Day 6, The Grand Tour!
Day 6 was on a Saturday, and I had been looking forward to it very much. For this was the day that Cindy and Gerry were to take Stephanie, Praveen, and yours truly on a tour of Northern Belgium.
Once loaded in his car, we headed down the highway past lush fields. It was a comfortable view for a guy from Northern Ohio. Only the occasional giant windmill turbines gave away that we weren't driving on a midwest highway.
So we headed to Ostend on the North Sea. And we arrived at Middelkerke. Oops, we should have exited onto the A10 instead of continuing on the E40.
A fruit stand in Middlekerke.
It would have been easy to give Cindy a little grief for missing the turn... so we did!
Middlekerk is a fine place to walk along the beach. It's not often that you get to experience a new sea, so it was a welcome sight! Here we are walking along the North Coast.
They say that if you walk far enough, you'll end up in Florida. I was skeptical at first. But things started to get weird.
Thoughts of Florida quickly dissipated when we came across the Red Rider, one of many fictional characters immortalized in bronze along the sea wall.
We soon realized that Cindy had cunningly steered us to Middelkerke so that we could visit her Uncle's Frites Shop, FrietExpress, one block away from where we were standing. It was just before 11:00 on a Saturday, and he was about to open. She introduced us, and he let us come in anyway! Most Belgian fries stands are walk-up service only, but his has a nice dining area.
With your fries, you can get a huge array of dipping sauces. The hot pepper sauce is amazing! They also have a large selection of sandwiches and meals. I tried Stoofvlees (beef stew).
Am I really drinking Belgian beer at 11am?
This next picture shows something I saw all over the place. Homes will have a modest yard, but it will be immaculately cared for. Very beautiful and welcoming.
With our bellies full, and our hair tussled by the ocean breeze, we piled back into the car and headed for Brugge (which we found, no problem!). :) Here is a performer in the entrance of an old castle, playing a didgeridoo and a bowl shaped percussion instrument in his lap. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find the name of this very mellow sounding instrument.
The Belfry
City Hall
Some guys playing Bocce in the park. While I was taking this picture, a car full of scouts drove behind me.
We stopped to enjoy a beverage.
Unfortunately it started raining. I was sitting right under the edge of an umbrella, so even after the rain stopped, I was still getting dripped on.
Je voudrais un oeuf.
"cat" fish
Once we found our car, we headed down the road to Gent. Cindy and Gerry both went to school in Gent, so they knew lots of great places. Like Brugge, Gent is a beautiful town with lots of canals.
And you know, for the life of me, I can't remember what this building is, but the picture turned out great, so I'm sharing it with you!
We went into the cathedral, which was amazing in it's beauty and antiquity. You can see that it also made us very happy.
There is a great custom in Belgium for bachelors who are about to be married. Their friends take them around the city, making them do rediculous things for money. Here is a soon-to-be groom who is trying to get this girl to pay him for his serenade.
Wandering Europe can also serve as a mirror of our own culture. Just as we often name places with foreign sounding names to give them an air of sophistication, so too Europeans will name things with American sounding names. But to an American, instead of sounding Chic, it sounds rather pedestrian.
As I mentioned, our tour guides were very well acquainted with the area. So when it came time for dinner, we ate at a restaurant that is a local favorite, De Kastart. Their specialty is spaghetti. They serve many varieties, but there's only one that you need to know, Spaghetti Kastart. It was incredibly delicious, and I'm salivating just typing these words. Unfortunately their recipe is one of a kind, and secret.
After dinner, we headed down steps, along a canal, through the rain, down an alley, and through a tiny little door. In other words, unless you were a local, you would never find it. Inside is a very comfy bar, completely packed with people, where they serve a spirit called genever. They had about a hundred flavors you could pick from, and each shot glass was only a few euro. A few rounds, a ton of laughs.
It was very tasty, my first one was tiramisu flavoured.
Praveen, thinking these were shots that you down in one gulp, promptly did so after our toast. The guys at the next table saw him do this, and thought that was exceedingly funny, so they gave him one of their shots to try. It was pepper flavored, and those that tried it winced in pain (I passed on the opportunity).
