Trams, Trains and Fun on Public Transportation...

On Friday, after dropping PS off at school, DS and I decided spur-of-the-moment to attempt our first time at public transportation. We hopped on the Tervuren tram to Montgomery Station where I decided to take DS to the Parc du Cinquantenaire located in Brussels. After a quick phone call to one of Ray's colleagues at work, I found out that it was walking distance from Montgomery Station. The walk was a little long for DS, but my little trooper made it with flying colors.

This park was created in 1880 to celebrate the golden jubilee of the kingdom of Belgium and is home to the Musee du Cinquantenaire (art-history museum), Musee Royal de l'Armee et d'Histoire Militaire (military museum) and Autoworld. I didn't think DS would be too interested in any, so I decided to take her up to the top of the Arc du Cinquantenaire. The elevator to the top was accessible through the military museum, but instead of taking the elevator, I thought it would be more fun to climb the stairs. So, my little trooper and I trekked our way up a winding staircase to the top, which led to a birds-eye view of the city.

Rather than walking back to Montgomery Station, we decided to hop on the Metro (subway). After a few mistakes, including hopping on the wrong train, we finally made it back to Montgomery. DS and I treated ourselves to warm waffles which we enjoyed on the tram ride back to Tervuren. This spur-of-the-moment adventure turned out to be a lot of fun!

Are we in Paris or in Brussels??

This past Tuesday, DS and I (Jo) went to Mini-Europe - a park with 350 models and sights of the countries of the European Union - located at an entertainment complex called Bruparck in Brussels. At first, when I heard of this park, I thought "no way" do I want to go there. But, after thinking about it, I felt it would be a good learning experience for DS and a good way for me to check out what countries I'd like to see while we are here. Although there were interactive displays for the children to play with, it wasn't enough to wow DS. But a jaunt in the playground afterwards made her day.

This was not our first trip to Bruparck. We visited the complex in March when we took GP to the Atomium which is located right next door. In addition to Mini-Europe, Bruparck has a very large cinema complex, Oceade water park, playground, carousel, and many cool restaurants, cafes and bars to hang out at. In March, we had lunch at Chez Leon, a restaurant famous for Belgium mussels. GP's verdict was that the mussels (cooked in a celery-herb broth) were very good. The girls thought their spaghetti bolognese was not bad, either!

Saxophones and Cable Cars...

You probably didn't know this, but Belgium is noted as the birthplace of the inventor of the saxophone! Adolphe Sax, born in Dinant, Belgium, created his namesake musical instrument back in 1846.

We discovered this bit of trivia when visiting Dinant last Saturday. Dinant is more famous for the Citadel, an old fortress located on a high cliff, with panoramic views of the country side (you can see the fort at the top of the hill). As a valuable strategic location, Dinant has seen its fair share of battles, from the 11th century on up through World War II. In fact, a young Charles de Gaulle fought and was wounded there.



The church at the base of the hill is the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame, with its "Onion" Dome...



You can either take the cable car up to the 350 foot peak, or climb the 408 vertical steps to the summit. Jo wanted to take the stairs, but the girls and I vetoed that idea and we took the cable car.



It is said that in 1466, Philip the Good punished 800 villagers by tying them together in two's and tossing them over the bridge shown here and into the river. As they were bobbing in the river, they were probably wondering who the heck actually gave him his title?

After our pita wrap lunch, we tried to visit the caves at La Mervilleuse, but missed the tour by a few minutes. So instead, we will just have to come back and visit Adolphe's old stomping grounds on another day.

RS

A "field-trip" with DS

Since DS is not enrolled in school until September, I've been taking her on excursions on some of the days PS is at school. So, off to Villers-la-Ville we went to check out the ruins of the Cistercian Villers Abbaye. In short, the abbey origined in 1146 when one abbot, twelve monks and five lay brothers made the journey to Villers by invitation of the Lord of Marbais to build the abbey founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The abbey was moved to its current location a few months later, then completely rebuilt by the end of the 13th century.

Today, all that is left of the ruins are a few sections of the earliest buildings and the abbey church's pointed arches. Armed with our guide maps, we did a self-guided tour and explored most of the 31 noted areas of the ruins. I was happy at D's response of "this is so cool!" She was right, the ruins were pretty amazing. I can only imagine how impressive the abbey was during its heyday. Hopefully, D will get something out of all of our adventures...

A day at the beach...

Ray and I decided to take a drive out to the coast of Belgium, so on Saturday, April 12, we headed out on a 1-1/2 hour drive (which took only 1 hour w/Ray behind the wheel) to savvy Knokke-Heist. Close to the Netherlands border, this beach town is known for its high end shops, members-only casino (shucks), and beautiful villas owned by affluent Belgians.

