I'm Not Slow...Really

My mother-in-law recently sent me a great recipe (thanks, by the way!) for a tropical dip, to be served with fresh fruit. As an added bonus, it only has a few ingredients and is really easy to make. This is my kind of recipe. There is a great liquor store in our town. A Beer Barn of sorts. It's big, and they have all kinds of alcohol and accompanying treats. They also have very nice employees who speak excellent English, and are always happy to recommend a great beer. I'm positive that they can help me out. It was really busy today. It's Saturday, after all. I was standing in front of a big display of mixed alcohol drinks (and apparently looking a little lost), when an employee stopped by and offered his assistant. I told him that I was looking for a Pina Colada mix with no alcohol. Let me stop here and point out that while some words don't translate well between Nederlands and English, expressions certainly do. There was no mistaking the fact that I had just asked something that was not only ridiculous to him, but that he was now trying to decide if I was perhaps a "little slower" than the average adult. Belgians are very polite, so instead of voicing what he was most definitely thinking, he cautiously said "No alcohol?" "Yes", I replied. "I just need the mix." He stood there a few seconds and looked at me. Speechless. In my defense, this dip is for a Bible Study group (and there are always toddlers tagging along), so there are probably all sorts of moral and ethical issues involved with serving them alcohol. Yes, the kids would take a fantastic nap, but still...I'm thinking it's a big "no-no"! I didn't really want to get into to all that while standing in a warehouse full of Belgian men pushing around carts loaded down with cases and cases of beer. (It is Saturday, after all.) The salesman politely assured me that his Pina Colada mix was alcohol infused (why wouldn't it be?), and had no idea where I would be able to pick up some that was not (seriously, what's the point of buying a mixed alcohol drink without the alcohol?). Maybe it was just my imagination that he seemed to be speaking a little slower than usual. I thanked him for his time, grabbed a bottle of melon creme liquor from the shelf beside me, and headed over to join the fellas in the checkout line. The ladies and toddlers will be having whipped creme with their fresh fruit. The liquor is for me. It's been a long day.

Friday At The Market

It might be cold and foggy here today, but that doesn't mean you can't find a little bit of sunshine at a nearby open air Market. This is one of my favorite vendors...along with the bread guy, of course. 4 euro for a dozen roses. How can you say no? And now my kitchen is a much happier place. I hope your Friday is full of sunshine in unexpected places as well.

Blogging Issues...

Blogger has decided to misbehave, and I temporarily (hopefully) can't upload or post any pictures. I hope to have the issue squared away soon...

De Wit Royal Manufacturers of Tapestry in Mechelen

To me, nothing is more European than a gorgeous tapestry. A friend of mine had heard about De Wit, a tapestry manufacturer and restoring place that we could actually go inside and tour. Of course, we booked a tour and jumped on a train to Mechelen. After wandering around for a little bit, we found De Wit. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. It was even better. It's housed in an The Refuge of Tongerlo Abbey (1484), and surrounded by very high brick walls. The only way in is this huge wooden door. Inside is a beautiful hidden garden. In the Spring, everything will be in full bloom. The garden is planted with flowers that are represented in medieval tapestries. The main entrance is that red door on the left. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside. *sigh* These three (indoor) pictures are courtesy of De Wit's website. And in case you are wondering, the antique tapestries are even more amazing in person. Our guide was fantastic, and she not only explained how tapestries are made, she even brought in one of their workers to demonstrate. She worked her magic on the loom in the center of this room. On an average day, a worker can only produce a section about the size of the palm of your hand. In other words, it takes a long, long time to make a tapestry.This is the restoration section of De Wit. You are only allowed to tour it while the workers are on their lunch break. They only make minimal repairs to the damaged tapestries, and have very strict guidelines as to how it is done. De Wit hasn't produced any private tapestries in many years, because it's extremely expensive, and there is an extensive process to having one created. (First you have to hire an excellent painter to produce a painting that you want your tapestry based on. Then you have to pay someone approximately $3,500 per square meter to produce the tapestry. It's all very costly and time consuming. You know how it goes...if you have to ask, you can't afford it.) The only ones they produce now are for Belgian royalty to give to visiting dignitaries. Their main business is repairing and cleaning existing tapestries. Tapestries are shipped here from all over the world, including the White House! Let's face it, the company was founded in 1889, so they have a lot of experience and expertise in this area. When our tour was over, we returned to the courtyard. We still had a little time before we caught our train back home, so we decided to head toward the centrum and check out Sint-Romboutskathedral.It's amazing! She was started around 1200 (completed around 1520), and stands proudly in the centrum of Mechelen, right beside the Market place. On a clear day, you can climb the 514 steps to the top of the tower and see all the way to Antwerp! Hmmmmm....maybe this summer... Believe it or not, her tower was supposed to be even taller, but financial restraints limited her to 97.28 meters tall. And they even let you peek around inside! Amazing!St. Rumbold is the patron Saint of Mechelen. That's him standing high above the alter. He was a 17th century Irish missionary, and it's rumored that his remains are buried in the cathedral. The cathedral also serves as a mausoleum for Belgian archbishops. Too soon, it was time to catch our bus back to the train station and head home. It was an amazing day... filled with amazing art. A big THANK YOU to the lovely ladies at De Wit! We all now have a deeper appreciation for beautiful tapestries. When I win the lottery, I'm giving you a call and placing my order. It will look perfect in my new castle...

