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!
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! 
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