Dragons at Hoensbroek Castle!

This week, Hoensbroek Castle is hosting Drakenkasteel (Dragon Castle). And signs of them are everywhere. You get to go on a treasure hunt to find them, but I'll give you a hint... Look in the attic. They are everywhere up there, and they have nests with baby dragons, too. Peek inside the little school room and you'll find a couple more. Even though we didn't understand enough Nederlands to go on the treasure hunt, we still had tons of fun searching for the mystical creatures. Now... if I can just talk Russ into letting me adopt one. I'm sure they don't eat much and I bet they're a breeze to house train!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas. We had a fantastic day of opening gifts, spending time with and eating with friends, and relaxing with a movie. Hope yours was just as great.

Valkenburg Cave Christmas Market

I hadn't planned on a return visit to the Christmas Markets in the Valkenburg Caves this year, but when a friend called me on the last day they were open, it was too much to resist. And I'm so glad I didn't even bother to try. It was a lot different from my visit with Russ last year. It was misting rain instead of snowing, and the decorations were all completely changed. We checked out the goodies at each booth, talked to the vendors, and had a delicious cup of cappucino and a fresh waffle with warm cherries on top at the cafe in the middle of the cave. I picked up a few last minute Christmas gifts, and Kimberly scored a gorgeous antique rocking horse. And we made a few new friends. But that's another story all together.

Cologne Christmas Market

Russ had to work, so the kids and took off to Cologne, Germany, to go to their Christmas Markets. Cologne has not one, but FIVE different Christmas Markets. The one at the base of the Cathedral is my favorite. This year, we shopped under a canopy of Christmas lights. They did a fantastic job of decorating for the Markets. We spent the day wandering around the city with a fantastic group of people from KB. They had booths full of everything from ornaments and assorted gifts, to delicious food and gluhwein.

And don't forget a visit to the Nativity Scene: Mary and Joseph, pushing baby Jesus in a shopping cart. Hmmmm, something seems a little off about this, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I'm sure it's just me. Merry Christmas!

Hasselt Christmas Market

Proving once again what an awesome person he is, Russ took me to yet another Christmas Market. Although he doesn't share my enthusiam for the markets, he is a really good sport about it and keeps me company any time he can. Today, we went to the market in Hasselt. We went pretty early in the morning, so we beat the crowds. It was great just to walk around and check things out. In case you are wondering, the kids chose to sleep in. The Christmas Break has officially begun, and they wanted to take full advantage of it. It was their loss, because this market had both a roller coaster and a Fun House.

Christmas in Belgium is just a little different from Christmas in America. This is where Santa and Rudolph come to kick off some steam. I'm thinking that Rudy has had one too many frosty mugs of beer. He's getting a little too frisky with Santa.

And is it just me, or is this a Christmas prostitute? She's standing by the lamp post holding her hand out for money. I guess this is how they get the Dads to come to the Christmas Markets with the wives and kids.

In all, Hasselt has a great Christmas Market. They even had Santa's house there. It was a adorable little log cabin, fully furnished and with Santa in residence. Sadly, my camera battery died when I walked in the building, so I don't have any pictures to share. You'll just have to go there and check it out for yourself!

KB Christmas Party

Tonight was our Annual KB Christmas Party, and it was a huge success. We ate, drank, laughed, and ate some more. The group that put it on did a fantastic job, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. And guess what... it even snowed. OK, so it didn't stick, it still counts.

This cake was not only gorgeous, but so delicious! It was a white cake with a vanilla cream filling, frosted with whipped cream, and then topped with fresh fruit. And served on an antique mirror. It just doesn't get any better than that. (I could have eaten the whole thing myself.)

Of course with guys, it's never enough, so we stopped by the Wedelse Molen with some friends for a little more beer and a lot more laughter.

You should have seen our rather large group squeezing into the tiny cubby hole of a booth. (That's it on the left there.) In fact, the bartender came over and told us he had a bigger table that might be a little more comfortable, but we were happy where we were. Nights like tonight are what we'll remember for years to come. Great times with great friends.

KB Cookie Caper

Each year, just before Christmas, the lovely ladies at KB get together for the Cookie Caper. We all bake lots of delicious cookies, and then get together and make up plates full of them to deliver to the unaccompanied airmen stationed at our base. This way, we get the enjoyment of holiday baking without the added calories going straight to our hind ends. And the airmen (who can afford the extra calories) seem to love it, too. This is what the weather was like last year when I drove to the base to assemble the plates. And this is what it looked like this year. My poor rose bushes are so confused with the warmer temperatures and all of the rain, that they actually started to bloom again. I assured them that this is December, but they didn't believe me. *sigh* We might not be seeing a white Christmas this year. Other than a few snow fluries that didn't stick, we're out of luck. Anyhoo, I had an awesome time today: assembling cookie plates, playing a stirring game of Bunco with the gals afterwards, and then enjoying a delicious lunch with the ladies and our husbands following our game. Hope your day was just as fantastic!

On The Twelfth Day of Christmas...Another Christmas Market!

We normally have a bunch of snow at this time of the year, but Mother Nature has been cutting us some slack lately. And while I appreciate it when it comes to driving, I miss it's beautiful backdrop for our Christmas Markets.

When we were walking past this Santa statue, I noticed Russ kept his eyes on it. On closer inspection, I realized that it wasn't a statue at all.