Two Hot Octogenarians

Am I the only one that's more than a little disturbed by this advertisement? Oh, dear. I think I'm going to need therapy...

Sint Hubertuskapel in Hechtel-Eksel

In past centuries, there were little chapels here and there along the country side. They were outside the villages, and along roads. They were a place to stop and rest, as well as a place of worship. They were normally near a farmhouse, and those residents both guarded and maintained the small buildings. Some of these chapels are still here today. Sint Hubertuskapel is one of those chapels, and dates back to 1599. The chapels were normally built in the Romanesque or Baroque style, made of brick, roofed with slate, and had a solid oak door. It's my understanding that this carving shows God's protection of both the people and their livestock against disease. (Don't quote me on that one. It's hard to find exact information on some things around here.) Sint Hubertuskapel sits quietly at the edge of a field, on the outskirts of town. And she patiently waits for the odd visitor or two. Cars speed by on the road outside her front door, much quicker than people used to travel when she was younger. It doesn't bother her much. She's seen a lot over the past several hundred years. She's got plenty of time. And she's not going anywhere.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Epic Fail or Best Diet Ever...You Choose

As Jess and Brandon like to say...epic fail. I guess it was a good thing that we walked around Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Monday, because that was all I got to see of Bavaria on this visit. I had a Mediterranean salad for dinner that night, and added the chicken to it. Big mistake. Next thing I know, I'm touring the lovely porcelain fixture in the water closet. Alllllllllllll day on Tuesday. By Tuesday night, I'm passed out in bed, stomach turned inside out, wrung up, and hung out to dry. It wasn't pretty. (Any bad thoughts that are now passing through your mind about what you just read....are a vast understatement. I'm just saying.) I survived on a few crackers and some water until Wednesday night, when I ventured out of the room in search of something more solid. Unfortunately, all those delicious creamy sauces that I normally love aren't quite so attractive to a delicate stomach, so I nibbled here and there until we returned home on Friday. On the positive side, my jeans have a lot more room in them now. As Jess said after her similar experience last year: best. diet. ever. I'm starting to think that this TDY stuff is over rated. We tagged along with Russ last year, and Jess got sick. This year, it was my turn. Next year, if he has another one to Garmisch, we might just have to pass on it. Let's face it, Brandon's next in line, and he doesn't have any fat to spare.

The US Olympic Ski Team in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

We woke up to another beautiful, blue sky day, and decided to make the most of it. The first step was to head up to my favorite area in the entire lodge...the front second floor balcony. Facing one direction, you get this great view of the lobby. But when you turn around...You get to enjoy the sunrise over the mountains. The entire wall is covered with windows. And they have these great rocking chairs lined up and waiting for you. It's the perfect place to curl up with a book and soak up some warmth. We've had a lot of rain lately, so I really enjoyed this! It's also the perfect place to enjoy a supreme view of the US Olympic ski team, who just happened to shop up for a meet and greet at Edelweiss Lodge and Resort. Actually, they were in town to take part in the Alpine World Ski Championships (right outside our amazing balcony window!), and a few members of the team were kind enough to stop by and sign some autographs. Amazing! We decided to take off and explore Garmisch-Partenkirchen, since we didn't have a chance to do that the last time we were here. It's a great town, with lots of interesting architecture.

