Stanley Sees More of Belgium...

We had a slight break in the rain yesterday morning, so Stanley and I took advantage of it. I drove him over to check out a few of my favorite spots in the local area. Remember when I said that each town has a church in their Centrum? This is Sint Ursulakerk in Kleine Brogel. In English, that's the Church of Saint Ursula. This church was built in 1908, with stones from the quarries in Valkenburg. (I blogged about the Valkenberg castle and caves a few months ago. For more details about it, check out that entry.) Our next stop was at the Wedelse Molen in Overpelt. Stanley was very excited to see a real water mill. This one is very old, dating back to 1259. It was originally a mill that local servants brought their grain to, so that it could be ground into flour. It was a fully functioning mill until 1974. It was turned into a Tavern in 1974. The water was directed around the water wheel when Stanley and I visited. The owner keeps the mill in excellent condition, and he will redirect the water to power the mill so you can see how it all works. It's very interesting to see all of the wheels turning together inside.

Down the road, just a few minutes from the Wedelse Molen, is De Windmolen Van Sevens. You can't visit Belgium without seeing a windmill. (I think it's the law!) It was built around 1745, and is a gristmill. If you want to learn more about it, then check out this site.

You can read a little bit about the windmill's history on this sign. Stanley found it quite helpful.

No Sunshine For Stanley

Stanley decided to keep me company while I ran errands yesterday. That took us to the nearby town of Peer. Peer gets its name from the Dutch word perre or parre, which is an enclosed settlement in an unsafe area. A long time ago, Peer was entirely surrounded by a huge wall. Today, that wall is gone, but on it's foundation is a road that forms a large ring around the city's Centrum. The Centrum is the center of the city. Each city and town in Belgium has a Centrum, and at the heart of the Centrum is the local church. The Sint Trudo Church is in Peer. It's open one month in the summer for tours, and on one special day of the year, you can actually climb a circular staircase up to the top of the church steeple. Stanley was very sad that today was not that day. I told him that he'd have to come back and visit us this summer so that he could climb the steeple with us. The weather was pretty normal for a winter's day in Belgium. It was cold and rainy. Although we've gotten a lot of snow this winter, this is what is typical for this region. It's OK, though. A wet winter means a beautiful and green Spring!

This is the old Stadhuis (Town Hall) in Peer. It was built in 1637. When they built a new Town Hall, they turned this one into the Visitor's Center. Then they decided to make another change. The Visitor's Center moved down the street to a larger building, and they renovated the Town Hall and reopened it as a lovely restaurant. They did a great job, because they kept most of the structure the way it was. The outside looks the same, and you can still see the original wooden beams in the ceiling when you go inside.

Stanley and I decided to get out of the cold rain, and relax for a little bit with a warm drink. Ahhhhhh. Nothing warms you up like a nice cup of hot chocolate! (Especially when you are in Belgium!)

Flat Stanley Visits Hoensbroek Castle

Our first visitor from the United States arrived at our house this week. His name is Flat Stanley. You've probably heard of Stanley. He's pretty famous. (He even has his own book! It was written by Jeff Brown in 1964.) The basic story is this...Stanley and his brother were given a bulletin board by their father, and it was mounted on the wall over Stanley's bed. During the night, the bulletin board fell off of the wall and flattened poor Stanley. Stanley used his new condition to get into all sorts of mischief, like sliding under doors and being used as a kite. The best part, however, was the fact that he could now travel all over the world in an envelope. Recently, Stanley was hanging out with our friend, Jackson, and his classmates in Florida. Jackson asked if we would mind it if Stanley came to visit us over here in Belgium, and we said "Send him right over!" Stanley had quite a long way to travel to get to our house. He wasn't exactly sure where Belgium was in Europe, so we showed him the location on our map. There is a reason that we are called the "Heart of Europe." We are right in the middle of everything! France is to the South, Germany and Luxembourg are to the East, The Netherlands are to the North, and the North Sea is to the West. Belgium is a very small country, covering 11,787 square miles. To give you an idea of how small that is, it's roughly the same size as the state of Maryland. That's OK, though. Great things come in small packages! We gave Stanley a day or two to rest, because Belgium is 7 hours ahead of the time zone he came from in Florida. (Stanley was falling asleep during lunch on his first day here!) Then he was ready to have his first adventure. There was really no question about what we would take him to see first...a castle! Hoensbroek Castle is one of our favorite places to visit. Not only it is fun to explore, but it has the added bonus of being located just one hour away from us. We hoped in the car and headed to The Netherlands. Stanley was very excited to see the moat around the castle. The main building dates back to the 1250's. Just think of all the exciting things that have happened here. This is the first outer courtyard of the castle. Through that arch is the second outer courtyard. This is the main building of the castle, viewed from the first outer courtyard. The turret on the far right is the one that you get to explore. Hoensbroek Castle was built in 5 major stages, the first stage was completed in 1375, and the last stage completed in 1725. This is a prison cell, located in the lowest level of the medieval turret. It was a very cold and dark room, with only one tiny window to let in light and fresh air. You have to walk down a very small spiral stairway to get down there. If you climb up the same spiral stairway, you will get to the top of the turret. At the top of the stairs, you will find a wooden ladder. If you are brave enough to climb this (and of course, Stanley was!), you will have the best view from the castle. See what I mean? This is the first courtyard in the castle, and the entrance is in the top left corner of the courtyard. That is the town of Hoensbroek in the background. Stanley enjoyed seeing this suit of armor, but he said that he couldn't imagine how hard it must have been to walk around wearing it. The average medieval suit of armor weighs approximately 50 or 60 pounds. Although that sounds like a lot, the average soldier fighting today carries around 90 pounds of equipment with him. (They don't get to ride a horse, either.)Stanley really enjoyed exploring the castle and imagining how things must have been back in medieval times. The kitchen was really interesting. They didn't have grocery stores back then, so everything that they ate was provided by the land. No castle visit is complete without being locked up in the stockade. Stanley had a really great day, and can't wait to see what adventures are coming up next. He asked me to thank Jackson for sending him over here. Europe is lots of fun!

