#  >  > Non Asia Travel Forums >  >  > Travel the World Travellers Tales Forum >  >  EURO, 5 Countries in 3 weeks

## SEA Traveler

Being originally from the USA, working in Asia most of my adult life and now residing as a retired EXPAT in Thai for the past few years has shelted me somewhat from what I would consider to be an expensive cost of living in Europe.  Don't get me wrong, I've been to Europe on business many times in the past and enjoyed the sights, food, aspects offered within the various and varried parts of Europe and each time I've departed Europe with an appreciation of how expensive it is to live there when compaired to the US, Korea where I've lived and work for more than 17 years, and Thailand.  Saying that, I/we (my Thai spouse accompanied me as she always enjoys exploring new parts of Europe and the world) went to Europe knowing that I would be doing some consulting work for about 10 days in Poland and taking advantage of an invitation from a Belgium EXPAT friend who also resides in Thailand with his Thai spouse, to visit Belgium with him and his bride and stay at his parents home.  Good deal right.  Well to tell you the truth, it could not have been a more plesant time.  Our trip took place in July 2011, a good time to be visiting and traveling in Europe.  Our schedule would have us flying into Brussels, Belgium, stay in Houthaltes, Limburg, Belgium and using the residence of my Belgium EXPAT friend'd parent's as home base for traveling within Belgium and Germany for a week to 10 days.  Then we plannd to take the EuroStar train to Paris for 3 days and nights to see the sights and return to Brussels for a night and a day before heading to Poland for the work effort and then to Copenhagen, Denmark for a short R&R before returning back home to the the residence in Thailand.  This will be the story of our trip and it will be somewhat of a pictorial.  If a particular part of our tour locations is familiar to any of our well traveled TD members, feel free to chime in about the areas history, foods of the area, etc.  My posts will be incremental with a few posts and pictures every day until I've completed my pictorial story.  I hope this thread will be as enjoyable to the readers as it was for my spouse and myself.

----------


## SEA Traveler

This was home and home base for the first week or so of the trip.  The family residence of the parents of my Belgium EXPAT friend living in Thailand.  We were picked up at Brussels airport by my friend, his Thai wife, and the friends brother.  A warm greeting was provided and then we headed about 1 1/2 hours West to Houthaltes, Limburg, Belgium where the house was located.  We hand no idea of what to expect but my wife and I have met my EXPAT friend's parents several times in the past during their frequent visits to Thailand.  About 6 months prior to our trip to Europe, the EXPAT friends parents came to my home in Ban Chang for an afternoon visit, chat, and refreshment partaking.  Anyway, upon arrival at the house in Belgium we were again greeted warmly.  This time by the parents of my EXPAT friend.  Bags were taken up to the bedroom and we sat down for a brief chat as it was getting late and we had had a long day traveling.  We were givern our own comfy bedroom on the 2nd floor of the house and shown the shower and toilet facilities.  My one question was what were the rules of the house.  The response, "there are no rules".  

Woke up the next morning and went down stairs about 0700.  Mom and Pop EXPAT were up already and had the coffe on and the breakfast table set.  I took a shower and by that time everyone was up.  EXPAT friend, his bride, myself and my spouse all sat down for breakfast before our scheduled trip into Brussels to tour the town.  Breakfast was just our of this world.  2 kinds of fresh hot bread and several kinds of rolls.  Cheese, salami, ham, butter, jellies, tea, coffee, and fruit.  The breads and cheeses were fantastic and as we all know, available in Thailand but they just arn't the same.

----------


## SEA Traveler

here is another picture of the exterior of the house.

----------


## Thormaturge

> I hope this thread will be as enjoyable to the readers as it was for my spouse and myself.


It would be if it had some paragraphs.

Interesting.

I used to have a red brick box once.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> It would be if it had some paragraphs.


ok, well ,as I figured, there always some one out there who is not satisfied.  I'm wondering if Thormaturge is looking for a break in the text or more narrative with the pictures.  no worries at this end.  will attempt to carry on in my own fashion.  Thor, try and overlook my writting faults by looking at the pics.

----------


## SEA Traveler

The interior of the house was cozy.  Everything was perfectly clean and in it's place.  Here is the bedroom that was so kindly prepared for us by EXPAT's Mom and Pop.

----------


## SEA Traveler

The house was cozy and everything was perfectly clean and in it's place.  Here is the bedroom that was so kindly prepared for the Mrs and I by EXPAT friends Mom and Pop.  There were even cloths hangers on the bed for us to use.  So thoughful and kind.

----------


## SEA Traveler

The living room had a fire place and family pictures on the wall and on tables.  A great place for conversation as there were plenty of chairs about for everyone to sit.  A very comfortable environment.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Ther breakfast table was always set the night before.  Here I am with my EXPAT friend and his brother.  The ladies were still in bed so we had the table and food and conversation to ourselves.  The food was tasty and plentyful...

----------


## sunsetter

nice thread cant wait to see it progress, bring it on!!!!!!!!

----------


## larvidchr

> nice thread cant wait to see it progress, bring it on!!!!!!!!


Yes ditto to that

----------


## Lorenzo

Need to work on the thread title ..... a suggestion: 

"A few pics of a friends parents house"

maybe others can offer a better title

----------


## Thormaturge

I like the idea of setting the breakfast table the night before.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Need to work on the thread title ..... a suggestion: 
> 
> "A few pics of a friends parents house"
> 
> maybe others can offer a better title


Sorry Lorenzo but this thread is progressive and covers the travels and sites visited in 5 countries over a 3 week period.  To limit the title to pics of friends house would not be covering the extent of this developing thread.  I'll stick to my original title but thanks for the suggestion.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> I like the idea of setting the breakfast table the night before.


Yes, saved time and was a pretty good indicator that we were at least going to get breakfast when we woke up.  Funny thing though.  As soon as we were finished eating breakfast, EXPAT friend's mother set the lunch table.  LOL.

----------


## SEA Traveler

While sitting around the breakfast table we discussed the day's itinerary.  The weather was nice so we kept to the plan and headed off towards Brussels, Belgium.  I've heard a lot about Brussels and the associated medieval buildings, museums & galleries, and the street cafes.  First stop was the center of Brussels to find a car parking spot.  We ended up behind Saint Michael's Cathedral. 



Saint Michael's Cathedral in the 13th century, is a lesson in Brabantine Gothic archetecture and took 300 years to complete the work.  The inside of the church is lavish and has many giant figures of the apostles and renaissance influenced stain glass windows from the 16th century.  Below in the crypt of Saint Michael's are the remains of the Romanesque 11th centry church.

----------


## SEA Traveler

From Saint Michael we headed off to the Grote Market area and had our group picture taken in the plaza in front of Brussels City Hall.

----------


## SEA Traveler

To get our bearings we stopped and checked out the directional signs down one of the side streets from the Grote Market.

----------


## SEA Traveler

The aroma of freshly cooked waffles was in the air and was over whelming.  We headed in the direction of that aroma and soon found the waffle, ice cream, chocolate and strawberry shop.




My bride had to have at least one of these the moment she saw them.  She wasted no time ordering one, her first on of the day.




Here is a close look at the monstrosity.  Very tasty though and I decided to order one for myself.

----------


## SEA Traveler

With our sweet tooth now satisfied, we headed off down the back street to view Petit-Julien or better known as Manneken-Pis.  Manneken-Pis is located South of the Grand Place and Grote Market on rue du Chene.  Manneken is a bronze fountain statuette dating back to 1619 and is of a naked little boy happy urinating.  This statuette has long been an endearing symbol of a "carefree" Brussels.

----------


## SEA Traveler

We walked the side streets in the area and I took a few photographs of the architecture and buildings that I found interesting.  Here are a few of those pictures.

----------


## SEA Traveler

During our stroll in the area, there was some street entertainment.  This accordion player caught my eye.  What I did not see though was his monkey.  Although the patrons of the cafe restaurant were enjoying the entertainment, the cafe restaurant staff had asked and later assisted the accordion player off the premise.  I got to sit on the bench outside the cafe restaurant area and listen to him play for 15 min or so.

----------


## SEA Traveler

I like the aspect in Europe of bicycling in the city and the fact that they have bicycle rentals and bike stands along with bicycle paths/lanes throughout the city make for an enjoyable environment and atmosphere.

----------


## SEA Traveler

For any one interested, here is an enlarged replica of the Manneken-Pis statuette that was in front of a chocolate and waffle shop.

----------


## BaitongBoy

^ My girl would like that...555

 :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

> ^ My girl would like that...555


 
included just for giggles.

----------


## natalie8

Great thread, SEA. I only found it now. Keep those pics coming!

----------


## The Fresh Prince

Enjoying the thread SEA, great pic's. Are you using a fancy SLR camera or a point and shoot?

Looks like you unwittingly snapped a Belgium drug deal 'going down' in the background of this one! :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Enjoying the thread SEA, great pic's. Are you using a fancy SLR camera or a point and shoot?
> 
> Looks like you unwittingly snapped a Belgium drug deal 'going down' in the background of this one!


Actually Prince were using both a DSLR and point and click.  I'm using the retirement present I bought for myself 2 1/2 years ago, it is a EOS Canon Rebel XTi with a EFS 17-85mm lens.  The spous is using her 5 + year old Sony Cyber shot.  Both take nice pictures but the 85mm zoom has some added capability as you so astutely point out.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Great thread, SEA. I only found it now. Keep those pics coming!


I'm encouraged 8 but no worries, I only just started this thread.  more pics to come, I 've got plenty.

