I've been to
Hoensbroek Castle several times, and each visit is a new adventure. This time, though, I went with a specific purpose in mind. They have sandcastles. I know it sounds crazy, but it's amazing. Between June 14 and October 31,
Kasteel Hoensbroek is home to the largest collection of sand sculptures in The Netherlands.
These aren't little kid sand castles, either. These sculptures are as detailed and intricate as statutes you would find in any museum. Maybe even better.
There was a great variety of artwork to see. They had everything from castles...to people...to etched drawings of medieval scenery.
This is a sculpture of
Valkenburg Castle. I wish I could talk to the sculpture to find out what story they were telling about the castle. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.
This was the scene of a great battle.
Next, we step into the kitchen of a great castle. This scene really made me laugh. This artist obviously had a great sense of humor. Jut look at the expressions of some of the people. The lady wringing the neck of the chicken in the front looked a little disgusted by the whole process.
And lets face it...Mr. Shifty Eyes was definitely
not looking at this lady's potatoes.
In a castle as big as this one, kneading bread is a constant job. You can practically hear this lady sighing.
Around the corner, we get to see the fruits of the cooks' labor in action. There is a great feast/party going on.
I couldn't tell if this fellow was giving out a hearty laugh, or just passed out from all of the alcohol that they were serving. Don't you just love the pig?
This is a replica of
Muiderslot, another castle in The Netherlands.
This is the
Paleis Het Loo, a Palace in The Netherlands
that has been turned into a National Museum.
Look at the detail on the tiny fountain in front of the Palace.
They even had a torture chamber.
Ahhhhh. My favorite castle
EVER...
Schloss Neuschwanstein. Did you know that this is the castle that they flew around in
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? The details on this one were
more than amazing!
This is another view of the battle scene that I showed earlier.
Finally, the event ends with a Grand Ball. Everyone is fawning over the Queen.
Everyone is dancing and having a wonderful time.
Well, maybe not everyone. Teenagers. Wait a minute...is that an
IPOD in her lap?
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!
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! 
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. 
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 
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! 
It wouldn't be the weekend without some kind of new adventure, so when we got a day with no prior commitments, we headed out to explore. With sunshine and blue skies for motivation, we headed to the Netherlands to see 
Another lunch at a castle? Is someone getting a little spoiled? Why, yes, I am. Let's face it, if someone said you could eat a delicious lunch on a cobble stone terrace beside a castle, would you turn it down? Didn't think so. 
A full kid is a happy kid. Especially when 
Every castle needs a princess.
This room is the Hoensbroek family dining room. There is another, more formal dining room in another section of the castle.
This portrait is on the ceiling of the dining room, and is of Venus, the goddess of love and fortune.
I think my favorite part of the castle is when we climbed up the medieval turret. It has a tiny, circular stairway, just about shoulder width. From the top, you have a fantastic view of the castle courtyard. If you are claustrophobic, you might want to give this climb a pass, but if not, it's very cool! If you head down another staircase, you end up in the dungeon. 
Apparently their bathrooms were pretty basic. This is medieval indoor plumbing.
Here a lovely map of the castle. If you can read Dutch, you can find your way around quite nicely. 
This is the castle school room. They have just about everything that you could need inside the castle walls, from a school to a chapel.