Surprise For Stanley At Slegers-Heise

A couple of days ago, I mentioned that there was one more thing that Stanley was interested in seeing before he left Belgium. He'd heard a lot about antiques, and was curious to go and see the place that I've been raving about...Slegers-Heise. He wasn't overly excited about what he might see, mind you. He just wanted to know what all the talk was about. After all, as Russ would say, it's used furniture, right? Not so, little man, not so. I have a special surprise for Stanley, inside the magical world that is the antique warehouse. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It would appear to be just another big warehouse, but in reality, entering this building is like being allowed to peek into your rich (and somewhat eccentric) old aunt's attic. There is no telling what you will find! Ahhhhhh. Lots and lots of glorious antiques! They aren't all about overpriced merchandise and snobby attitudes in here. Everyone is welcome, and anyone can afford something inside. (Granted, the furniture is pretty expensive, but fairly priced). I tend to buy the inexpensive, but interesting, items that are found on the second floor. This is where I bought my scale, Speculoos cookie molds, and bread rack.) Things are literally stacked everywhere. You can meander around, poking in and out of aisles, searching for hidden treasures all day if you like. The owners are very kind, and are quick to offer you a cup of coffee and answer any questions that you might have. If you ask for a specific item, they will take you right to it, but I prefer to just wander around. Now do you see why this place is so much fun to explore? You probably also see why the hubby tries to avoid it completely.

Tucked into one of the corners, slightly hidden behind random pieces of furniture, lies the surprise I had in mind for Stanley. Remember when I said that there's no telling what you'll find in this place? Well, I wasn't joking. This lovely carousel has been in here since I first started coming to Slegers. I can't imagine why someone hasn't snapped it up by now!

Stanley wanted to get a closer look at it, so he went over to check it out. Yep, he wanted to buy it. They do ship furniture, but unfortunately, they couldn't ship this back to Florida for him.

It was a little out of his price range, too, so Stanley just had to sit there and day dream about it instead. He sat in the fire engine and pretended to race around, while my friends and I continued on with our browsing. I didn't make any purchases today, but I have my eye on a few goodies for later on.

Note to hubby: If you happen to read this, these doors are really awesome. Wouldn't they look fantastic in our retirement house, leading into your "Man Room/Office"? They deliver. I'm just saying.

My Kind Of Monday

I think I might have hurt Stanley's feelings just a little bit. I asked him if he was ready to go home, and he sadly told me that there were still a few things that he'd like to experience in Belgium. I insisted that I was not trying to get rid of him. I just thought he might be a little home sick for his friends in Crestview, Florida. While he does miss them terribly, he said he couldn't leave this country without trying a couple of things that it's famous for. Never let it be said that I sent poor Stanley home disappointed. Today, I took him out to lunch with friends, so he could try some of the local food. No, I didn't let him drink my cappuccino. He did keep eyeing my little heart shaped waffle that came with it, though. Erika had to hold him back from grabbing it right off my plate! After a little discussion about good manners, we ordered lunch. It turns out that Stanley had been looking forward to eating one of our famous Belgian waffles. They aren't like the kind of waffles that are served in the US. They are very light and fluffy, and have a vanilla taste to them. As an added treat, they had fresh pineapples and whipped cream on top of them. You can get lots of great things on top of your waffles here. One of the most popular toppings is chocolate sauce! Stanley had the nice lady at the cafe add vanilla ice cream to his waffle. Just ignore that healthy salad in the background. Today was all about experiencing the treats that Belgium has to offer. (This might explain the lack of weight loss we've been experiencing at the gym lately, though. This also might not have been what that health magazine was talking about when they said to eat more fruit.) After we left the cafe, we drove over to Peer so that Stanley could visit Leonidas Chocolate Shop. He asked me to take his picture with this giant chocolate egg. He said he had never seen one this big before! It was big enough for Stanley to sleep in! After our lunch, we decided that we had eaten enough sweets for today, so we picked up a small bag of chocolate eggs for Stanley to try at another time, and headed on back home. Stanley can check two more things off of his list of things to see and do in Belgium. He mentioned one more thing that he'd like to see, so I'm going to do my best to take him there later this week. Hopefully it will work out. The place I am planning on taking him has a very special surprise inside. I have a feeling Stanley is going to be one very happy little boy when he sees it...

Stanley Is Still Busy

I wouldn't want you to think that Stanley has just been sitting around, relaxing on his European vacation. This is not the case. In fact, he's been so busy that we haven't had time to sit down and blog about it. Today, I'll try to catch you up on his activities. On Saturday, Stanley went with us to Spangdahlem AB, Germany. Russ and I had to go there for an awards dinner, so we decided to spend the night and get a little shopping in as well. Spang is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from our home, and the trip takes us from Belgium, through The Netherlands, and then on to Germany. (Stanley is becoming quite the international traveler!) Stanley loved seeing all of the wind generators along the way. They are also called wind turbines, and are used to generate electricity from the kinetic energy of the wind. They are very popular here, probably because this region is VERY windy! The snow has melted and everything is starting to turn green again. Stanley was also excited about taking his first trip on the Autobahn in Germany. In the distance, you can see Spangdahlem AB, Germany. We had a great time there, looking around the Bx and attending the Awards dinner. Sorry, but I didn't take any pictures there. You'll be happy to know, though, that our base won several awards, and we were very proud! On Sunday morning, we got back on the road and headed back home to Belgium. There are lots of lovely towns that we go by, and this is one of them. On Monday afternoon, Stanley and I were invited to go with Brandon's school on a field trip to Geilenkirchen AB, The Netherlands, to see the USAFE Band perform. It's about an hours drive from Kleine Brogel, so we boarded a very nice bus at the school and took off. They were great. Everyone had so much fun singing along and dancing to the music. They played Our Song, Party in the USA, and a whole lot of other songs that the kids loved. Stanley even got to meet one of the singers in the Band. He's having so much fun in Europe! When the concert was over, Stanley and the other kids from Kleine Brogel went out to play for a few minutes on the GK school playground. Then we all got back on the bus and headed back to Belgium.

Stanley was exhausted, so he took a little nap on the bus ride home. (Sorry about the picture being sideways, but sometimes Blogger has a mind of it's own, and you just can't reason with it! This picture refused to load up the normal way!)

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!