----------


## natalie8

Thanks!!! BTW, which one is you in the pics?

----------


## kingwilly

> I like the idea of setting the breakfast table the night before.


My Dutch in laws used to do that. 

They probably still do, but they are not my in laws anymore.

 :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

And if I am not mistaken and my notes are correct, this is the Grand Place (or Grote Market in Flemish), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  




The series of buildings are an extravaganza of medieval architecture, as displayed in the numerous guild houses that are included.  What is seen in the Grand Place today are some of the finest examples of Flemish Renaissance and Gothic architecture, most of which ar 17th century replacements of older wooden-framed guild houses that were destroyed in 1695 during the devastating bombardment of Brussels by the troops of a spiteful Louis XIV.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Thanks!!! BTW, which one is you in the pics?


I would be the older "patriarch" of the group.  take it from there Nat.

----------


## SEA Traveler

I new it was just a matter of time before the Belgium chocolate stores were located.  The bride has a good sense for finding chocolate.  Anyway, Belgium has chocolate but not as much as it once did because we purchased a few boxes to bring back to Thailand.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Well, all the walking around has made us a little hungry, even after the huge European breakfast.  We stopped by this cafe/restaurant just off a side road from Grote Market and had a bite to eat and a cold Belgium brew.  I only managed to be able to get pictures of a bowl of pasta and a salad that we ordered before it was quickly eaten by the hungry mass. 




the grated mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta was as much as the pasta itself.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Now that we ate, we did a little more walking around and here are a few more pictures of while we were in Brussels.  Here is myself and spouse in one of the side streets just off the Grote Market area.





and there is always room for another waffle with ice cream and choclate on it.





If I am not mistaken, my EXPAT friend and I were still sitting at the cafe restaurant drinking our 2nd Belgium blonde while the girls/ladies/spouses were walking around.  They had a good time.

----------


## aging one

Great thread SEA, and its so lucky you had friends for accommodation. Pricing a month vacation for the family with two teenage kids blew my mind.  :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

Here is a new one for probably most on the board.  We stopped on the University grounds in Louvain, Belgium to visit the Arenberg Castle.  What is note worthy about the Arenberg Castle in Louvain is that the first manned gas-filled balloon flight in history took off from the front lawn of the castle; the balloonist was professor Jan Pieter Minckeleers.

 


another view of the castle.




The site had been the castle of the lords of Heverlee since the 12th century, but this family became impoverished and had to sell the site in 1445 to the Croÿ family from Picardy. Antoon van Croy demolished the medieval castle and started works to build the current castle in 1455 on the site, of which he destroyed all but one tower. Willem van Croÿ completed the works on the castle in 1515, and founded a monastery on the castle grounds for the BenedictineCelestines. The architectural style is in large part traditionally Flemish, with sandstone window frames and brick walls, though it has been structurally altered since 1515 and has elements of Gothic, Renaissance and Neo Gothic architecture. Its large corner towers are typical, once surmounted by a German eagle.

Charles III of Croy was the 4th and last duke, and after his death in 1612 without issue the castle passed to the Arenberg family into which his sister had married, and remained in that family until the First World War.

     Even before the First World War, the 8th duke of Arenberg wanted to sell the castle and its grounds to the Catholic University of Leuven, for a reasonable price.  During the First World War, the castle and grounds were occupied by the Germans and Austrians. The castle and park were seized by the Belgian government on the outbreak of, and then after the war since the Arenberg family was considered to be German or Austrian due to their close Habsburg connection, monarchs of Austria-Hungary. It took until 1921 for the University to acquire them, becoming an expanded natural sciences and engineering campus in the style of that of an American university. After the partitioning of the University along language lines in 1968, the castle and grounds remained with the Dutch speaking half as one of the main campuses for the new, independent Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. The castle itself is the main building of the Faculty of Engineering and houses lecture rooms and studios for the Department of Architecture, Urbanism and Urban Planning, including the Post-Graduate Centre Human Settlements and the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation. The building is open to the public. The former Celestine monastery on the castle grounds now houses the campus library, and the addresses of many of the science buildings are on the street named, _Celestijnlaan_.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Great thread SEA, and its so lucky you had friends for accommodation. Pricing a month vacation for the family with two teenage kids blew my mind.


 
I hear you AO and you are correct and the EXPAT friend's parents were more than the perfect hosts during our week long stay with them.  It was the remaining 2 weeks that was a killer and that was just for 2 people...  ok, 1 week because the company picked up the tab for the week in Poland where I did work for that itme period.  Things were very expensive though.  But hey, we only go around once as they say.

----------


## SEA Traveler

I found the castle gables and the slate roof in the following picture interesting.

----------


## SEA Traveler

The water wheels were obviously function at one time but looked as if they had not been used in the most recent year or so.  The rotted wood on the wheel were a dead give-a-way.

----------


## SEA Traveler

I also like the running water down the small channel in front of the Castle.





The greenery around the Castle grounds was enjoyable to walk around in.  There were several pedestrian bridges crossing the water so we made sure we got some pictures of them as well.





After winning the bet that I could jump at least 1 foot off the ground 5555, they were ready to lock me up at the Castle for reason I won't mention.





There was a lot of energy exerted to accomplish that jump so a well deserved rest by the castle lake was in order.





The duck feathers found on the Castle grounds promptly ended up in the back pants pockets of one of the girls and we had a little tail feather shaking going on.





And here we have the obligatory group picture while at the Arenberg Castle in Louvain, Belgium.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Dinner and drinks that evening but unable to tell the name of the restaurant because my notes have faild me and I am unable to remember the name right now.  It will come to me later for sure.  In any event, the restaurant is on the grounds of another castle which is now being used as a bead and breakfast.  The restaurant is in the open plaza in front of the converted castle horse stables.  





Pork ribs and salad was one of the plates ordered and the food was tasty.  There was some cherry and blonde beers drunk also as I recall.

----------


## Notnow

:deadhorsebig: 


> I like the idea of setting the breakfast table the night before.



Yes, a useful Belgian custom.  It gives the dogs time to lick the plates clean from the previous meal.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Woke up the following morning to another great European breakfast with all the anticipated trimmings.  The whole wheat breads were home made by the Pop of EXPAT friend.  I had my fill of the breads and cheese.  We took a walk down the street to EXPAT friends' brother's house and sat out on the back patio.  Here is the back of his house where we had some shade and a cool breeze.





A visit to the EXPAT friend bother's house also provided an opportunity to check my e-mail.  Nice new quad core iMac with 27 inch monitor.  I may need to get one of those.  Anyway, we checked the garage to check out 2 vintage antique cars that were being stored for the EXPAT friend's Pop.  I want to say that they were 1962 and 1967 both of the same model but I am unable to recall the model.  Maybe Opel's.  Anyway, the BMW cycle of 1000+ cc's was sitting there waiting to be sat on.  No way I was going to ask to ride that monster but it did feel good just sitting on it.  Not to different than going window shopping.  The 2 vintage antique cars can be seen in the background.




We walked around the grounds of the house and the pictures of the chickens and the pear fruit tree are reflective of being somewhat out in the country.






We extended our walk and proceeded down towards a local farm.  We saw some pigs and a cycling group during our little walk about.





I'll just add a note at this point that all the cycling I saw going on during the trip to Europe got me motivated and since I've been back home in Thailand, I've taken my mountain bike out on the road several times.


 During our walk in the wild, I could not help but notice what looked like wild poppies growing.  Not sure that that is exactly what they were but they sure looked like what I pictured poppies looking like.




We were motivated by our walk in the wild and then headed toward the opened air museum in or at Bokrijk (www.bokrijk.be).  For any one traveling to Belgium, I'd suggest consideration going to this open air museum where the mediveil times and way of living are simulated.  I'll get to posting some pictures from Bokrijk in a while.

----------


## Loy Toy

I know most of the people in this thread.

Wonderful stuff mate and I am glad you and your good wife had a great time which is clearly evident in the pictures you have presented.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Thanks LT for the vote of confidence and yes, we had a wonderful time.  

BTW, we should have been out on the golf course today it is so calm and peaceful out right now.

----------


## Lancelot

> Originally Posted by SEA Traveler
> 
> 
>  I hope this thread will be as enjoyable to the readers as it was for my spouse and myself.
> 
> 
> It would be if it had some paragraphs.
> 
> Interesting.
> ...


The OP makes the effort to share his travels, with great photos and commentary but all we can do is bitch. 

Lets rename the site: Truculent Door  :smiley laughing:

----------


## SEA Traveler

Thanks Lancelot for the observation and vote of confidence.  Lets continue on then.

----------


## SEA Traveler

The open air museum at/in Bokrijk was very enjoyable.  We went at 1600 on Sunday and it was jammed pack.  Lots of locals.  The cost after 1600 is 50% off so it cost us 5 Euro per person I think.  A fair price.  If anyone has been to Williamsburg, Virginia in the USA and been throught the Colonial Williamsburg Museum, I would say that Bokrijk is very similar if not considerably smaller in scale.

Here are a few of the pictures (with out commentary unless otherwise noted) we took at Bokrijk:




Buildings just within the entrance of the Bokrijk Museum.





Myself staning outside one of the simulated old buildings of the day.




The spouse in one of the museum areas.




The spouse in front of one of the windmills.




The spouse inside the entrance way to the museum.




Spouse on the museum grounds.




one of the museum gardens.




