Our friends, Rick and Myra Banke, came to visit us in Brussels last April. We have known the Bankes for a long time and have shared many adventures and laughs with them over the years. We were really excited to see them and to have a chance to show them around. As a side note, we have some nicknames for the 2 Ricks to eliminate any confusion. From now on, Rick Banke will be known as "Rick Hair" and Rick Cohan will be known as "Rick No Hair". Myra and I had nothing to do with this. The names were given to them by one of the ICO kids that we used to volunteer with. She's brilliant!
Rick Hair and Myra were such good sports. They were happy to do whatever Rick No Hair and I came up with and they were content to visit places that were off the tourist track. In fact, that was their preference. Our itinerary looked something like this: Brussels, Bruges, Keukenhoff Gardens, Green Heart of the Netherlands, Kinderdijk, biking from Gouda to Oudewater, Hallerbos Bluebell Forest, Camping in the Semois Valley (Wallonia), Rochehaut, Orval Abbey, Boullion, Luxembourg City.
One of the things we share with the Bankes is a love of nature and the outdoors. Therefore, we decided to mix city sightseening with some outdoor activities. We were a bit worried that our plans would be foiled by the lovely Belgian weather. But it didn't happen. The weather was magnifique...we were so lucky!
Our camera died just prior to their visit so Rick No Hair and I couldn't take any pictures. However, Rick Hair is an extremely passionate, amature photographer (and that's putting it mildly)! In other words, we have a looootttt of really good pictures. We just had to wait for them to be re-formatted and sent to us. Now...what to do with all of these pictures. I was very happy to finally receive them. But then I thought...what a daunting task to have to choose which ones to put on the Blog. It would be really difficult to narrow it down as there are so many awesome ones. Moreover, it would take forever to upload them.
One of the things we share with the Bankes is a love of nature and the outdoors. Therefore, we decided to mix city sightseening with some outdoor activities. We were a bit worried that our plans would be foiled by the lovely Belgian weather. But it didn't happen. The weather was magnifique...we were so lucky!
Our camera died just prior to their visit so Rick No Hair and I couldn't take any pictures. However, Rick Hair is an extremely passionate, amature photographer (and that's putting it mildly)! In other words, we have a looootttt of really good pictures. We just had to wait for them to be re-formatted and sent to us. Now...what to do with all of these pictures. I was very happy to finally receive them. But then I thought...what a daunting task to have to choose which ones to put on the Blog. It would be really difficult to narrow it down as there are so many awesome ones. Moreover, it would take forever to upload them.
Rick Hair has all of his pictures on a photography website and the pictures from Belgium are organized by day. Therefore, I decided, with his permission, to upload a few pictures from each day and provide links to his website to view the rest. There are a lot from each day, but they are well worth viewing.
Day 1-Brussels
Abbaye de la Cambre, Our neighborhood, Cathedral St Michael, Grand-Place and downtown, chocolate tasting in Sablon, beer at Poechenellekelder, Park Cinquantenaire
The Bankes got off the plane in the morning and hit the ground running. They weren't going to let a little jet-lag stop them! We ended up covering a lot more territory than expected.
For more great pictures of Day 1:
Day 2-Bruges
Like all expats living in Brussels, I have been to Bruges several times. However, this is the first time I went with an avid photographer. As a result, I saw some parts of the city that I hadn't seen before. After wandering around the huge brocante that was going on that day, we hit all of the main higlights, including a boat ride on the canal. We, then, headed away from the main square to the area that was somewhat new to me. We spent a lot of time at the Begijnhof, which is now occupied by Benedictine Nuns. The way the trees all leaned in one direction, with the yellow and white Narcisses in the foreground and the whitwashed houses in the background, was truly magical. I think Rick Hair could have stayed there and shot photos all day. The Minnewater (Lake of Love) was another great, new find. Or original plan was to visit Bruges and Ghent in the same day. However, Ghent never happend. We ended up spending the whole day in Bruges. It was kind of nice and relaxing to be with visitors that weren't in the "sightseeing checklist" mode.
For more great pictures of Day 2:
http://rtbanke.smugmug.com/Travel/Belgium-2009-Day-2-Bruges/8265229_3ue8x
Day 3-Netherlands
Keukenhof Gardens and a few windmills in the Green Heart region
Rick hair had visited The Netherlands in the past on business and really liked it. One of his requests was to visit the countryside and see some tulips and windmills. Myra was also interested in this. We steered clear of Amsterdam and headed to the Green Heart region (Groene Hart). Gouda is one of the cities in this region that is mostly rural and definitely lives up to its name. It was very green! I felt like this was the picture-perfect image of Holland. There were windmills everywhere you looked!
We spent most of the day at Keukenhof gardens gawking over beautiful tulips of various varieties. Rick and I had been there once before, but it was just as impressive this time. Then, we settled into a charming bed and breakfast in the Green Heart area. The bed and breakfast was also a teahouse that was located down a long, narrow country road. It sat on a canal and overlooked cow pastures with windmills in the distance. You couldn't get more Dutch than this!