KinderJungle

The South has Mardi Gras. The North has...what do you guys do in February besides get snowed under? Anyhoo, here in Europe, we have Carnival. That means a week off of school to do absolutely nothing but play. The kids and I are making the most of it. On Tuesday, we went to KinderJungle with friends. Well, Brandon went to play and Jess was drug along to endure it as best as she could (being a teenager and all). Poor Jess. Kinderjungle is Belgium's version of Chuck E. Cheese's, without the huge mouse moseying around. I must say, we were impressed with it. It's also a very well kept secret. From the outside, it looks like a big metal warehouse, and it's tucked away on the back side of a big truck storage yard. I think they rely fully on word of mouth for all of their customers. We certainly wouldn't have just happened upon it and said, "Hmmm, that looks interesting. Let's check it out!" I've noticed that seems to be the way things are done here. Plain outside with little or no signs, and very interesting and fun things inside. I was worried that this place might be too young for Brandon, but he had a blast. It was the perfect activity for a cold, snowy day. I refer to this slide as the "Death Drop". You can't tell from the picture, but the top part of it is straight down. From a distance, it looks like the kids are just falling off of the top platform. Of course, it was the most popular slide there.

We "old people" sat in this area and let the kids run themselves ragged for a couple of hours. In the area behind us, they had toys for the younger crowd. One section had lots of little Fisher Price play houses and mini slides, and the other had tons of huge Lego's with which to build just about anything you could imagine. I told Jess that we were having her next birthday party here. She rolled her eyes and said something smart alecky...and then thought about it. "Hmmm..." she said. "That might actually be fun..."

Valentine's Day

I know, it's a little late, but such is life. Sunday was Valentine's Day. It was also a big snow day. We've been getting a lot of those lately. Being the traditional folks that we are, we decided to spend our Valentine's Day the same way most people do...we took the kids indoor snowboarding with friends. What? That's not how you celebrated? Shame on you! Sorry for the poor picture, but this is the front of Snow Valley in Peer...at night...through a windshield...in the snow. That enclosure that you see angling up the the right is the trick snowboarding area inside. I'll have to go back on a clear and sunny day and take some more pics of the outside. It's really an interesting building. For more details, you can check out their website. In case you were pondering the question as to why we went to an indoor snowboarding/skiing facility when we had several inches of fresh powder on the ground outside, the answer is...Belgium is flat. As a pancake. At least this region of it is. While our KB friends were hustling around, trying desperately to find decent hills to go sledding on with their kids, we went straight to the source of fun...Snow Valley! This is one of the cafe areas inside the facility. I think that I mentioned this before, but Belgians are geniuses when it comes to entertaining the kids and keeping the parents content at the same time. There is a larger restaurant to the left of this, but it was full of locals who don't understand why crazy Americans carry cameras with them everywhere that they go and insist on taking pictures of the strangest things. My kids tend to agree with the locals. Therefore, I didn't get any pictures of that. There are large windows lining the entire wall of this eating area, as well as the main restaurant, so you can watch your friends and family playing in the snow in a maintained temp of -2 Celsius, while you relax in warmth with a nice meal and cup of coffee. This is the kids/beginners area. You ride the sidewalk escalator up the hill, waddle your way off, and then snowboard or ski back down again. When you feel comfortable, you can go to the slightly bigger hill opposite it. This one is 100 meters long. Brandon had a blast on this one. Jess decided she was in more of a relaxing mood than a snowboarding one, so she hung out in the cafe and checked out the action. The main slope is to the left of this, and it's 235 meters long.