My partner in crime for the day coming out of one of the stores with an arm full of candy and goodies.




time for a break and we decided on some belgium beers.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Spouse with one of the farm animals roaming around. We actually fed the goat some pears that we picked from a nearby tree.




one of the museum buildings.




one of the museum buildings.




museum building and grounds.




museum grounds and garden.




brick oven for cooking





coach wagon.

----------


## SEA Traveler

OK, now before you slide down to this last picture, let me give you some background.  Let me tell you, and this is true for many things in life other than photography, "IT IS ALL ABOUT BEING AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME".

We had been walking for 3 hours around this Bokrijk open air museum...  and so were a lot of other people but it had started to clear our about 1900.  Anyway, we were probably as far back in the grounds of this place and it was a long walk to the exit.  We saw a Belgium couple who seemed and looked as if they knew where they were going to exit from the back side.  The 4 of us in our group followed them.  We all got the the exit gate but is was secured and it became obvious that it was an employee exit.  The 4 of us and the other couple looked at each other.  The other young couple did not hesitate, they started walking toward the fence and it became clear that they planned on climbing the fence and jumping over to the over side.  I could see their point as it would have save about 3 or 4 kilo in walking distance to the authorized exit, but, we had two women with us and two out of shape middle aged and old fart guys.  That my friend and myself.  We decided to take the long walk out.  But I turned around just in time to see the young local guy helping and pushing his girlfriend over the fence.  I knew what was comming so I got my camera ready.  I took 2 quick shots and this is what I captured with the 2nd of  the 2 shots.  I think it was a great action picture.  Not posed and not planned.  "Just being at the right place at the right time".

----------


## Phrakhanong

Fantastic post... and well timed as I am just about to make a very similar trip.  I will be starting from Paris, then Belgium, then Holland (where I will also be staying at a friend's place) then Germany and Denmark.

With the trains... did you book in advance over the internet or just rock up and catch a train?  if on the internet, what web site did you use?

I hope theres more instalments... great photos.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Fantastic post... and well timed as I am just about to make a very similar trip. I will be starting from Paris, then Belgium, then Holland (where I will also be staying at a friend's place) then Germany and Denmark.
> 
> With the trains... did you book in advance over the internet or just rock up and catch a train? if on the internet, what web site did you use?
> 
> I hope theres more instalments... great photos.


Yes, Phrakhanong, there are more installments with pictures and some narrative.  Heck, I'm still in Belgium and have not discussed the Trip to the West Coast of Belgium where went to Oostende, Blankenberry, Damme where we stayed over night at a very nice and romantic Bed & Breaklfast that I would highly recommend, and Brugge.  I'll be posting these pictures in the next day or so along with Monchau, Germany, a gingerbread village, and then I move on to Paris, then Poland and then to Copenhagen.  I figure I'll have this all covered by next week this time.  

I booked with EUROSTAR for the R/T train from Brussels to Paris to Belgium on line direct with EUROSTAR. 1 1/2 hours 1 way from Brussels to Paris of vice versa.  Too easy.  Traveled by POV within Belgium and Germany and within Poland once I got there I had a rental car.  We flew everywhere else.  Take your check book, I found everywhere in Europe terribly expensive and Copenhagen even more so.

Good luck on your trip and hope that you can gain some insight to your trip from my posts.

----------


## SEA Traveler

OK, today we were off for the West Coast towns of Oostende, Blankenberry with an overnight in Damme and then to Brugge the following day.  The weather was slightly overcast but that did not dimm our spirits for a fun and enjoyable outing.

*Oostende, Belgium:*  *Ostend* (Dutch: _Oostende_, Dutch pronunciation: [oˑsˈtɛndə]; French: _Ostende_) is a Belgiancity and municipality located in the Flemishprovince of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke (West Flanders), Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast.  (At the 'City by the Sea', over five and a half miles of sandy beaches invites you to delightful sunbathing and a refreshing dip in the North Sea. After frolicking in the sun, take a walk down the promenade where you will find many shops, bars and restaurants.  Ostend is a cosmopolitan city with a harbour, yacht-basin, airport and over 50 hotels. Visitors will be amazed by all there is to see and do. All year round, many activities take place. Some highlights are: Oostende at Anchor, Theatre by the Sea, Sparkling Mondays, Magic Lights in the Park, the Christmas Market with huge ice-skating ramp and Carnival week-end with the well known Dead Rat Ball.  Vodcast of the seaside city of  Ostend presented by Simon Calder and Ben Ross.  One of Ostend's main, and maybe lesser known, trump cards is the gastronomy. What better place to sample the sea's delicacies than on the seaside. There are many restaurants, ranging from exclusive hot spots to cosy bistros, so there is something to suit everyone's taste and budget. The specialities are Dover Sole, shrimp croquettes and 'tomato filled with shrimps'. There is also plenty to keep you amused later on in the evening such as pubs, clubs and cinema complexes.)  

 *Oostende, o**rigin to Middle Ages:*  In earlier times, Ostend was nothing more than a small village built on the east-end (Dutch: _oost-einde_) of an island (originally called Testerep) between the North Sea and a beach lake. Although small, the village rose to the status of "town" around 1265 when the inhabitants were allowed to hold a market and to build a market hall.
The major source of income for the inhabitants was fishing. The North Sea coastline has always been rather unstable and in 1395 the inhabitants decided to build a new Ostend behind large dikes and further away from the always-threatening sea.

 *Oostende, m**odern era:*  In later times, the harbour of Ostend continued to expand because the harbour dock, as well as the traffic connections with the hinterland, were improved. In 1838, a railway connection with Brussels was constructed. Ostend became a transit harbour to England in 1846 when the first ferry sailed to Dover. It no longer serves the Dover route, but now has passenger and freight connections with Ramsgate. Very important for the image of the town was the attention it started to receive from the Belgian kings Leopold I and Leopold II. Both liked to spend their vacations in Ostend. Important monuments and villas were built to please the Royal Family. The rest of aristocratic Belgium followed and soon Ostend became known as "The Queen of the Belgian sea-side resorts". The town hosted all but one of the sailing events for the 1920 Summer Olympics in neighbouring Antwerp.  They also hosted the polo events.  

     But, before I post the Oostende, Belgium pictures there is one picture picture I want to post here.  I contemplated putting it in the nickers thread but there were no nickers to be seen in this picture.  More a crack than a nicker.  Anyway, take it for what it is worth.  This woulr be another case of being at the right place at the right time.  Location of picture was a cafe in the Bokrijk open air museum.




     OK, onto Oostende:

     here I am at the Oostende port area eating what is left of a waffel.




     some sailing vessels in the port.




     the spouse with the port and church in the background.  Oostende, Belgium.




     here I am at a fresh seafood vendors stand making sure that the sea snail soup is made properly/




     and here is a close up of the sea snail soup.  natural broth or spicy broth.  your choice.  the girls emptied the spicy broth soup pot with as much as they ate.  I tried them both and the spicy broth sea snail soup was a lot more to my liking as well.




     here are the Thai spouses and one of their many bowls of spicy sea snail soup.  in fact, there for a moment I thought they were going to start eating right out of the pot.




     Enough of Oostende, now we were off to Damme.  But which was do we go?




     here we go...  entering the town of Damme, Belgium now.




     we located this Bed & Breakfast just on the out skirts of Damme and not far from Brugge.  It turned out to be fantastic.  Romantic.  Peaceful.  Great breakfast.  Comfortable room.  Nice grounds.  Great hosts.  It was nammed the "Wilgenhof".  It is located the lovely Damse Vaart canal, nearby cycling trails and rambling country routes that take you along canal and dikes that are incredibly beautiful.  Try www.hotel-wilgenhof.be.

----------


## sabang

> I knew what was comming so I got my camera ready


 :mid: 



> not planned


 :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

Cool museum that, SEA. Nice stuff, & looking forward to the next installments.  :Smile:

----------


## nigelandjan

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to share it all mate ,,,,, it would be nice if a few more members could share their travels like this .

          I have to say for a retiree you cut a dash mate ! full head of hair etc ,, must be that lovely wife keeping you happy eh ! 

          Its allways good to see east / west couples so happy together as you 2 and your friend obviously are ,,, it helps counter some of the negative crap posted .

        Well done again mate will look forward to the next instalement ,,,,,,,green on the way  :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Thanks for taking the time and trouble to share it all mate ,,,,, it would be nice if a few more members could share their travels like this .
> 
> I have to say for a retiree you cut a dash mate ! full head of hair etc ,, must be that lovely wife keeping you happy eh ! 
> 
> Its allways good to see east / west couples so happy together as you 2 and your friend obviously are ,,, it helps counter some of the negative crap posted .
> 
> Well done again mate will look forward to the next instalement ,,,,,,,green on the way


59 years young and being able to retire was not a result of taking the easy path.  There were sacrifices made and lots of hours of work involved to save enough to make a retirement!  Although true about much of the other stuff you say, your words are only too kind.  Thanks.

----------


## SEA Traveler

After checking into the Bed & Breakfast, we decided to take a drive around the country side and into the town of Damme to get a bite to eat.  The farmlands, farm houses, canals, and scenery were fantastic.  This is some of what we saw.

The trees along the canal was a nice site.  I would imagine that at some point in history, there were horse that pulled flat bottom barges with grain and supplies up and down the canals.




the tree along this country road were put in to assist in ptotecting the town by blocking the cold winter winds and snow drifts.  you can see how over the years the trees were bent because of the constant winds.




and here I am along a similar tree lined road.




and I find that windmills always make for an inviting picture.







we finally worked our way into the town and walked around to look for a place to eat.  here I am on the cobble stone streets of Damme, Belgium.






and my spouse on the streets of Damme, Belgium.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Well, it was now dinner time in Damme, Belgium.  