Rick hair had visited The Netherlands in the past on business and really liked it. One of his requests was to visit the countryside and see some tulips and windmills. Myra was also interested in this. We steered clear of Amsterdam and headed to the Green Heart region (Groene Hart). Gouda is one of the cities in this region that is mostly rural and definitely lives up to its name. It was very green! I felt like this was the picture-perfect image of Holland. There were windmills everywhere you looked!
We spent most of the day at Keukenhof gardens gawking over beautiful tulips of various varieties. Rick and I had been there once before, but it was just as impressive this time. Then, we settled into a charming bed and breakfast in the Green Heart area. The bed and breakfast was also a teahouse that was located down a long, narrow country road. It sat on a canal and overlooked cow pastures with windmills in the distance. You couldn't get more Dutch than this!
For more great pictures of Day 3:
Day 4-Netherlands
Green Heart, Kinderdijk, Biking from Gouda to Oudewater
Rick Hair got up before sunrise to shoot in the best light of the day. He got some awesome shots. He met us at breakfast with his camera in hand and a smile on his face. After wandering around the vicinity of the bed and breakfast, we headed to the UNESCO site of Kinderdijk, which is near Rotterdam. It was impressive to see so many windmills all in one spot, but I have to admit that I liked seeing them a long the road better. One interesting thing about Kinderdijk is that you get a good explanation of why the windmills were constructed and how they operate. You also get to go inside one and get a glimpse into the lives of the people who once lived and worked in it. Aside from the one windmill that is used as a museum, the others are actually homes.
After a visit to Kinderdijk and a picnic, we headed to Gouda. We rented bikes and biked from there to Oudewater and back. Both cities were nice as was the ride. I was really looking forward to trying some cheese there, but never ended up finding a place that sold it. Strange!
We had two fun-filled days in the Netherlands. We headed back to Brussels that evening to get ready for our next adventure.
Rick Hair got up before sunrise to shoot in the best light of the day. He got some awesome shots. He met us at breakfast with his camera in hand and a smile on his face. After wandering around the vicinity of the bed and breakfast, we headed to the UNESCO site of Kinderdijk, which is near Rotterdam. It was impressive to see so many windmills all in one spot, but I have to admit that I liked seeing them a long the road better. One interesting thing about Kinderdijk is that you get a good explanation of why the windmills were constructed and how they operate. You also get to go inside one and get a glimpse into the lives of the people who once lived and worked in it. Aside from the one windmill that is used as a museum, the others are actually homes.
After a visit to Kinderdijk and a picnic, we headed to Gouda. We rented bikes and biked from there to Oudewater and back. Both cities were nice as was the ride. I was really looking forward to trying some cheese there, but never ended up finding a place that sold it. Strange!
We had two fun-filled days in the Netherlands. We headed back to Brussels that evening to get ready for our next adventure.
For more great pictures of Day 1
Day 5-The Ardennes
Hallerbos Forest, Rochehaut, our campsite
The plan for this day was to drive to the Ardennes, where we would camp for 2 nights and explore the Semois Valley. We stopped by Hallerbos Forest (near Halle) on our way because we heard that it was covered with a carpet of bluebells in the spring. It was a pretty amazing sight and very photograph-worthy so we ended up spending a couple of hours there.
Then we drove to the Ardennes and camped near Rochehaut. We rented a large tent that slept 4 people and was already set up and equipped. It had a stove, a heater, a table and 2 rooms that were separated by canvas. The beds even had sheets and duvet covers on them! Now, this was some real luxury camping. Let me say that this is not the way we normally camp. We just thought it would be easier than trying to borrow a tent and sleeping bag for or friends. They didn't want to lug theirs all the way from the U.S. Plus, our schedule was so packed that we wouldn't have had time to organize everything. We were also afraid that the weather might end up bad. It was the perfect solution and a good home base to explore the Semois Valley, the wildest part of the Ardennes.
For more great pictures of Day 5
Day 6-The Ardennes
Abbaye d'Orval, Bouillon
This is where the famous Orval beer is brewed by Trappist monks. We didn't get to tour the brewery because it's only open to the public one weekend a year. We walked around the beautiful grounds of the Abbey and then had a picnic in the parking lot. Our picnic included Orval cheese. Then, it was off to Bouillon for a visit to the castle that towers over the city.
We ended our day with a traditional Ardennaise dinner in Rochehaut.
For more great pictures of Day 6
Day 7-Luxembourg City, Dinner at Creperie Bretonne in Louvain-la-Nueve
This day was bittersweet. The Bankes were impressed with Luxembourg City as they were with pretty much every place they visited on this trip. It was another beautiful, sunny day in yet another beautiful and interesting location, but it was our last day together. Aside from the fact that I was exhausted, I was not ready for them to go back.
We ended our day and their visit with dinner and beer at one of our favorite restaurants. One of the great things about showing visitors around is getting to introduce them to the places we like to go. It's even better when they like the places too. To quote Rick Hair after we finished our meal, " The only bad thing about this dinner is that it's over". I felt the same about the vacation.
For more great pictures of Day 7
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