Sorry for the long post. It was such a wonderful adventure, and to have such great tour guides and company made it tremendously fun!
Once loaded in his car, we headed down the highway past lush fields. It was a comfortable view for a guy from Northern Ohio. Only the occasional giant windmill turbines gave away that we weren't driving on a midwest highway.
So we headed to Ostend on the North Sea. And we arrived at Middelkerke. Oops, we should have exited onto the A10 instead of continuing on the E40.
A fruit stand in Middlekerke.
It would have been easy to give Cindy a little grief for missing the turn... so we did!
Middlekerk is a fine place to walk along the beach. It's not often that you get to experience a new sea, so it was a welcome sight! Here we are walking along the North Coast.
They say that if you walk far enough, you'll end up in Florida. I was skeptical at first. But things started to get weird.
Thoughts of Florida quickly dissipated when we came across the Red Rider, one of many fictional characters immortalized in bronze along the sea wall.
We soon realized that Cindy had cunningly steered us to Middelkerke so that we could visit her Uncle's Frites Shop, FrietExpress, one block away from where we were standing. It was just before 11:00 on a Saturday, and he was about to open. She introduced us, and he let us come in anyway! Most Belgian fries stands are walk-up service only, but his has a nice dining area.
With your fries, you can get a huge array of dipping sauces. The hot pepper sauce is amazing! They also have a large selection of sandwiches and meals. I tried Stoofvlees (beef stew).
Am I really drinking Belgian beer at 11am?
This next picture shows something I saw all over the place. Homes will have a modest yard, but it will be immaculately cared for. Very beautiful and welcoming.
With our bellies full, and our hair tussled by the ocean breeze, we piled back into the car and headed for Brugge (which we found, no problem!). :) Here is a performer in the entrance of an old castle, playing a didgeridoo and a bowl shaped percussion instrument in his lap. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find the name of this very mellow sounding instrument.
The Belfry
City Hall
Some guys playing Bocce in the park. While I was taking this picture, a car full of scouts drove behind me.
We stopped to enjoy a beverage.
Unfortunately it started raining. I was sitting right under the edge of an umbrella, so even after the rain stopped, I was still getting dripped on.
Je voudrais un oeuf.
"cat" fish
Once we found our car, we headed down the road to Gent. Cindy and Gerry both went to school in Gent, so they knew lots of great places. Like Brugge, Gent is a beautiful town with lots of canals.
And you know, for the life of me, I can't remember what this building is, but the picture turned out great, so I'm sharing it with you!
We went into the cathedral, which was amazing in it's beauty and antiquity. You can see that it also made us very happy.
There is a great custom in Belgium for bachelors who are about to be married. Their friends take them around the city, making them do rediculous things for money. Here is a soon-to-be groom who is trying to get this girl to pay him for his serenade.
Wandering Europe can also serve as a mirror of our own culture. Just as we often name places with foreign sounding names to give them an air of sophistication, so too Europeans will name things with American sounding names. But to an American, instead of sounding Chic, it sounds rather pedestrian.
As I mentioned, our tour guides were very well acquainted with the area. So when it came time for dinner, we ate at a restaurant that is a local favorite, De Kastart. Their specialty is spaghetti. They serve many varieties, but there's only one that you need to know, Spaghetti Kastart. It was incredibly delicious, and I'm salivating just typing these words. Unfortunately their recipe is one of a kind, and secret.
After dinner, we headed down steps, along a canal, through the rain, down an alley, and through a tiny little door. In other words, unless you were a local, you would never find it. Inside is a very comfy bar, completely packed with people, where they serve a spirit called genever. They had about a hundred flavors you could pick from, and each shot glass was only a few euro. A few rounds, a ton of laughs.
It was very tasty, my first one was tiramisu flavoured.
Praveen, thinking these were shots that you down in one gulp, promptly did so after our toast. The guys at the next table saw him do this, and thought that was exceedingly funny, so they gave him one of their shots to try. It was pepper flavored, and those that tried it winced in pain (I passed on the opportunity).
Sorry for the long post. It was such a wonderful adventure, and to have such great tour guides and company made it tremendously fun!