We looked around for only a short time before we located what looked like a small pub style restaurant.  What we found inside was a very nice casual and comforting restaurant with nice table cloths, heavy fine silverware, candles on the table and a fire place that was fully functional.  It was somewhat romantic.  The menus were provided and the fact that there was some Belgium beer under the beverage section was a good indicator.  Ordered a blonde beer of some sort, the spouse had soda water as usual and my friend and spouse had blonde and cherry beer respectively.  

We all ordered, lasagna, mussels with fries, shrimp scampi salad and something else that I am unable to recall.  The food came and looked and smelled spectacular.  Here are some pictures of the meal.

the shrimp scampi salad.




the lasagna.  now this lasagna has got to have been undoubtedly the best lasagna I have ever tasted.  the layers of various cheeses and sausages was exquisite.  the noodles cooked to perfection were they were not too soft and soggy.  the generous portion of parmesan and romano cheese on top was splendid. and it was baked to allowing only a fine crust to form around the edges of the noodles.  Well done and the best lasagna I have ever had.   




the mussels with fries and we get to see some of the cherry and blonde beer here as well.




a few more blonde beers and things were looking bright.  here is the spouse and I by the restaurant fireplace between dinner and desert.  As I recall there were a few pieces of cheese cake and some fruit ordered. 




this is me after dinner and leaving the restaurant when it was decided that we would be stopping off for a drink elsewhere.




we stopped in at Pub Cleopatra for a few night caps.




and it was here at Pub Cleopatra that we had a few blonds and cherry beers and ended the evening.




The name of the restaurant was De S....Misse with a web page of www.desmisse.com

----------


## nigelandjan

Do you know mate I have about half an hour ago , just polished off a som tum and a bloody great plate of massaman gai , turned me lappy on to check up on your post and after looking at all that grub I,m ready to go again ! 

           I have never been to Belgium but by the look of the grub alone , your beginning to make it go to the top of my must visit place ,, Jan is loving the seafood pics ,,,, and the windmills would keep me happy with the old paint brushes for hours.

             Is that beer you are drinking called Hoogarden ?  I have tried that one and have to say if it is its a bit of an aquired taste  :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

nigel&jan the food in all of Europe was tasty. Being in Thailand and eating mostly Thai foods, it had been a while since eating Western foods as one would get in Europe and it was well welcomed except for on my already large waist line.... but no worries, the walking during the day helped exhaust some calories.

I don't know the brewery from which the beer came from. I don't much care for the dark beer, the Cherry beer although tasty and a novelty for my was to fruity. I much preferred the blonde beer as they called it.

Glad you enjoyed the pictures so far. Will be posting Damme breakfast pictures and then the  Brugge pictures next.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Breakfast time at the Bed & Breakfast was plesant.  In addition to the 4 of us in our traveling group, the tables were set for 3 other couples.  The breakfast area was plenty large enough to accmodate us all even though we were not all present in the breakfast area at the same time.  

Breakfast was what I would call a standard European.  There were no hot foods like eggs or bacon but just as well.  There was ham, salami, varioous cheeses and breads and rolls, jam, fruits, teas and coffee, and the like.  All very tasty and well presented.  Here are a few pictures of the breakfast at the Bed & Breakfast.


our breakfast table setting.




Our Belgium EXPAT friend and spouse along with my spouse at the breakfast table.  I took the picture.




breakfast meats and cheeses.




fresh strawberries and cream.




fresh fruits.




breads/rolls, jams, cereal and more.






breakfast at our table.

----------


## SEA Traveler

so, after breakfast and with the news that the EURO Tour will contiune this fine morning, we are joyful because onward to Brugge which is just a short trip down the road from the B&B.

here in the spouse being joyful about the news of going to Brugge.




country side on the way to Brugge.






so, pictures of Brugge to follow.

----------


## nigelandjan

Just lovin the positive happiness being conveyed in your pics mate .

Thats my kinda breakfast ,,,,,,,a big bowl of museli + fresh fruit + yoghurt all mixed up in a big bowl , probably not the pc way to eat it but i would get stuck in , would get me through till evening  :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

Brugge, Belgium.  Another lovely town.  Canals, medevil buildings, museums, horse drawn carrages, chocolate shops, street side cafes, and cold Belgium beer... and we did it all in Brugge.

we knew we were there because there was a T-shirt that said so.




here are Patrick, my Belgium EXPAT friend, and myself in the central plaza of Brugge outside where the market place is.




and me from a differerent angle in the Market Place.




Market Place fruits and produce.  All of which we purchased to some degree along with some fresh bread at a bakery and cheeses at a deli for a snack as we were walking around and taking the canal ride.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Spouse and I in the central plazza surrounded buy medevil buildings now housing muesums.




one of the Brugge canels in which we took a cruise a little later in the day.




some of the properties along the canals.






lunch time in Brugge, Belgium.  no food yet on the table but we had our cold drinks.  food was on it's way.






and wrapping up the day in Brugge.

----------


## natalie8

Outstanding again SEA. I'm with nigel, I love all the scenery shots, but it's really the food shots that sell.  :Smile:  Your report on the lasagna made me drool and I've made lasagna quite a few times, but, like you, I have to start watching things. No more pasta, sweets or rice. :-(

I especially love the shot of the mussels with the steam captured in it. It looks ghostly. I also like the nice chinaware that you got to enjoy your breakfat in.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Outstanding again SEA. I'm with nigel, I love all the scenery shots, but it's really the food shots that sell.  Your report on the lasagna made me drool and I've made lasagna quite a few times, but, like you, I have to start watching things. No more pasta, sweets or rice. :-(
> 
> I especially love the shot of the mussels with the steam captured in it. It looks ghostly. I also like the nice chinaware that you got to enjoy your breakfat in.


I may be streaching this just a bit but it is nice to know that there is at least one TD member who admits to recognizing class with the nice China and silver ware.  

And the steamed mussels were infact steaming as you so keenly pointed out.  

I can not say enough good things about the taste, testure and aroma of the lasagna.  The best I ever had.

Next stop, Eastern Belgium and Germany.

----------


## natalie8

I do like the finer things in life, and, like you, if you've become so used to how things are in Thailand, it's such a nice treat.

I'm half Italian, so my critiques of Italian food have some backing. I'm intrigued at the fact that Belgians do good Italian food like that, unless the chef is Italian. Buono!

I'm really looking forward to your next round of pics.

----------


## SEA Traveler

today, we, the 4 of us, myself and spouse along with my Belgium EXPAT friend Patrick and spouse headed off towards Germany. The plan was to go to the German "Gingerbread" Village of Monchau, spend the day there walking around enjoying the sites and the shops, taking pictures, and having a bite to eat and drink. Afterwards we wanted to stop at Malmady, Belgium for a look around and dinner.


here are the spouse and myself at the boarder leading into Germany from Belgium on our way to the German "Gingerbread" village of Monchau.




*German "Gingerbread" Village of Monchau.* The town iof Monchau s located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the Hohes Venn – Eifel Nature Park in the narrow valley of the Rur river. The historic town center has many preserved half-timbered houses and narrow streets have remained nearly unchanged for 300 years, making the town a popular tourist attraction nowadays. Historically the main industry of the town were cloth-mills. Monchau does not have specific individual attractions. What makes its charm are its narrow streets lined with half-timbered houses, the views of the small River Rur (written "Roer" in Dutch and French) or the panorama from the surrounding hills. Don't miss the *watermill* near the _Markt_ (market square).

On the heights above the city is the castle Monschau, which dates back to the 13th century. Most of the medieval *castle* is in ruins, and a youth hostel now occupies the building on top. Parts of the ramparts and many defensive towers can be seen a bit everywhere around town - mainly in the hills.

In the centre of town, note the *Rote Haus* ("red house"), an enormous Baroque townhouse that belonged to a local noble family. Four of the eight levels can be visited, and are indeed quite sumptuous. The first room of the left when you enter is filled with paintings in _trompe l'oeil_ (the frames are painted on the wall, not real, which certainly prevents them from being stolen !). There are other _trompe l'oeil_ paintings, such as the marble imitation in the staircase.

In 1198 the first mention of Monschau was made. Starting in 1433 the castle was used as a seat of the dukes of Jülich. In 1543 Emperor Charles V besieged it as part of the Geldern Feud, captured it and plundered the town. However the castle stayed with Jülich until 1609, then it became part of Palatinate-Neuburg.

In 1795 the French captured the area, and under the name _Montjoie_ made it the capital of a canton of the Roer département. After the area became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815, Monschau became the capital of a district, the _Kreis Montjoie_.
During World War I some people argued that Monschau (or "Montjoie" as it was still called then) should be annexed to Belgium since it was historically a Walloon area that had been Germanized by the Prussians. In 1918 William II, German Emperor, changed the name to Monschau. In 1972 the town was enlarged with the previous independent municipalities Höfen, Imgenbroich, Kalterherberg, Konzen, Mützenich and Rohren.


the drive from Houthaltes, Limburg, Belgium to Monchau was beautiful and encompassed going through and up into the mountain roads. The hilltop above with the German "Gingerbread" town of Monchau down in the valley was a great photo op.




and we all decided to get into the act.








here are a few pictures at the entrance into the town.

----------


## somtamslap

First class stuff!