This is the Boarders Paradise Funpark. It's on the far right side of the building. This is the slope that I took a picture of from the outside. Quite a few people were doing some fancy ticks in this area. It was a lot of fun to watch. In all, we had a really great day. (And we wore Brandon out, which is always a bonus.) I hope that you and yours had a great Valentine's Day as well. If not...there is always next year. And snowboarding in Belgium.

Windows And Winners!

There are many things here in Belgium that I absolutely love...and plan on taking back to the states with me when our tour here is done. One of those things is the outdoor roller shutter system that they have on their windows. That's a mouth full, isn't it? Essentially, it is a series of connected aluminum strips that roll up into a box that's built into the wall over the window. There is a heavy material strap on the side of the window (hidden by curtains), that you use to pull the shutters down and back up again. They are great for added security when you are out of town, but they also block out the light during those bright summer evenings. They provide extra insulation, too, during those chilly winter nights. I think they would be perfect for Florida. Just think how easy it would be to get ready for a hurricane with these babies! If you are curious as to why I chose to talk about this today, it's because occasionally...these straps used to open and shut them wear out. The one on this front window decided to give up the fight, and was literally hanging on by a thread. I have an awesome landlord, and when I mentioned it to her, she called her Dad...who knew someone who could fix it. That's the way things work around here. I really don't know why they even have phone books and Yellow Pages in Belgium. Any time you need to get something fixed, there is always someone who "knows someone" who can take care of it for you. Anyhoo, she made the call and he came over to take a look at it. My landlord was here on the initial inspection the other day, so when he came by to check things out, she did all the talking. Today, when he came to actually fix it...it was just me and him. Did I mention that he doesn't speak any English. He chatted away in Dutch, and thanks to the occasional word that I recognized, and extensive hand gestures, I got by. I responded to everything in English (with lots of gestures as well), and he seemed to follow well enough. I got to see the inner workings of the shutter system, and found it all pretty interesting. He put a spiffy new white strap on there, to replace the plain dark brown one that had torn apart. I think we bonded. In fact, I might even count him as one of my best friends. In case you noticed the view out of the window in that first picture...yes, that's snow. Apparently I spoke a little too soon when I said spring was on the way. We got a few inches of the white stuff last night, and are expecting at least two more inches today. *heavy sigh*

And now...on to the "winner" part. Let me start by saying YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES! I've had over 6,700 visitors reading this blog, and only 3 people try to win a little goody!?!?! I know you can do better than that! It wasn't even that difficult of a question. I chose it in honor of our upcoming trip to the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, and the flower in the picture shares the same name. All three of them got it right...the song was Edelweiss. Well, Erika got there in a roundabout kind of way, but I'll give her credit anyway. After all, it's not her fault that she's a lot younger than the rest of us and The Sounds Of Music was WAY before her time. Anyhoo, Myra won the drawing, and she is the new owner of this lovely bag from Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. It's just the thing any princess would need to carry around books, scrapbook supplies, etc. In honor of the amount of participation, I figured that all three people deserve something. I already gave Erika a goody the other day, so I'll be picking up something for Dajana in the near future, as well. Our mail system is hit or miss lately, ladies, but I'll get your packages off to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, I'll just keep shoveling the snow off of the driveway...dreaming about Spring...*heavy sigh*

February Floral Fun!

Ahhh...It's that time of the year that delights young ladies and strikes fear into the hearts of men. Valentine's Day is approaching, and it's coming fast! In honor of the holiday, here is our project for this month's floral arranging class. This was my third floral class, and I must say...it's loads of fun. Our teacher is a lovely Belgian lady, who keeps coming up with amazing and unusual projects to entertain us. And she has a great sense of humor. That's always a plus when it comes to working with our group. I'm just saying...

It's Spring...

Well, maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit on that one, but it's definitely warmer. The snow has melted, the temps have gone back into the 40's, and I'm one happy camper. Ahhhhh. (You have no idea how slippery cobblestones are when they are covered with ice and snow!) Besides, it's so much more tempting to hide indoors, sitting at the computer with a hot cup of coffee, when it's snowing outside. I'm ready for Spring. In the meantime, my friends and I decided to celebrate the warmer temps with a little day trip to Aachen, German. What does one do in Aachen, you ask? Well, go for a sushi lunch, of course. Isn't that what everyone goes to Germany for? Actually, I'm told that the BEST place around here for sushi is in Eindhoven, but they weren't open for lunch, so...off to Aachen. It was a great day, full of lots of laughs. Aachen is one of those cities that you just love to walk around and admire. This is the Cathedral. One of these days, when it's a little warmer, I'm going to take the family here and we are going to check out the inside of this beauty. This is the time of year when I start making out my list of things that I REALLY want to see. I told the family to enjoy these lazy winter weekends, because when Spring arrives, we are on the road again. I can't wait. I've already started marking things down. Let's see...there's Paris, London, Brugges (this time it will be warm enough to really check it out!), Bastogne, Cochem Castle in Germany...the list goes on and on. This is going to be a great Spring and Summer. I can just feel it!