Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Dad and Wendy's visit
We had a great time with Dad and Wendy here for a two week visit earlier this month. It is so nice seeing people from home and sharing our new lives with them. We got to take them to all our favorite watering holes, bike trails, and city trips. Morgan of course had a great time with everyone and we were all sad to see them leave.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Ghent
The last night with Beth here we went to Ghent with my colleagues for a "sneukeltoer." This was an organized tour that combined a meal divided amongst three different restaurants with a walking tour of the city. It was fun to learn a little more about the places we were seeing without doing all the research on our own. We had an excellent tour guide and some tasty bites to eat along the way.
Ghent was a really cool city with a lot of character and was only an hour away. I'm not sure why we hadn't made it here yet, but we will certainly be back.
A statue in the center of the Friday Market where the tour began.
The graffiti tunnel where graffiti is allowed. The tunnel gets a new look every night (apparently it is still more fun to do at night when no one is looking). The better artwork can last several days before it gets covered again.
Morgan was quite the adventerous little eater this evening and especially liked the appetizers that were each served in its own little dish. She loved the crab and the soup the most, but also tried gobbled up prawns and tried rabbit. The rabbit was not such a hit.
Making sure the soup was not too hot!
Fun glasses made the water all the tastier.
The group enjoying our dinners in restaurant number two.
The belfry where all the towns important documents are kept.
Saint Nicholas Church
The sun does eventually set here in the summer so we will be back one evening with the tripod as many of the buildings are very nicely lit.
Ghent was a really cool city with a lot of character and was only an hour away. I'm not sure why we hadn't made it here yet, but we will certainly be back.
A statue in the center of the Friday Market where the tour began.
The graffiti tunnel where graffiti is allowed. The tunnel gets a new look every night (apparently it is still more fun to do at night when no one is looking). The better artwork can last several days before it gets covered again.
Morgan was quite the adventerous little eater this evening and especially liked the appetizers that were each served in its own little dish. She loved the crab and the soup the most, but also tried gobbled up prawns and tried rabbit. The rabbit was not such a hit.
Making sure the soup was not too hot!
Fun glasses made the water all the tastier.
The group enjoying our dinners in restaurant number two.
The belfry where all the towns important documents are kept.
Saint Nicholas Church
The sun does eventually set here in the summer so we will be back one evening with the tripod as many of the buildings are very nicely lit.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities we've visited so far so I thought it would be a good place for a day trip. We did a little searching and found a cool castle called Muiderslot and then went into the city for a canal boat tour. Last time we were here we just did a bit of walking and lunch before we visited the tulip gardens in the spring, but we thought the canal boat would be a great way to see all the sights in a short amount of time.
Muiderslot castle is just a little ways outside of Amsterdam. We had lots of fun exploring the castle. Morgan enjoyed exploring, climbing the stairs, and looking out all the windows.
The "murder hole." It was accompanied by a game you could play to drop rocks on incoming invaders. Slightly disturbing, but part of castle life.
the dungeon
Morgan and Beth on the jousting simulator.
I'm not usually a gift shop person, but couldn't help getting Morgan her first book in Dutch. It was a cute little kids book about the night who built the castle so I thought we could use it to practice our Dutch and learn a little history through children's stories. I'll let you know how that goes.
The canal boat ride in Amsterdam:
Morgan loved the boat ride and enjoyed snuggling with Beth and looking out the window.
I thought this boat summed up the canal system the best.
After a long day we were all pretty tuckered out. Morgan was asleep in about 10 seconds after a full day with no nap.
Muiderslot castle is just a little ways outside of Amsterdam. We had lots of fun exploring the castle. Morgan enjoyed exploring, climbing the stairs, and looking out all the windows.
The "murder hole." It was accompanied by a game you could play to drop rocks on incoming invaders. Slightly disturbing, but part of castle life.
the dungeon
Morgan and Beth on the jousting simulator.
I'm not usually a gift shop person, but couldn't help getting Morgan her first book in Dutch. It was a cute little kids book about the night who built the castle so I thought we could use it to practice our Dutch and learn a little history through children's stories. I'll let you know how that goes.
The canal boat ride in Amsterdam:
Morgan loved the boat ride and enjoyed snuggling with Beth and looking out the window.
I thought this boat summed up the canal system the best.
After a long day we were all pretty tuckered out. Morgan was asleep in about 10 seconds after a full day with no nap.
First Visitor in Europe
Its been awhile since our last update, and we have been quite busy. I was on a business trip to Philadelphia for a short week and then had a week off while Beth was here. A hectic sequence, but we made the best of it. My sister had been on a school trip through Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, and France visiting schools for a senior research project. Afterwards she came to Belgium for a week long visit. After all her traveling we decided to just stay put for the most part and did some local traveling.
We took her to see some of the local places in Turnhout and Beerse, the Westmalle brewery's cafe (they don't do tours), some shopping, a different beach that turned out to be really nice in the Netherlands, as well as some time in Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Gent. We had a great time visiting with Beth and were sad to have to say goodbye. Morgan was especially distraught this morning. When we told her Beth was on her way back home her eyes welled up and she burst into tears. Poor little girl didn't want any consolation.