> I especially love the shot of the mussels with the steam


Yep, I enjoy the foody pics too. And you can't go to Brussels without sampling the moules et frites.. :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

here are a few more pictures of the town of Monchau, Germany.


still winding our way into town wanting to get to the town plaza square. we did manage to locate one of the local churchs.

















so here we are, finally at the town square.

----------


## SEA Traveler

more pictures about the town.

----------


## SEA Traveler

enough walking around for a while, time for a cold refreshment. an Erdinger as I recall.




and after that cold beer, a few more sites of the town of Monchau... and some of the sites we needed to look through a telescope to see.










as with most of the sweet and ice cream shops, the girls had to stop and try the products out.







for the life of me, I don't know why I took this photo and I don't have a clue who these people are in the photo, but at the time, I was just sitting by the rail with my Belgium EXPAT friend while the girls were in one of the sweet shops and taking a photo seemed like the correct thing to do. Unusual seeing not only our two Asian spouses in this small German mountain town but two others.




you might be asking yourself what this town looked like in the winter time around the Christmas holidays. I know I was. Anyway, here it is, Monchau, Germany in the winter time with snow.




anyway, time to leave Monchau. one last photo.

----------


## Mathos

Excellent thread ST, the houses and buildings look spectacular,
good narrative to go with it.

Looking forward to more.

Green sent.

----------


## SEA Traveler

We crossed back into Balgium from Germany, 




Next stop, Malmady, Belgium.




*Malmady, Belgium:* Malmedy (German _Malmünd_) is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region, Province of Liege. It belongs to the French Community of Belgium, within which it is French-speaking with facilities for German-speakers. On January 1, 2006 Malmedy had a total population of 11,829. The total area is 99.96 km² which gives a population density of 118 inhabitants per km.

Some old sources spell the city's name "Malmédy" as this accent was intentionally added when being part of Prussia and Germany, but its official website lists it as "Malmedy", with no accent. In 1919 the city was annexed by the treaty of Versailles from Germany to Belgium, along with the neighboring city of Eupen, it formed an area of a German speaking community of Belgium. From 1940-1945 Malmedy was re-incorporated back into Germany, which was reversed after the war.

The population of Malmedy is approximately 80% Francophones (French speakers) and 20% German speakers. The variety of German spoken there is Moselle Franconian. The main church of Malmedy was built in 1777 and served as a cathedral from 1920 to 1925. It still holds the title of cathedral. Malmedy was historically part of a clericalmicrostate, the Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, but was annexed by France in 1795 and by Prussia in 1815.

In 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, the area was the site of the Malmedy massacre, where 84 American prisoners of war were executed by GermanSS troops. The *Malmedy massacre* was a war crime in which 84 Americanprisoners of war were murdered by their German captors during World War II. The massacre was committed on December 17, 1944, by members of _Kampfgruppe Peiper_ (part of the 1st SS Panzer Division), a German combat unit, during the Battle of the Bulge.
The massacre, as well as others committed by the same unit on the same day and following days, was the subject of the Malmedy massacre trial, part of the Dachau Trials of 1946. The trials were the focus of some controversy.


here is the plaza and circle at center Malmady town. 









we stopped at a cafe/restaurant that had some outside seating at the plaza. some cold refreshment and a bite to eat was in order.

----------


## SEA Traveler

and just a few more pictures while relaxing in the town of Malmady and of the Malmady town in general.






this non-alcholic lemonade drink was refreshing and thirst quenching.




I felt patriotic when seeing this American flag flying in front of a house in the center plaza of Malmady where the "Battle of the Bulge"
and General Patton's HQ was located just down the road a short bit.

----------


## nigelandjan

Still here veiwing mate , loving the hanging baskets ,, I grow them to every year Surfinias ( trailing petunias )  but mine are about 10 times LESS spectacular  :Smile: 

              Jan,s just caught sight of that plate with the big fish on it and made a noise like shhhlllllllllllppppp
and has now dissapeared into the kitchen   :Smile: 


         BTW what area do you live in Thailand in ?  were over in March next year , based in the Udon area but will be travelling all over as allways to visit the million or so relatives  :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

Thanks for the kind words.

Yea, the fish was not only looking good, it tasted good as well.  Just think, you will probably be the beneficiary of Jan viewing the fish picture and being in the kitchen.  Your welcome!

See my earlier thread on TD about residence building in Thailand [at]  
 (Finding and Building a Residence for Mr and Mrs MTSINTERNATIONAL)https://teakdoor.com/building-in-thailand-famous-threads/21713-finding-building-residence-mr-mrs-mtsinternational.html

----------


## natalie8

Nice, SEA. I'll take a look through your construction thread later this afternoon after I come back from my errands.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Last night in Belgium and staying at our Belgium EXPAT friends parents home.  We decided to go out to eat Greek.

Nothing fancy but the food was authentic and very good.  Here is our dinner table and sorry to you food lovers but I was only able to capture two of the many food dishes we got.




Greek salad with feta cheese.




fried feta cheese.




the following morning we said our good byes to the parents of our Belgium EXPAT friend as well as to our Belgium EXPAT friend and his spouse as they were headed back to Thailand on this very day and we were headed onward to Paris.












with the good byes expressed, it was time to head on over to Brussels to catch the train to Paris.

----------


## SEA Traveler

nothing exciting at the Brussels Midi train station while we waited for the departure time of our train but we did manage to take a picture.






all aboard!




the seats were comfortable, there were table trays in front, and there was plenty of leg room with a foot rest.




the train left promptly and speed through the countryside at tremendous speeds that were displayed in the interior of the passenger cabins.  Although there was a dinning car, we took our own fresh bread and cheese along with gassed water as a snack along the way.  1 1/2 hours later we were in Paris at the Gare du Nord station.  

the acquiring of tickets on line, finding the train station, getting to the correct train tracks and finding the correct car and seats were surprisingly simple.  There were information counters at Brussels-Midi station so no worries.








I new that our hotel was not far from the Gare du Nord station in Paris but not ever having been to Paris before, I had no clue as to how the streets were laid out or what distances were involved from getting from the train station to the hotel.  I waited for about 2 min in the taxi queue for the next taxi.  I showed the taxi driver the name and location of the hotel where I needed to go.  He promptly put the hotel address in his on board GPS and looked at me and said "400 on the next street over.  You can walk."  And he showed me on the map that I was holding in my hands where I needed to go.  Sure enough, it was 400 meters away and almost right in front of the train station.  Nice first experience in Paris.  I wasn't really expecting such assistance from a Parisian but he was obvious a long time local French, not an immigrant and he did make a good first impression on us.  here are some pictures from our hotel window.


Gare du Nord station.






and the side street directly in front of the hotel.



check all the cycles parked on the street.  I have a story to tell about them and some pictures to back up the contents of the story but will post that is a day or so with the Paris pictures.  ciao for now.

----------


## natalie8

Merci! Merci! Merci! Tres magnifique!  :smilie_clap:

----------


## SEA Traveler

> 


it is very kind of all for not addressing my "*MAN BAG*" that has accompanied me and is visable in so many of the photos I've posted.  much appreciated. 

Some Paris pictures to be posted later this evening or tomorrow.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Paris.











not a city to visit that was included on my bucket list. The wife had always said that on one of the trips to Europe that she would like to visit Paris. We had covered Rome and Amsterdam on previous visits, so this trip, Paris is one of the places we ended up. and let it be known that I was pleased to have been there. I found Paris to be enchanting and the people friendly, not rude or abusive if one tried their French and it was not a proper pronunciation. All in all, we saw a lot of things, ate lots of good food, and had a good time.

I mentioned in a previous post about the motorcycles parked on the streets and that I would tell a story about what we saw concerning motorcycles on the street... or should I say sidewalk. Will, as a reminder, here is the picture again of motorcycles parked on the street.



The motorcycles were parked everywhere on the streets. and in many cases on the sidewalks. So much so were the cycles parked on the sidewalk that the police apparently contract our for the cycles parked on the sidewalk or otherwise illegally, to be towed away. A better description might be lifted away because that is exactly what we spectated. We stepped out of our Paris hotel one morning and there was a motorcycle chained to a lamp pole on the sidewalk and next to it, a bicycle. You can see the heavy duty chain attached to the motorcycle. 




A heavy duty flatbed truck with a crane life on the back of it had just pulled up. Well, it wasn't long before the reason of the truck being there was realized. The driver of the truck, single handedly got out of the truck, cut the chain, and put a harness around the motorcycle in question. As you can see, there are a number of other cycles already that have suffered the same consequences that were already on the truck. 






The whole operation took only about 5 min. When the cycle was loaded and secured onto the truck, the truck drive pulled ahead to the other side of the street about 20 meters and started on another cycle that was parked on the sidewalk. A very efficient operation and good way to keep the sidewalks cleared of cycles otherwise, the Paris sidewalks would become similar to the Thai sidewalks.

----------


## natalie8

Great that you got to see it in action. what a great way to keep the roadsides clear, but then what do people do for parking?

----------


## SEA Traveler

Right.  I'm guessing that parking can be a bitch and should be a consideration for city infrastructure planning but better the cycles are kept off the sidewalks for safety purposes and so that the sidewalks can be used as intended, for the pedestrians.

I'm also guessing that the reason the cycles are parking on the sidewalk is because they either don't want to pay for parking or don't want to walk from where ever there is a parking spot to where ever it is they are going.  In that part of Paris, I'm thinking that they might also want to keep their eyes on their cycle other wise it would get stolen.

----------


## natalie8

Kind of a catch-22. How's public transport there? Do they have an underground? I would guess that being an old city, the streets are narrow and not designed for all the traffic that exists today.