Our first stop was lunch at Marie Siska's. I read on an on-line post that this was a good restaurant to take the kids, and when we arrived, we found out why. Our first impression of this inn/restaurant was that it looked like a very nice place and "are you sure this is a kid-friendly restaurant?" As we pulled into the parking lot, we then saw the huge playground in the back. Most playgrounds in Europe are a child's paradise and different from those in the U.S., and this was no exception. If you look at the corresponding slide show, you will see what I mean. It is just very surprising to see this at a restaurant. In addition, the restaurant boasts an inside play area as well. All this and a somewhat elegant atmosphere! And to top it off, the food was delish! Although it was expensive, the whole family enjoyed their meals and the kids had an incredible time. After our lunch, we all spent time playing in the playground.

After coaxing the girls out of Marie Siska's, we drove out to the beach. It was not perfect beach weather since it was drizzling off and on. Still, the boardwalk was busy with couples young and old taking a stroll, families on "bike-cars" and kids on rented "trikes" scurrying about. It was off-season, so the beach itself was pretty empty. It's a far-cry from the usually crowded summers here. We stopped to help the girls collect some unusual shells. Then, while PS wasn't looking, DS and mommy sneaked in some ice-cream (Ben and Jerry's!) and a waffle.

The Bluebells of Hallerbos

For about 2 to 3 weeks every year, the forest of Hallerbos (Halle, Belgium) is hit with an explosion of color as millions of wild hyacinths or wild bluebells coat the ground with a beautiful carpet of purplish-blue.

So, a few weeks ago (after hearing that the blooms had already started), the girls and I (Jo) set off on a quest to check it out. After we drove over an hour trying to find this place (difficult to find if you do not have detailed directions on how to get there), we finally found Hallerbos just as I was about to give up and go home.

We did see the bluebells, but must not have caught it at its peak because it was not nearly as spectacular as all the articles and pictures portrayed it to be. Even so, I'm glad we went to experience it. The walk through the forest was actually quite nice and the girls as you can see had a blast.

High-Tailing it in Germany

When I think of Germany, I think of Sausages, Beer and the Autobahn. (but not necessarily in that order). So when Lexus Europe asked me to visit Germany, I (literally) jumped at the chance...

The German city of Cologne is less than 2 hours driving time from Brussels. I figured even less, behind the wheel of a Lexus GS hybrid, that I borrowed specially for this trip. What better way to introduce myself to the no speed limit world of German highways in a new Lexus hybrid? Fast AND environmentally friendly!!!

Once we crossed the German border, I floored it to 230 KPH (approx 145 mph). That's when one of the Japan staffers with me mentioned that he didn't think the Autobahn started until we were further into Germany! What a party pooper...

The first evening, our German host took us to dinner to Muhlen Kolsch, a restaurant/brewery. Kolsch is a style of beer that is only made within Cologne and this restaurant is the only place you can get Muhlen on tap. Everyplace else gets it in bottles (but to tell you the truth, I had never even heard of this beer before...)

Traditional German food is a meat and potato eater's paradise. Steaks, sausages, bratwurst, ham shanks, spare ribs, wienerschnitzel - it was all there. Plus, every kind of potato and sauerkraut you can think of was ordered. Oh, and did I mention they had all you can drink Muhlen beer? The waiter kept on bringing refills until we begged him to stop. I honestly lost count how many we had...



After dinner, a walk in the surrounding area is a must. The restaurant is adjacent to a nice shopping and entertainment plaza that overlooked the Rhine River.



Next to the shopping plaza was Cologne Cathedral, the most famous landmark in Cologne.

Construction began in 1248 and was completed over 600 years later in 1880. (probably the same crew that built H3 in Hawaii).

In WWII, it was the only building left standing in Cologne, after the allied bombing attacks. Say what you will, but for this building to survive, there must have been some divine intervention.

Anyways, I look forward to more visits to Germany, with Jo and the girls. As soon as I find out exactly where the autobahn starts....

A visit to Waterloo

Determined to show my dad more of the sights here in Belgium, I dragged him along to the town of Waterloo. Just a 15-minute drive from Tervuren, we arrived at Butte De Lion, a monument built in 1826 by the Dutch and located on the actual sight of the famous battlegrounds. Since I needed some refresher history lessons, my dad and I sat through two excellent films depicting the Battle of Waterloo. I know it sounds boring, but surprisingly, it was very interesting! For those of you who may not remember the details, Waterloo was the battlefield where Napoleon was defeated on June 18, 1815 by the united forces of Britain, Holland, Hanover and Prussia. This battle sadly carried great loss -- by the end of the day, more than 45,000 soldiers were killed or wounded. We learned that the dead were buried in ditches of the actual battlegrounds.