This guy was excellent at staying in character. I watched him for a while, and he didn't even blink! He was completely still until some little ones came by. Then he moved ever so slowly until he lowered his basket enough for them to get a treat. Two thumbs up for Mr. Santa Statue!

The temporary ice skating rink was also a big hit - with all ages!

My favorite part of any Christmas Market is just walking around, listening to the music (it's American!), and people watching. And the food is delicious, too.

The old Visitors Center was looking particularly lovely this year. She had a face lift this past year, and is now a fantastic restaurant. They added a hotel off to the side, as well.

One day closer to Christmas. I'm not very well prepared this year, but it's all good. I'm sure the last minute gift panic will kick in any day now and I'll lose my cool, but for now... I'm relaxing with a hot cup of coffee and my awesome family. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

On The Eleventh Day Of Christmas...A Christmas Market In Commanderij Gruitrode

The Commanderij Gruitrode is a fascinating place. The original Commanderij was built here in 1418. Unfortunately, after some serious squabbles between families, that building was destroyed. The current Commanderij was built between 1485 and 1568. Until 1801, it was one of the subordinate commanderies under Alden Biesen. If it looks familiar to you, it's because it's also home to the Royce Feesten (Royal Festival) that's held in the summer.

Today, the Commanderij was host to a small but lovely Christmas Market.

Santa (at least the one present today) is the owner. He was a very friendly gentleman and told us that if weren't so busy hosting as Santa today, he would invite us inside for a cup of coffee. Wouldn't that be fantastic?

The Commandery has changed owners several times over the years, and fell into a state of disrepair. The current owner acquired it in 2003, and has been slowly restoring it to it's former glory ever since. We're so happy that he's doing so, because the buildings and property are beautiful.

There are lovely gardens and a moat behind the main buildings. Can you just imagine how beautiful this is in the summer?

We had a great time wandering around the Christmas Market and checking out the historic buildings. Who could ask for a more perfect was to spend a Winter's day?

On The Tenth Day Of Christmas... the 2011 Historical Bastogne Walk

Around this time last year, Russ and I took part in the 2010 Bastogne Historical Walk. If you recall, we said that we were glad that we'd done it, but would never do it again. Famous last words. Due to my very short memory, I talked the hubby into doing it again this year. I told him that this time we would do the shortest walk (8 K), and would spend the afternoon relaxing with beer and cappuccinos and exploring the town. Sounds like a great plan, doesn't it? So... we got up at 4 am to get ready, met with the rest of our group at 5:30 am, and took off for Bastogne at 6 am. The sun was rising over the hills when we started our walk in the historic city of Bastogne.

As we walked, we could see the Mardasson Memorial off to our right. Last year, this was one of our stops on the walk, but they had us on a completely different route this year. Not too far past this, we reached the point where the trails divided. Our blue trail, the 8 K one, seperated from the other longer paths. As we prepared to turn, Brandon mentioned that he really wanted to see the live re-enactments and scenes from the Battle of the Bulge. Apparently they weren't doing this on the shorter route, so this meant taking one of the longer ones. Do you see where this is going? We all took a vote and decided that we would take the yellow path (18K). Off we went.

How could you not love this country? It's absolutely beautiful. We hiked merrily along, occasionally checking the markers when we realized something wasn't quite right. We had somehow missed the turn off for our 18 K trail and were now on the 23K trail. Suddenly the day wasn't quite so sunny. After studying the map for a little bit, we figured out that we could cut through a couple of towns and reconnect with our desired route. It added a couple of kilometers to the hike, but it was much better than the extra 5 km that we were heading for at the time of our discovery. I was having some very vivid flashbacks from last year at this point. Minus the snow, of course.

Back on the correct path, we traveled on. Occassionally, jeeps and trucks full of soldiers passed us.

There were smaller memorials scattered here and there around the countryside. If you think that the Belgians have forgotten the sacrifice our soldiers made for them, you'd be mistaken.

The original foxholes from the Battle of the Bulge still remain, scattered in the forest along the side of the roads. This reminded us of the real reason we were taking this historical walk. We were there to remember the young men who gave their lives so that others could be free.

Every so often, we came across an encampment of soldiers. It was like traveling back in time.

We entered small towns, watched the soldiers prepare for war, and then traveled on.

We even happened upon a German camp. We traveled quickly by before they realized we were the enemy and captured us.

This lovely lady was being escorted by soldiers. Do you think she was a spy?

Back into the country once more.

The trail stretched on for miles.

We came across another American camp. The soldiers were preparing for another battle. They had spotted German soldiers in the distance, and they were heading our way.

The soldiers went to secure the line.

All of the participants did an amazing job of recreating the look and feel of the battle. It was easy to imagine that we were back in 1944.

After walking quite a long distance, our trail turned and went between two fields full of large beasts. From a distance, they looked like cattle. But when we got closer...

we discovered Bison. Who would expect to see Bison in the Bastogne countryside? Not me.

Bob was not terribly impressed with our group of walkers, so we quickly traveled on.

After around 5 or 6 hours of walking, we made it to the end. In all, we hiked around 20 kilometers ( 12 1/2 miles). This is the fantastic group of people that we had the pleasure of spending the day with. If you ever get the opportunity to take part in the Historical Bastogne Walk, please do so. It's an experience of a lifetime. And some of us are lucky enough to get to experience it twice. Of course, when I mentioned to Russ that is would be fun to fly back next year so we can do it again, he didn't hesitate at all with his reply. I'll let you guess what it was.