----------


## SEA Traveler

can't speak with any profound knowledge about auto/taxi travel in Paris as we avoided them in the city...  We did take the on and off busses and the traffic did not seem to be all that bad.  at least the drivers paid attentention to the signals and had some common drivers etique.  Underground Metro/Subway was exceptionally good.  Good maps of the metro system, affordable, clean, seemed safe, and stops at all the right places.  Very easy city to get around in.  And people walk as well.  so no worries.

----------


## SEA Traveler

some walk a bout pictures in Paris.

we enjoy walking the side streets of almost any city we travel to and that is what we did here in Paris.  

before getting started on any outing though, I always say "you gotta know where are to begin with before you can find the way to where ever it is that you want to go".  I'm making sure I know where we are befre getting started.




here is one of the double decker open aired on/off tour busses.  there is a daily rate as well as passes for designated number of days for these buses and one can take them all over the city getting on and off as they choose.  there are several routes that intersect and the busses are frequent...




here is the spouse with a cold ice slushy drink on the side streets of Paris.




buildings and street signs on a side street on the back side of Notre Dame Cathedral.




it was a beautiful day as we walked around the streets of Paris and there was plenty of entertainment on the streets.




here is the bride jumping for joy on the streets of Paris as a result of getting 2 pair of new sandals and walking shoes.



here I am blocking traffic on the streets of Paris so I can get my picture taken.




spouse found, as with previous trip to Europe, the small "smart" and not so smart cars adorable.  Can't count the number of pictures taken of the spouse with the small cars.  here is one.




here we are taking a walk one early morning in one of the plazas not far from the hotel.

----------


## SEA Traveler

a side street fruit stand and mini mart.




the spouse is a good cook even without the French chef's hat on.




here I am with one of the lovely fountains that adorn the city.






and the spouse at same fountain.




we walked to this area with numerous cafes and restaurants from the Saint-Michels Subway stop that is not too distant and within walking distance of the Notre Dame Cathedral.  a very popular area for tourists as well as locals.




during our walk around Paris on this day, there was a huge outside free concert going on near the grounds of the Eiffel tower.  IT was crowded so it seemed like a place worth checking out.  lots of security in the area.




spouse with an olive tree.




on the Seine River boat cruise.

----------


## SEA Traveler

in some cases, the naked eye is better than what a 17-85mm lens can capture.  not really visable from these 2 pictures but the woman was doing a little topless sunbathing.






Notre Dame Cathedral from the Seine River boar cruise.




spouse on one of the many bridges that cross the Seine River.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Notre Dame Cathedral was a popular place fpr tourists and photo taking.

----------


## SEA Traveler

it was a beautiful sunny day in Paris.  I was sitting out in front of Notre Dame Cathedral minding my own business and felt the impulse to take a few pictures of the passers by.  here is one of those pictures.




ok, time to eat.

Mussels, fries and a beer for 9 Euro.




had to stop at the Asian type deli to get some noodles and things...






and we were still hungry from all the walking we did so we stopped at one of the many Italian restaurants.  unlike in Italy, I found the restaurant house wines in Paris to be on the expensive side. 






and hand dipped Italian Ice Cream from Amorino's for desert.




what's a trip to Paris without a trip to the bakery???

----------


## SEA Traveler

and here are the last of the pictures I'll be posting from Paris.  The Eiffel Tower.













That's it for Paris, France and that makes 3 countries we have been through so far.  Next batch of pictures will be from Poland.

----------


## Loy Toy

My spouse and I had a wonderful time in Paris and your pictures bring back great memories mate.

----------


## natalie8

This is such a great thread. It looks like the weather was on your side the whole time.

----------


## SEA Traveler

the weather was just fine for the type of things we were doing.  The one day on the Belgium West coast it got a little damp but we weathered the storm and escaped without anyone getting a cold.  you know what they say, the "sun shinning on the rightious".......  :-)

----------


## patsycat

You were definitely lucky with the weather, it has generally been crap this summer!!  Some days it feels like Autumn has arrived.  For example, today in Geneva it is 22 degrees when it should be around 30.  I'm wearing socks!!!

I love Paris, but haven't been there for a few years.  Must go again soon.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> I'm wearing socks!!!


don't you just hate wearing socks.  bare feet in the grass as long as there haven't been any dogs running around.

----------


## SEA Traveler

POLAND.  Yes the whole purpose and reason for the EURO trip was a result of my mission to Poland.  So, we went to Warsaw to meet up with my points of contacts for the mission to brief them on the concept and timelines for mission execution.  With that accomplished, it was clear that if the mission proceeded as planned, there would be some free time to check out the city of Warsaw and Lubliniec which was about 3 hours West of Warsaw.  We had gone to Poland exactly 2 years previously for a similar mission.  At that time we were in Warsaw, the Baltic Sea tri-city area of Gydansk/Gydnia/Sopot, and to the West in the town of Opolie.  Anyway, there will be no pictures of the mission effort but I'll include a few pictures from the 1st visit when in Warsaw for comparison purposes.


at the Mercure Hotel which was just recently renovated.  Too contemparary for my taste.




These first few pictures are of the buildings in Warsaw near and around the "old town" area and from walking the area streets.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Warsaw near and around the "old town" area and from walking the area streets (continued).

----------


## SEA Traveler

Warsaw near and around the "old town" area and from walking the area streets (continued).








Although there was a Thai restaurant right down the street from the hotel, we decided against that based on the fact that we could get original Thai food back home here in Thailand.




we decided and ate at one of these outside cafes as well.  PIZZA and a cold Tyskie beer.




and there is always room for at least one desert.

----------


## SEA Traveler

and here is what the inside of this church looked like.








here I am in front of the Academic Church of St. Ann's.  It is a prized and unique building, one of the few sacral buildings in Warsaw that was not too badly damaged during WW II and has retained it historical structure.    




standing in front of the Royal Castle where the history of the castle reaches back to the XIV century when Boleslaw II united Mazowsze and commenced building a new town, Warsaw.  From this period the Grand Tower remains to this day.  The castle was home to the Mazovian Dukes and its importance in the region resulted in the expansion and growth of the castle and the removalof the wodden houses replacing them with brick ones.  During the Swedish Invasion (1655-1660), the buildings were damaged but renovated years later.  During WW II, the castle was bombed and the art treasures in the interior taken out and hidden from the invading Nazis.  In 1944, the Germans blew up what remained of the castle as revenge of the Warsaw upraising.  Post war reconstruction of the castle and old town area was accomplished mostly with private donations from the Polish private sector.

----------


## SEA Traveler

"Old Town" square.





here we are exactly 2 years ago, July-August 2009 at the same location in "Old Town" Warsaw, Poland.  Note that the weather was just a little bit nicer when we were there 2 years ago.






Polish Folk Arts Store.



Polish dolls from a Polish folk arts store.




in front of the Polish presidential palace.






This building in the background is a symbol of Warsaw and was constructed between 1952-1955, was presented to Poland as a gift of friendship from Stalin but is mostly scorned by Warsovians as it was built by the Russians during their 45 years of occupation of Poland.  The building was constructed of 40 million bricks with a surface area of over 80,000 cubic meters.  The building currently houses the Palace of Culture and Science.

----------


## SEA Traveler

The next set of pictures from Poland will be from Lubliniec and Czestochowa where the Jasna Gora Shrine and "Black Modonna", also called Our Lady of Jasna gora are located.

----------


## SEA Traveler

The second location of where I needed to do some work in Poland was a small town 3 or 3 1/2 hours or so West of Warsaw called Lubliniec.  We stayed at a small resort back in the boonies but it had a lake and was somewhat accommodating.  Not a 5 star hotel/resort by any means.  A far cry from 4 star.  I'd say it was a local type retreat but sufficient for the one night in town that we needed a place to stay.  Silesiana (www.silesiana.com.pl) is the web site.

Here are some pictures of the grounds where we stayed. 








on the afternoon of the 2nd day that I was working in Lubliniec when I was driving back to the resort hotel, I saw a road side vendor selling something alongside the road.  Back in the states in the area that I am from, there are often farmers who are selling their various vegetables or fruit at roadside stands and you can be assured that it is fresh.  During many of my trips around the world, some to rather glamorous places  and some to the arm pits of the world, I would usually stop by when I passed a road side vendor to see what it was they were selling and if interested, usually make a small purchase.  As examples, I've bought cheese and honey in Romania,  I've bought red wine in Tuscany, Italy, I've purchased Bar BQ'd pork and chicken in Belize, and other items in other countries.

In any event, here in Lubliniec, Poland, the roadside vendor had no shelter, just a stone in which the jars with a blue/purplish colored product inside was placed.  The vendor people seemed harmless and being the social and curious person that I am I stopped and crossed the street to the roadside vendors location.  I spoke English and the younger lady in the white sweatshirt spoke back to me in good English.  Very good English I might add.  We chatted.  They were selling freshly picked "blueberries" that they had picked from the woods/mountains.  What a coincidence because just 2 hours earlier while working I saw people in the woods/mountains stooping over and asked my companion what they were doing.  "Picking blueberries" was the response.  Anyway, I purchased a quart bottle of freshly picked blueberries.  When I got to the resort I washed them off with fresh water and wrapped the jar in dirty cloths so that I could transport the jar of blueberries back to Thailand with me.  

I still have some of the blueberries in the jar in the refrigerator here in Thailand and eat some of the blueberries everyday either on my chocolate ice cream in the evening or on my cereal in the morning.  Very tasty and a good purchase on my part.







