Day 8: Belgium to Frankfurt to Johannesburg

Day 8: A travel day for us. Fortunately it was through beautiful country.  We finished packing in the morning then met all the Astlings for a breakfast off of the coast of Belgium, near the English Channel.

Before we left the apartment, we took a few pictures to help us remember.  This is the view from apartment.

The living room area and all of our baggage (physical and some emotional).

Mark snapped a few pictures of the coast line in Oostende, Belgium.

Priscilla, Stephen, David and Lieve stayed in these apartment complexes, right off the beach! We had breakfast at a nearby cafe.  The owner was a little overwhelmed with a party of nine, but came through for us with waffles for the kids and a variety of eggs and meats for the adults.

On our way out of Belgium, we tried to stop by a card shop, for two reasons:  1) Of all the possible souveniers available, Spencer said he really wanted foreign Magic the Gathering cards, and 2) He lost his English Magic the Gathering cards on the train to Paris (the lost luggage attendant was not helpful when we asked about them, claiming that he didn't know what a "lost and found" was).  So we made a valiant effort to find a card shop, but alas, we were not able to.

20 minutes into our drive to Frankfurt, Mark snapped his head toward me and said, "I forgot the camera!"  This is the brand-new camera he bought especially for this trip, since our last one was, of course, out-dated. And then came the kicker: "And I think I left my Utah hat!" Mark was sure he left it at the cafe, so with a pit in our stomachs, we discussed what to do and determined we would just have to return to get the camera and forgo the little sight-seeing we were planning. But before we turned around, Mark asked Spencer to check in the trunk for his back pack.  Spencer reported that the back pack was indeed there with the camera inside.  We had to do some deep-breathing to get our heart beats back to normal and just face the fact that some lucky person will get to own the Utah hat.

We drove toward Cologne then headed south to drive along the Rhine River on the West side of Germany.  We were not disappointed with our choice.  In fact, we wished we could spend a little more time there.  It was a beautiful day, with no rain, and we were treated to the sight of many castles along the Rhine.  If we were to do it again, we would plan time to take a cruise on the Rhine river to listen to information about the castles and see more than we saw on our drive.

This castle was turned into a hotel, what a fun stay that would be!

We decided to stop in a town called Oberwesel, Germany to hike along the city wall built in 1200.

Looking Northward by the Rhine River.

On the hill above Oberwesel is the Schonberg castle, which was built in 911, but burned down in 1689.  It was rebuilt in the 19th century and is now a restaurant and hotel.

 

One of the streets of Oberwesel. 

This would be a fun backyard for boys to play in!

Is this not the cutest little house?

This is the Church of St. Martin's Parish Church which was undergoing renovations, where DJ was grateful to find an unlocked port-a-potty, "with a clean seat." The potty saga continues.

This renovation has a special message of religious freedom.

This is an actual drawbridge on the town wall!

Along the banks and hills of the Rhine river there were not only many castles, but many vineyards, that struck the fancy of those who like symmetry (us).

After seeing this last castle we made our way to the Frankfurt airport to return our white Volkswagon wagon, and get there in time to board our gigantic plane to Johannesburg.

How wonderful it was to educate ourselves and the boys about different parts of the world and the history behind it all.  We left with a greater appreciation of all people and places and the part they all play in the history of human kind and as well as in our present.

Day 7: Brugge, Belgium

Day 7 was a dreamy day.  We spent most of the day in Brugge, Belgium which was a most picturesque city.  Lieve recommended we take the train from Oostende to Brugge, which was a great idea because it was a quick trip, compared to a drive in the car.  I'm sure Mark was relieved to have a day not to drive.  I drove some of the time while we had the car, but it just works better when I am the backseat driver and he is the driver.

Brugge is known as the Venice of the North because there are so many canals throughout the city, at least the part we were in. I think it would be relaxing to live in there just because of all the water.

The boys went from one Uncle (in Paris) to the other Uncle for Brugge.  Both Uncles are superb at Uncle-ing.

I loved learning from Lieve during this day.  Being from 'Merica, I have really only learned history from an American point of view.  While I could go check out many books about WWI and WWII and other European events, I haven't done as much reading as I could about the area, so it was nice to have an expert as our personal guide.  We learned that this tower was used to store artillery and ammo.

A very intriguing and peaceful place we wandered into was a Beguinage, which is a group of semi-monastic woman, comprising of a church and white apartments around the church. While we were in the beautiful church, two of the Beguines entered to ring the bell.  We had to be very quiet walking through the Beguinage in respect for the Benguines.

