3 Cities in a Day and Other Adventures in Tourism

You all have been so patient in waiting for the final recap of our time with Jon and Christina. We were very busy in the second half of the visit.  The day after Christmas, we headed out for Maastricht, which is definitely still one of our favorite cities in the Netherlands.  Our first stop was the caves again. We were lucky to get an English tour since there were a few other English speakers wanting to go as well.  The tour was mostly the same (including the same tour guide) as when we went with my parents, but there was one deviation.  We got to see the "bunker" type rooms where many great works of art were kept safe during WWII.  For any LOST fans out there, I was getting a distinctly Dharma Initiative-ish vibe in there.  The Night Watch by Rembrandt was stored here.

Standing guard.

Lots of security.

Smaller paintings where hung in frames on these moveable walls.

After the caves, we went through the Christmas markets in town and did the lovely walking tour around the old parts of the city that we are so fond of.

The day ended with dinner at an Indonesian restaurant where we had the "rijstafel".  This is a traditional Indonesian dinner where everyone at the table eats lots of delicious dishes family style.  It was very good.

OK, now we're to the Thursday after Christmas, which is when we headed for Belgium.  We were pretty crazy on our first day, because we actually squeezed 3 cities into one day.  Extremely good at planning or insane?  You decide.

Our first stop was Brussels.  We hit up the Atomium first.  This was a must because Christina is a chemistry teacher, and it was her duty to snap a pic to show her students.

Hopefully C chooses a different shot to put up in her classroom.

We then went into the center of town for lunch and a quick peek at the main sites in the city.

Grand Place.

Grand Place.

Mannekin Pis. A visit to Brussels is oddly incomplete without snapping a pic here.

It was raining pretty hard while we were walking around, so I think that contributed to us not staying super long.  On our way out of the city, we went to the Cantillon Brewery.  This place is known for their lambic beer.

Then it was off to Ghent.  And I was reminded of how superb Ghent is.  The rain almost doesn't matter here at night because it makes everything look so darn pretty.

We walked around town for a while, checked out a brewery, and then had dinner before heading to city #3, Bruges.  None of us had been to Bruges before, so it was fun for everyone to have a totally new experience.  And Bruges did not disappoint.  This medieval city is fantastically preserved.  You can't throw a rock and not hit a building that dates to at least the 17th century. Not that I was throwing rocks at old historic buildings.

There was a lot to take in.  A few of the highlights were the Half Moon Brewery tour, a stop at De Garre (where Todd and Jon had their favorite beer of the trip), and climbing to the top of the Belfry.  The bells sounded when we were up there, which was very cool.

So charming!

View from the Belfry.

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast that was a family home from the 17th century.  It was very nice with a good breakfast.

Alas, we have reached our last day with J and C.  We spent it mostly in Eindhoven, with a side trip to La Trappe.  For another brewery tour (are you sensing a theme?).  The tour was focused on the brewery and the brewing process, so I was bummed to not get to see the abbey itself that is on the same grounds. But it was still quite interesting. And the guide was hilarious.  We were the only English speakers in the group, so he would tell a story in Dutch and then yell "America!" and we'd come running to hear the story told in English.

We ended the day having dinner at our favorite spot in Eindhoven, Cooks.

Wow, what a trip!  We had the best time hanging out with J and C and can't wait until they come to visit us next Christmas with their new baby (you are doing that, right??)!

Thanks for visiting!