On the way back to Warsaw, we stopped at another small town called Czestochowa, to eat and to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa and the painting of the "Black Madonna".  The icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa has been intimately associated with Poland for the past six hundred years. Its history prior to its arrival in Poland is shrouded in numerous legends which trace the icon's origin to St. Luke who painted it on a cypress table top from the house of the Holy Family.  *Arrival in Czestochowa*:  One of the oldest documents from Jasna Góra states that the picture travelled from Jerusalem, via Constantinople and Belz, to finally reach Częstochowa in August 1382 by Władysław Opolczyk, Duke of Opole.  However more recent Ukrainian sources state that it was taken by Władysław Opolski from the Castle of Belz, when the town was incorporated into the Polish kingdom and that earlier in its history it was brought to Belz with much ceremony and honors by Knyaz Lev I of Galicia. The golden fleur-de-lis painted on the Virgin's blue veil parallel the _azure, semee de lis, or_ of the French royal coat of arms and the most likely explanation for their presence is that icon had been present in Hungary during the reign of either Charles I of Hungary and/or Louis the Great, the Hungarian kings of the Anjou dynasty, who probably had the fleur-de-lis of their family's coat of arms painted on the icon. This would suggest that the icon was probably originally brought to Jasna Gora by the Pauline monks from their founding monastery in Hungary.  
The Black Madonna is credited with miraculously saving the monastery of Jasna Góra (English: Bright Mount) from a 17th century Swedish invasion, The Deluge, which actually changed the course of the war. This event led King John II Casimir Vasa to "crown" Our Lady of Częstochowa ("the Black Madonna") as Queen and Protector of Poland in the cathedral of Lwów on April 1, 1656.
     A legend concerning the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is that the presence of the holy painting saved its church from being destroyed in a fire, but not before the flames darkened the flesh tone pigments.  The legend concerning the two scars on the Black Madonna's right cheek is that the Hussites stormed the Pauline monastery in 1430, plundering the sanctuary. Among the items stolen was the icon. After putting it in their wagon, the Hussites tried to get away but their horses refused to move. They threw the portrait down to the ground and one of the plunderers drew his sword upon the image and inflicted two deep strikes. When the robber tried to inflict a third strike, he fell to the ground and squirmed in agony until his death. Despite past attempts to repair these scars, they had difficulty in covering up those slashes (as they found out that the painting was painted with tempera infused with diluted wax). In commemoration of the attack, two slashes on her right cheek were made by a pen.  Another legend states that, as the robber struck the painting twice, the face of the Virgin Mary started to bleed; in a panic, the scared Hussites retreated and left the painting.
     Because of the Black Madonna, Częstochowa is regarded as the most popular shrine in Poland, with many Polish Catholics making a pilgrimage there every year. Often, people will line up on the side of the road to hand provisions to the pilgrims as those who walk the distance to Częstochowa walk the entire day and have little means to get things for themselves


Here are a host of pictures from this church and Shrine of Our Lady at Czestochowa.

----------


## SEA Traveler

Here are a host of pictures from this church and Shrine of Our Lady at Czestochowa.  (continued)

----------


## SEA Traveler

Here are a host of pictures from this church and Shrine of Our Lady at Czestochowa.  (continued) 






inside the church.

this 1st picture is a mosaic and includes a depiction of the "Black Madonna" painting.  The actual painting of the "Black Madonna" although visible was behind an alter and there was a mass being said at the time with a huge crowd so it was too distant in which to get a good picture.










oh yes, and after visiting the Shrine, we had dinner and ice cream.

----------


## SEA Traveler

This concludes my picture posting from the Poland part of the trip.  I have plenty more pictures of Poland same as with the other parts of the trip but you get the idea I'm sure.

Anyway, that's 4 countries from which I posted trip pictures and now I've got some Denmark pictures to post.  Not many mind you, just a handfull.  So in the next day or so I will post those to complete my input to the thread "5 countries in ... how many days did I say?...  I can't remember, I'll have to look.

----------


## natalie8

Great stuff again, SEA. I love your commentary and notes that keep us informed on all of this. I'll be moving to the UK in the new year and I want to tavel to many of the European countries. Your thread is really selling me on them.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Great stuff again, SEA. I love your commentary and notes that keep us informed on all of this. I'll be moving to the UK in the new year and I want to tavel to many of the European countries. Your thread is really selling me on them.


 
Glad you are enjoying the thread Nat.  After all, that is the whole intent.  About your moving to and traveling within Europe, take your pocket book because it isn't inexpensive.  I was so thrilled to be back in Thailand where the cost of a meal was affordable and still have some baht left over for a few beers and desert.

----------


## natalie8

I know, that's the only major negative. I've been in Dubai for 3 1/2 years now, so I know what expensive is! Unfortunately, here, the quality or service doesn't come anywhere near the price of things. :-(

----------


## SEA Traveler

These picture posts to this portion of the thread are dedicated to Larvidchr who happens to be, if I am not mistaken, from Denmark.  Khun Larvidchr pointed me in the right direction when asked how we should spend the short amount of time that we had in Copenhagen, hence, the dedication to Larvidchr.  Cheers Mate!

Upon arrival at the Copenhagen Airport, we proceeded to the left baggage section and gave them our bags so that we would not have to handle them during our time in Copenhagen.  We then proceeded directly to the train that departed from the 2nd floor of the Airport terminal and took us directly to the stop at Nyhavn where we would be spending our time in Copenhagen.. 

*Nyhavn* (pronounced [ˈnyhɑʊ̯n]) is a 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbour front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. Serving as a "heritage harbour", the canal has many historical wooden ships.

    Nyhavn was constructed by King Christian V from 1670-73, dug by Swedish war prisoners from the Dano-Swedish War 1658–1660. It is a gateway from the sea to the old inner city at Kongens Nytorv (King's Square), where ships handled cargo and fishermens' catch. It was notorious for beer, sailors, and prostitution. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen lived at Nyhavn 18 for some years.  As ocean-going ships grew larger, Nyhavn was taken over by internal Danish small vessel freight traffic. After World War II land transport took over this role and small vessel traffic disappeared from the Port of Copenhagen, leaving Nyhavn largely deserted of ships.  In the mid-1960s, the Nyhavn Society (Danish: Nyhavnsforeningen) was founded with the aim of revitalising Nyhavn. In 1977, Nyhavn was inaugurated as a veteran ship and museum harbour by Overborgmester i København (Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor) Egon Weidekamp.

It was a short 20 min train ride to Nyhavn from the airport.  The tickets were purchased from a vending machine and although I can not recall what the exact cost was, I do know that it was very affordable.  I was surprised that there were no ticket takers or turnsdials to pass so there was no 100% verification process to make sure that tickets had been purchased by the train users.  It was the "honor system" from what I could tell but I would imagine that there was some sort of periodic checks made.  Anyways, we had our tickets so no worries.  The stop at Nyhavn was at a huge department store.  There was a bakery on the 1st floor and it was my intentions to get some fresh bread when returning back to the station.  But, when that time came, the store was closed.

Here are some pictures from outside the Nyhavn Train Station where the department store was located.



 




on the short walk from the station to the port at Nyhavn, we passed this colorful statue of an elephant.  OK, good luck to have picture take with an elephant even if it is only a statue.




here is the spouse at the memorial anchor at the entrance to Nyhavn.



The Memorial Anchor:  The great Memorial Anchor (Danish: Mindeankeret) at the end of Nyhavn, where it meets Kongens Nytorv, is a monument commemorating the more than 1,700 Danish officers and sailors in service for the Navy, merchant fleet or Allied Forces, who sacrificed their lives during World War II. The Anchor was inaugurated in 1951, replacing a temporary wooden cross erected on the spot in 1845, and has a plaque with a monogram of King Frederik VII on it. The Memorial Anchor is from 1872 and was used on the Frigate Fyn (Funen), which was docked at Holmen Naval Base during the Second World War. Every year on May 5th – Denmark’s Liberation day 1945 – an official ceremony is held to honour and commemorate the fallen at the Memorial Anchor

----------


## SEA Traveler

pictures from our walkabout at Nyhavn.

----------


## SEA Traveler

pictures from our walkabout at Nyhavn (continued).

----------


## SEA Traveler

we decided on dinner and had a feast including a few Carlesburg beers.  The food was not inexpensive and I probably found the costs of food in Copenhagen to be the most expensive of all the countries visited in Europe.  Hey, you only go around once so they say... and the food was good.







 

 






and after dinner ice cream.

----------


## SEA Traveler

At the Copenhagen airpot while we were waiting in the area near the Duty Free stores, there was a small crowd of people.  We went to spectate.  As it turns out, there was a candy shop that had a game to be played and winners got some free candy.  The game went like this.  One stands in the designated area with a number of short umbrellas suspended from the ceiling.  The music starts and the countdown begins.  At random, one of the umbrellas falls from above and if it is cought before it hits the ground, you are a winner.  One person at a time and all eyes are on that one person.  I was encouraged to give it a try.  I did....  and as the 2nd pictures shows, I was a winner because I cought the umbrella before it hit the ground.






Copenhagen was wonderful as was the rest of the trip,  Very enjoyable all around.  Met lots of nice people and had a great time eating some of the foods that have been missed by being in Thailand.  "EURO, 5 countries in 3 weeks".  Time to head on back to the LOS.  But we already have at least 2 more international trips planned for the next 6 months.  Chances are that I will be posting some pics to a thread from those trips as well.  We shall see.  Anyway, sunny skies and good travels.