We went to The Church of our Lady which exhibited many beautiful and amazing pieces of art, artistry and craftsmanship. The woodwork was so detailed and beautiful.

This was one of my favorite paintings in the church.  Mary's face is so solemn but expressive in remembering the phases in the life of her son, shown around her.

This incredible sculpture, Madonna and Child, is the only sculpture by Michelangelo that left Italy while in his lifetime.  For security reasons, it was behind glass and we could only view it from 12 or so feet away, but I wish I could get closer to see the detail.  But even from 12 feet away, the emotion that Michelangelo put into the sculpture was evident.

While walking in the nave, we noticed statues of men with different tools all around and discovered there were 12 - the 12 apostles.

The church was under construction, which didn't bother me until I noticed in the middle of the church was a free standing organ.  Usually the organ is up against a wall to support the pipes, but this one was right in the middle.  You can barely see it in this picture, but right behind the scaffolding are the pipes, the keyboard on what would be a 2nd floor and beautiful artwork and carving around it, from what I could see.

This is quirky of me, but I just loved all the heavy wooden doors in the old buildings we went to.

When we walked out of the church, a man was playing songs on this organ type thing on wheels.  Actually, it was like a music box that people like this lady could come and turn the barrel to make it's notches produce music.  I tried to get James to go turn the barrel, but he was too shy.

We had a delicious lunch right across from the church.

I had my first ever pot of mussels. It was delicious! Unforgettable!

Hamburger dude.

If you notice, Lieve has a boot on one foot because she broke her foot 4-5 weeks before the wedding.  She gets the endurance award for walking around all of Brugge with us!

It rained of course, as it did everyday we were in Europe, but for five minutes the rain really came down hard.  Some of us took cover under a sidewalk cafe, some under trees until the rain stopped just enough to take a picture in the spot Lieve said was the most photographed spot of all Brugge.

One of the most popular sites in Bruge is the bell tower which was built in the 13th century.  The bells were used as warnings, timing and an observation post.  There is also a room in the tower that served as a treasury and archive.  We hiked a 366 steep spiral staircase to get near the top and were rewarded with views like the one above and below.

The Church of our Lady from the bell tower.

The bells were not rung with clappers, but with hammers on the outside.  As we ascended the stairs there was a little room that held a barrel with notches like a music box that directed the bell music.

The bell tower from the courtyard outside and a couple of ding-dongs.

Our next visit in the city was the Town Hall.

While the boys waited for me to get tickets, they massaged their legs, apparently in synchronization.

The town hall was so ornate and it seemed so glamorous as it had gold all around.

There were painted panels all around the room that told the history of Belgium. The panels were painted by two brothers, one who started the paintings and after he died, his brother took over.

Next door to the City Hall was a courtroom and archive.  We were cutting it close to closing time, but the lady at the desk was merciful enough to let us have 10 minutes in the room after closing. The picture above is a huge wood carving made for Charles V. It. Was. Amazing.

While the boys wanted ice cream, I just had to have a Belgium waffle.  With chocolate and whipped cream on top and sugar crystals in the gooey batter, I had to up my insulin, but it was worth it!

Finally someone else is making James look goofy in a picture instead of the other way around!

Now it's the other way around.

Our last journey before closing time was a boat ride on the canals. We loved seeing the buildings close to the water, the swans and duck, the bridges and hanging trees and greenery.

This home, built in 1679 was available for a mere 14 million euros.

While we were waiting for a dinner appointment with Lieve's parents, we walked toward the windmills on the outskirts of the old city.  This structure is a medieval gateway to the city.

We found out that this windmill was not a working one, but the one next to it is still in use and was fenced off.

Our day ended with a delightful and delicious pasta dinner (I was the black sheep of the group ordering a yummy penne dish while everyone else ordered a pot of spaghetti) and Elsy knew exactly where to take us for dessert - a delectable ice cream shoppe.  At around 10 pm, we rushed to get back to the train station to catch out train to Oostende.  When we returned to our car in the parking lot at the train station, it took 30 minutes of Mark going in and out of the train station to find someone for help and finally a phone call to Rob, Lieve's dad, to rescue us, from yet again, another euro/credit card issue.  Many thanks to Lieve's family for helping us!  Perhaps if we are ever in Belgium again, we will use the most popular transportation: bikes.