I loved all the beautiful paintings on the buildings. This restaurant was so pretty. And just check out the outdoor seating...Doesn't that just make you want to settle in for the rest of the afternoon and sip coffee while you people watch? This was a big hit with Brandon...the chocolate fountain! This kind lady was giving out free samples of vanilla cookies dipped in Milka chocolate. Yum! (Love the hat!)

Check out this bike. It was part of a wall for a museum down town. At first, I thought it was just a couple of wheels that they were using as art. When we got closer, you could see that it was the entire bike. Very cool. Anyhoo, we are off to explore some more, so I'll leave you with a video of the US Olympic Ski Team signing autographs. Enjoy!

A Day Late And A Tooth Short

We were supposed to leave for Garmisch-Partenkirchen early on Saturday morning. Things don't always go according to plan. Poor Russ was struck down with an awful toothache late Friday night, and unfortunately, it got worse as the hours went by. Luckily, a local dentist was kind enough to fit him in for an x-ray (and hopefully a painkiller until the repairs could be made). Quicker than you could say "Holy Cow! What just happened?", Russ found himself on the receiving end of the quickest root canal known to man. Armed with antibiotics, a temporary filling, and a decent nights sleep, we took off for Bavaria early Sunday morning. It wasn't long until the sun started peeking through. Things are looking up... Once into Germany, it was nothing but blue skies all the way. Ahhhhh. Now that's more like it! After 7 1/2 hours on the road, we were all a little bit beat. After a few minutes of relaxing, we were off to explore the lodge and catch up with friends. I'll share some interesting things that we saw along our journey here today... The first video is a self cleaning toilet seat where we stopped for lunch. I know, it's strange to video something in the bathroom, but seriously...how cool is this? The second is us on the Autobahn. We were doing 80, and these cars (and lots others) passed us like we were crawling. I'm OK with the sports cars doing this, but a station wagon? I'm insulted!

Interesting Art

How is it that I drive past these interesting things and never seem to notice them? Really? I can't tell you how many times I've been right beside this and never even knew it was there. It's sad, when you think about. How many other amazing things have slipped by unnoticed? Do you find yourself so caught up with your daily agenda that you don't enjoy the little things? Maybe that's something we should all work on...

Making Chocolates at Het Chocolate Atelier

It's always chocolate time in Belgium, but I felt inspired by Valentine's Day approaching fast, and decided to schedule another chocolate making workshop for me and my friends at KB. If you want to learn how to make chocolate, look no further than Bart at Het Chocolate Atelier. Not only is he very knowledgeable on the subject, he's also a lot of fun.

The first thing you do in this class, is learn some interesting information about the history of chocolate. Then you get to the really important part...The tasting! He lets you have samples of all the chocolate and fillings that you'll be using later in the class. This is an important step, because you'll be very tempted to sneak a bite later on. Bart knows that sampling in the beginning will help you stay strong and behave during the candy making process. There are a lot of steps to making a delicious praline, and Bart patiently demonstrates each one. The first step is filling the chocolate mold with rich milk chocolate. (I bet you are wishing your computer had smell-o-vision right now. Yes, the shop smells amazing!)

After filling the mold with melted chocolate, he scrapes off all of the excess, shakes out the air bubbles, and lets it sit for just a minute. This lets a thin layer of chocolate harden in the mold. The next step is turning the mold over and letting all but the thin chocolate shell drip back out again. Now you have your candy shell. On to the next step...the fillings! We filled our chocolate shells with mocha, peanut butter, and creamy chocolate. YUM! Some fillings can be spread inside the shells...While other types have to be piped in. See? There's a lot more to this candy making process that you though, isn't there? Now do you see why you just have to take a class?Finally, the fillings are added and a layer of chocolate is added to the back of the candy to seal it in. We made some dipped chocolate candies as well, but I'll save those pictures for another day. No sense in making you drool more than you already are. One of the best parts of the process is decorating our creations. What we lacked in talent, we made up for in enthusiasm. Aren't they gorgeous? OK, I admit that Bart's pralines look maybe just a little bit prettier than ours, but in our defense, we're new at this stuff. He's been doing this for a few years. I'm sure I just need a couple of more classes... Maybe after I finish eating my chocolate...

Don't forget to say hi to Bart's puppy on your way out. He's sure to meet you at the gate with his bright blue ball, and would really appreciate you throwing it for him. And again. And again. And just one more time...