We have always had bad luck with the weather in Antwerp, we almost got lucky this time. Monday was a holiday and most of the shops were closed so we thought it would be a good day to do some sightseeing. The forecast was a little iffy in the evening, but we wanted to have a little fun so we risked it. It started out as a beautiful day. We always get "turned around" walking the streets of Antwerp so we did our best and got to see some of the major sites on the way.
Before and after the storm clouds rolled in:)
We were on our way back to a restaurant near the car, but with the downpour we found the nearest place with an open table and ended up enjoying a tasty pizza instead.
We took her to see some of the local places in Turnhout and Beerse, the Westmalle brewery's cafe (they don't do tours), some shopping, a different beach that turned out to be really nice in the Netherlands, as well as some time in Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Gent. We had a great time visiting with Beth and were sad to have to say goodbye. Morgan was especially distraught this morning. When we told her Beth was on her way back home her eyes welled up and she burst into tears. Poor little girl didn't want any consolation.
We have always had bad luck with the weather in Antwerp, we almost got lucky this time. Monday was a holiday and most of the shops were closed so we thought it would be a good day to do some sightseeing. The forecast was a little iffy in the evening, but we wanted to have a little fun so we risked it. It started out as a beautiful day. We always get "turned around" walking the streets of Antwerp so we did our best and got to see some of the major sites on the way.
Before and after the storm clouds rolled in:)
We were on our way back to a restaurant near the car, but with the downpour we found the nearest place with an open table and ended up enjoying a tasty pizza instead.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Monschau, Germany
Now its time for the real adventuring to begin.
We have enjoyed nothing more here than being able to hop on our bikes and go to work, the train station, the grocery store, and just riding through the Belgian country side. But, we have finally started feeling trapped in our little town and have bought our new(ish) car. We were looking for something used and reliable and weren't sure what we could find and ended up with the perfect vehicle. Its a 2004 Renault Modus that is just roomy enough for our needs, gets great fuel economy, and fit the budget. We picked it out last weekend and Scott picked it up Thursday. So, this weekend we hit the road to the cutest little town in Germany...
Monschau is in western Germany right along the border of Belgium. It was about a 2 hour drive from our house and just like our visit to Amsterdam we were so amazed at the difference such a short drive in Europe will get you. Each little town has a totally different feel and charm. This place was definitely up there on the charm. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by a national park. In the city center they strongly discourage traffic so we parked on the outskirts and walked around the town. A small river runs through the center of town and fascinated the kids all day! Scott and I especially enjoyed the buildings some of which were a bit crooked. We had a nice lunch in a covered outdoor terrace, went for a hike to the top of a pretty lookout, and stopped for ice cream before heading home. The castle dates all the way back to the middle ages, but after our long hike we just admired it from a distance. This town as many others in Germany are known for their Christmas markets. We just might have to return in December.
We have enjoyed nothing more here than being able to hop on our bikes and go to work, the train station, the grocery store, and just riding through the Belgian country side. But, we have finally started feeling trapped in our little town and have bought our new(ish) car. We were looking for something used and reliable and weren't sure what we could find and ended up with the perfect vehicle. Its a 2004 Renault Modus that is just roomy enough for our needs, gets great fuel economy, and fit the budget. We picked it out last weekend and Scott picked it up Thursday. So, this weekend we hit the road to the cutest little town in Germany...
Monschau is in western Germany right along the border of Belgium. It was about a 2 hour drive from our house and just like our visit to Amsterdam we were so amazed at the difference such a short drive in Europe will get you. Each little town has a totally different feel and charm. This place was definitely up there on the charm. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by a national park. In the city center they strongly discourage traffic so we parked on the outskirts and walked around the town. A small river runs through the center of town and fascinated the kids all day! Scott and I especially enjoyed the buildings some of which were a bit crooked. We had a nice lunch in a covered outdoor terrace, went for a hike to the top of a pretty lookout, and stopped for ice cream before heading home. The castle dates all the way back to the middle ages, but after our long hike we just admired it from a distance. This town as many others in Germany are known for their Christmas markets. We just might have to return in December.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Rainbows and Bentleys
Double rainbows over our house this week:) Pictures didn't turn out so hot, but I haven't seen rainbows this pretty since summers in Minnesota.
I've been a bit of a slacker on the blog lately, but believe me, we've been having a great time. Last night we went "downtown" on our bikes to a little cafe with an outdoor "terrace" to have a light dinner and a drink. It was so nice and peaceful and just what I had in mind of Europe. Unfortunately Morgan was in more of a mood to take a walk, peek in store windows, just about anything, but sit in her chair and behave. Nonetheless it was a great spring evening in Beerse.
We have a three day weekend for the holiday so will be relaxing the rest of the weekend. Scott and I went to check out a few cars today to see what we might be interested in shortly. Fun little cars that are amazingly spacious inside! Then we went to (oh how I hate to admit this) McDonalds...Scott was craving a cheeseburger and I really wanted a cup with some ice (the only thing I really miss...okay, maybe I wanted a cheeseburger too) and Ikea for a few things for Morgan's Easter basket. Tomorrow we're going to dye some eggs and have a little hunt, but will be missing everyone back home...we'll be thinking of you.
On our drive today we saw three of these old Bentleys that Scott made me slow down and miss my exit to take a few pictures of through the windshield. The passengers were all dressed up in old helmets and everything. Pretty cool, I guess it was worth it.
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