EURO, 5 Countries in 3 weeks

[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, origin 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, modern 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

not planned

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

[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

[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

[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

[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. 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..

[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.