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?

Blauwe Bessen (Blueberries)

It's yet another fantastically beautiful day in Belgium, so Jess and I decided to spend the morning picking blueberries with friends. We went to the Blauwe Bessenplantage in Gruitrode, and had a great time. You can't miss it. Just look for the huge inflated blueberries waving you in! (That's how you know it's picking time.) This place is really big. There are row after row of blueberry bushes, just waiting to be picked.Don't they look amazing? They taste even better! We were out there about an hour and got a ton of them. Well, maybe not a ton, but we did pick a heck of a lot of berries! As we picked, we categorized them. We started out with enough for muffins, then worked our way up to a small pie. By the end, we had enough to make a large cobbler, a pie, and a few dozen muffins. I think we're set! My lovely assistant, Jess, braved the wilderness (spiders) and helped me out by picking the majority of them. She might have a new career going for her... It was a relaxing way to spend the morning. We paid for our blueberries in the little shop, and picked up a few other goodies as well. They have a great selection of blueberry products. They sell blueberry everything, in fact! You can try it in wine, champagne, jelly, beer, syrup, a blueberry/chocolate candy bar...the list goes on and on. For those who are not quite as adventurous and energetic as we are, you can purchase blueberries that are already picked (but they cost a lot more, as you are paying for that labor.) We waved a final good-bye to the giant berry and headed back to base. It was a berry good day. (Oh, come on. You knew that was coming. It was too good to resist.)

Royse Feesten in Gruitrode

This weekend was the annual Royse Feesten in Gruitrode. In the background is the Commandary. I'm told that it's not exactly a castle, but was a major stronghold in this area. This festival celebrates life here in the middle ages, and gives you a little glimpse into how they carried on in day to day activities. There were lots of demonstrations, and activities that you could take part in. Brandon's favorite part had to be the cannons. They fired off several different types, and let me tell you...they were LOUD! They even had one that had a lot of small barrels and one fuse, and was essentially a middle ages machine gun. The whole area was set up like a medieval town, and the people were all in character the entire time. There were tents where the women gathered and cooked over open fires. There were tents for the blacksmiths, seamstresses, dining halls, and many other things. People were in each area, demonstrating and displaying their crafts. In the back section were the tests for the knights. You could peek into them and see how they used to live. The tents were really well made, and the top braces could be used to hang things like weapons, or clothing that needed to be dried. Everything was set up inside the tents just as they were living in them hundreds of years ago. It was really fascinating. Everyone there was so friendly and was more than willing to answer any questions. Brandon got to try on a mail shirt, helmet and ax. (Some people refer to it as chain mail, but that is redundant, because mail is actually a series of little rings of chain woven together to make an armour material. So saying chain mail is actually saying chain chain.) It was really heavy, but they said that this is one of the lighter ones. Can you imagine how much weight these people had to lug around, just to stay alive? This gentleman was making molds and pouring melted silver into them. They appreciated what they had so much more back then, because it took so long to make each item. There was another section where you could try your hand at some activities from that time. We got to shoot crossbows, toss hatchets, and shoot longbows. (I'm not naming any names, but SOMEONE hit just a hair below the bulls eye with the cross bow on her first try. I'm just saying.) It was a lot of fun and a get way to spend a beautiful afternoon. If you find yourself in Gruitrode, Belgium this time next year, I would recommend you stop by and check it out for yourself. You will be happy you did. Where else can you learn so much about history hands on in one afternoon? Here's the official site for the festival if you want to read more about it. http://royse-feesten.be/