----------


## Loy Toy

Excellent thread mate and thank you also to your lovely wife for contributing so much and taking so many pictures.

I think most of us feel we accompanied you both on the trip with your great commentary and brilliant pictures.

Again, thank you both for sharing your adventure with us.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Excellent thread mate and thank you also to your lovely wife for contributing so much and taking so many pictures.
> 
> I think most of us feel we accompanied you both on the trip with your great commentary and brilliant pictures.
> 
> Again, thank you both for sharing your adventure with us.


 
Our honored pleasure LT.  Glad you could live vicariously through our adventure.  After all, threads like this are what I vision TD being all about.   

Just hoping that there will be other opportunities for more similar type threads for me to post.

----------


## Loy Toy

> Just hoping that there will be other opportunities for more similar type threads for me to post.


Our golf games turn into a bit of an cross country expedition mate.

Maybe you can take your camera next time.  :Smile:

----------


## larvidchr

Real great travel story, some really good photos and nice informative text, made me hungry more than once looking at all that good food, some hard or impossible to get in quite the same way out here.

Thanks ST :smilie_clap: , and thanks to your Wife too a fellow - (good) ice-cream fan   :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Real great travel story, some really good photos and nice informative text, made me hungry more than once looking at all that good food, some hard or impossible to get in quite the same way out here.
> 
> Thanks ST, and thanks to your Wife too a fellow - (good) ice-cream fan


 
thanks for the kind words my friend, all in a days work my friend...  just finished up the blueberries last evening that I purchased in Poland.  Of course they were on the ice cream.

----------


## natalie8

Great stuff again, SEA. Nice to see that you ended you trip by winning some candy. Great pics, commentary and links to hwlp us get the big picture. As the others have said, it feels like you're there too, not just looking at pics.

----------


## nigelandjan

Well done again and thanks for sharing ST  ,,, BTW did you manage to be in the church with those fantastic organ pipes when they fired up ?   If ever I get lucky on the lottery that would be right up there on the to do list ,, rise up out the pit amidst the dry ice playing morning has broken with those ol pipes shaking the ground  :Smile: .

                   I see your dear little wife enjoys her icecream ,,, same same  :Smile:

----------


## jizzybloke

Great thread and piccies Mr and Mrs SEA T, thank you both!

----------


## Eliminator

Great thread ST and thanks for all the pics.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Well done again and thanks for sharing ST  ,,, BTW did you manage to be in the church with those fantastic organ pipes when they fired up ?   If ever I get lucky on the lottery that would be right up there on the to do list ,, rise up out the pit amidst the dry ice playing morning has broken with those ol pipes shaking the ground .
> 
>                    I see your dear little wife enjoys her icecream ,,, same same



It was hard to pass any of the shops that sold ice cream with out making a purchase.  The spouse does like her ice cream, as do I but is tastes so much better when out in the open air and walking the streets.  We ate our share that is for sure.  Same here in Thai, when the coconut ice cream motor cycle passes by the house, we often stop him for a cup or ice cream sandwich....

The church organs were not heard by us during the trip but surely they could belt out some sound.

Glad you enjoyed the thread.    :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Great thread and piccies Mr and Mrs SEA T, thank you both!


No problems and no worries Jizzy, glad you enjoyed.

----------


## SEA Traveler

> Great thread ST and thanks for all the pics.


Thanks Elim...  where you been hidding?  things are well with you and family I hope.  U planning on making any trips down this way any time soon?  Best to all.

----------


## natalie8

SEAT, I just found out a few days ago that I'm going to Brussels from March 6-10. I took a look through your thread again to get some good tips on where to go. You gave me lots of good ideas. I know I'm gonna gorge out on chocolate, beer, ice cream and, something that you didn't post about, Belgian fries.  :Very Happy: 

I'm really looking forward to it and I'll do a thread on it too as I'm also going to London. I'm going to fly to London then take the Eurostar to Brussels and back.

----------


## melvin

> SEAT, I just found out a few days ago that I'm going to Brussels from March 6-10. I took a look through your thread again to get some good tips on where to go. You gave me lots of good ideas. I know I'm gonna gorge out on chocolate, beer, ice cream and, something that you didn't post about, Belgian fries. 
> 
> I'm really looking forward to it and I'll do a thread on it too as I'm also going to London. I'm going to fly to London then take the Eurostar to Brussels and back.


 enjoy Brussels,
fairly nice city, actually also a fairly good party place,
some excellent music clubs there,

Brussels is an excellent place for seafood.
SEA traveller sported some pics from Grote Markt/Grand Place,
following that several pics with crap food.
Note, within 5-7 minutes walkin' from Grote Markt there are several 
very very good seafood restaurants.

I would guess that the parts of Brussels that most non European travellers
would face will be the French speaking part/areas (at least mostly).
The French food in Brussels is TOP class. TOP CLASS.

----------


## natalie8

Hey thanks for the info. I wouldn't go so far as to say that SEA's food pics were crap, but hubby and I both love French food and seafood. I'll need to brush up on my French to be able to get around better.  :Smile:

----------


## SEA Traveler

> SEAT, I just found out a few days ago that I'm going to Brussels from March 6-10. I took a look through your thread again to get some good tips on where to go. You gave me lots of good ideas. I know I'm gonna gorge out on chocolate, beer, ice cream and, something that you didn't post about, Belgian fries. 
> 
> I'm really looking forward to it and I'll do a thread on it too as I'm also going to London. I'm going to fly to London then take the Eurostar to Brussels and back.



Have a great visit to Belgium natalie and enjoy the food...  what ever and wherever it is you decide to eat.  We had some fries but just considered them normal and routine.  The waffles with strawberries and chocolate were to die for.

Enjoy!  looking forward to seeing some of your photos from the trip.

----------


## natalie8

Thanks for the post and for the green, or should I say vert? I'm off to a slow start this morning and I plan to get out in the next hour, which will be noon here.

----------


## hallelujah

For everything that SE Asia has to offer, pics like this remind you just how good it is to be back home in Europe sometimes. 

_Sometimes._

----------


## Looper

> OK, now before you slide down to this last picture, let me give you some background.  Let me tell you, and this is true for many things in life other than photography, "IT IS ALL ABOUT BEING AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME".
> 
> We had been walking for 3 hours around this Bokrijk open air museum...  and so were a lot of other people but it had started to clear our about 1900.  Anyway, we were probably as far back in the grounds of this place and it was a long walk to the exit.  We saw a Belgium couple who seemed and looked as if they knew where they were going to exit from the back side.  The 4 of us in our group followed them.  We all got the the exit gate but is was secured and it became obvious that it was an employee exit.  The 4 of us and the other couple looked at each other.  The other young couple did not hesitate, they started walking toward the fence and it became clear that they planned on climbing the fence and jumping over to the over side.  I could see their point as it would have save about 3 or 4 kilo in walking distance to the authorized exit, but, we had two women with us and two out of shape middle aged and old fart guys.  That my friend and myself.  We decided to take the long walk out.  But I turned around just in time to see the young local guy helping and pushing his girlfriend over the fence.  I knew what was comming so I got my camera ready.  I took 2 quick shots and this is what I captured with the 2nd of  the 2 shots.  I think it was a great action picture.  Not posed and not planned.  "Just being at the right place at the right time".


Good timing!

----------


## Paddy Whackery

> Kind of a catch-22. How's public transport there? Do they have an underground? I would guess that being an old city, the streets are narrow and not designed for all the traffic that exists today.


Yes, they actually have TWO underground systems.  The metro and the RER (Reseaux Express Regional) which is like a more upscale subway.  (i think Brussels has two systems also, come to think of it).

----------


## Paddy Whackery

Wow...the pictures of Brussels really bring me back.  I got to spend three months there in 1987 - living in Leuven and commuting to Brussels.  It was the best three months of my life.  It's a great place if you like food and drink - especially beer.  The Belgians are great beer drinkers and there was even a bar on the train platform in Leuven where people would have a glass on their way to work.  (Even the cinema in Leuven had a bar, no breaking your arse to get a drink after the movie).  There was a bar in one corner of the Grand Place where a rhythm and blues band played once in a while.  I recall live music was fairly rare for some reason...There used to be a bar in the GP called 'La Chaloupe d'Or (or the Golden Bowl).  They served a litre of beer in a kind of spherical glass like a big round beaker and it came with it's own wooden stand.  Trappist, Duvel and Stella Artois.  Stella used to be brewed in Leuven and was about 25 cents a glass if i recall.  By God we made use of it...

Leuven being more of a student town had several basement clubs in the grote market where live bands played.  Again - r and b guitar music a la Steve Ray Vaughan or Rory Gallagher was the staple music on offer.  They tended to adhere to the German model where bands would do half hour sets and then the crowd would move on the next place...

Brugge was another good spot.  There was a really quaint little bar overlooking a canal and the water was almost close enough to reach out and touch it...We happened to hit town when the mayor was opening some festival or other, where all the dignitaries basically go on the mother-of-all pub crawls and we just tagged along.

I returned on vacation several times after that and we did the descent de la Lesse, a 40 km canoe trip.  There was some great scenery which really took me by surprise cos you tend to think of Belgium as being cities and commuter towns...I was the only one in our group who didn't capsize.

Your pix really brought all the memories back...i wish to fuck i had stayed there instead of going to America.  But que cera cera, as they say. :irish:

----------


## terry57

Really good Bump.    I had not seen this thread before.  Interesting. 

I must say that if SEAT continued to eat all that sort of food he would be weighing in at 300 Kilo by now.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------