After watching the films, we proceeded to ascend Butte De Lion (226 steps to the top) for a view of the battlefields. This monument was built to commemorate the piece of land where the dutch general William of Orange was wounded. The peak rises to a height of 147 feet and is surmounted by a 28 ton iron-cast lion.

Dad's new knee seemed to be in tip-top shape as he climbed to the top without any problems. My legs were sore for a few days -- either because I am out of shape or because I literally ran most of the way up trying to escape the swarms of gnats on the mound. In fact, coming down, I made it down in record pace with no hands! One hand was holding my scarf over my face and the other trying to shoo the gnats away. I bet not many people have come down that fast w/out holding onto the rail. Did I mention how much I hate bugs?!

Also included in our tickets were a visit to the Panorama de la Bataille -- a 360-degree panorama of the battle and the Musee des Cires (waxworks museum). The museum was neat because it contained authentic memorabilia from the actual battle. It even displayed skulls unearthed from the foot of the museum of actual soldiers killed at Waterloo. In addition, the museum told the story of the days leading up to that fateful day.

After more reading, I found that there are a few more sights that I'd like to see in this town, so I'll have to make a note to stop here again. I must say that to actually see and be in the spot where this significant battle took place was really an amazing experience.

Brewery Cantillon - Home of Lambic (sour) Beer

I decided that I could not let my dad leave Belgium without going to a brewery, so, I chose to take him to Cantillon Brewery. The reason why I chose this particular brewery was because this is the last traditional brewery in Brussels. A family-run business, founder Paul Cantillon started his brewery in 1900. To this day, his grandson-in-law and great grandchildren are now running the business. Cantillon brews the Gueze, Kriek, Rose de Gambrinus, Vigneronne, Saint-Lamvinus, Fou foune beers, and Lou Pepe beers.

After a detailed explanation of the history of the beer, we browsed the brewery on a self-guided tour. It was really neat to see that they were still using the traditional brewing machines of years past. Consisting of several levels, the tour took us through 8 different rooms involved in the brewing process. At the end of our tour, we stopped at the "bar" for our 2 included tastings. The first beer we drank was Gueuze. The beer was sour because there is no sugar added. I'm not a beer drinker, therefore not the best critic in judging beer, however, after the 2nd and 3rd sip, it was not bad. The 2nd beer my dad tried was Kriek (cherry beer), and I tried Rose de Gambrinus (rasberry beer). Both were pretty good and I would describe it as a cross between a beer and a wine... My only dissapointment was to learn that the brewing season at Cantillon ended on March 20. If you were to stop by during the brewing season, you'd be able to see a lot more action going on in the brewing process. Even still, it was a great stop.

We then headed for downtown Brussels to have lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. This restaurnt was featured on Rachel Ray's $40 a day and also one of the restaurants mentioned in several guide books. Le Pain Quotidien is a chain of restaurants/bakeries which originated in Belgium (now expanded to several European cities along w/the good ol' USA) with a very casual atmosphere. The food was delish! I had a cafe-au-lait (it was yummy, Lori)! and an eggplant/tomato/cheese sandwich. Dad had a hot cocoa with a smoked chicken/zucchini/tomato sandwich followed by Tiramisu. The sandwiches were served open-faced on a thin slice of fresh bread along side a small bed of greens. Great service (we had a really nice waiter) and again, good food... Bon-Appetit!

After lunch, we took a short stroll to Saint Catherine's Cathedral and took our pictures inside and out. Exiting the Cathedral, we couldn't help but notice the crowd of people at this stand (Noordzee, Mer Du Nord) at Place St. Catherine's. Of course we had to go check it out and discovered it was a seafood stand. People would stand and eat at the counter, most with a glass of wine, while the chefs prepared their meals or snacks right there in front of them. It looked really good! Too bad we were already full from lunch.

Our next stop was the Palais Royal. The palace is only open to the public from July thru September, however we found out the BELvue museum connected to the Palace was open. So, we went to check it out. This museum was interesting because it was devoted to the complete history of Belgium. Double bonus was that underneath the museum was the archaeological site of the old palace of Brussels. We could have used more time here, but this turned out to be a nice spur-of-the-moment stop.

We ended our sightseeing for the day to pick up the girls and to save some sightseeing for Ray!