. The trip to Ghent was fabulous. The rain went away and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I think I could have spent a couple of days here. 
When we got back to Brussels, we decided to grab a burger at the Quick. They had Quick in Paris. It's the European equivalent of McDonald's. So in Belgium EVERYTHING comes with fries. In Ghent, John ordered some ribs and it came with a baked potato and fries. Really. A baker with a side of fries. We were so tired of fries that when we went to Quick, we just wanted the burgers. When we ordered, we told the girl that we didn't want fries. I guess that was pretty unusual because she had to void out order and start over.One other thing that we've noticed while we were here is that all the stores close pretty early. I'm talking like 8-ish pm. We're staying in the shopping mecca of the city and all the stores shut down at 8. Sheesh. Well, I mention this because this particular night the city was celebrating "The Louise Night". It's Louise because that's the name of the street that all the stores are on.
So all the stores stayed open late (11 pm!). The press was there, the stores had DJs and girls dressed to the nines handing out fliers. One place even had a jazz band and it was a pen store. (Mont Blanc) Unbelievable! There were red carpets everywhere - for some fashion expo. It wasn't even like there was a fashion show. It was just the stores staying open late.We went and found an ice cream cafe and people watched. The guy serving us ice cream was wearing a suit. It was interesting for about 10 minutes. Then we got bored and went back to our hotel.
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