netherlands + belgium | a little weekend away

Hello everyone, and welcome back to our blog!  I haven't posted anything in a really, reallyyyyyyy long time (do me a solid and don't go looking at how long), but Rich and I just got back from a fun little weekend away and I wanted to share some photos with you!

Rich organized a trip for his squadron to go back to the Netherlands American Cemetery to do some volunteer work on Friday, so I took a day off from work to go and help.  We decided to make a weekend of it and just get away for a couple of days.  

I had missed their initial clean-up visit back in 2015, but Rich had taken me back a few months later to see the cemetery.  You can read about that trip and the history of the cemetery here.  I was really excited for the opportunity to give back to this community who is still so reverent of their liberation that took place over 70 years ago.  And I'll tell you, it was an experience that I will always hold dear in my heart.  The work wasn't difficult or taxing.  We were simply asked to take some buckets, a little water, and some special sponges and spot clean the crosses.  Cleaning bird droppings off headstones isn't a glamorous job by any means, but as I walked by each of those beautiful white marble crosses my soul was stirred.  I read each name, I looked to see where he was from, and I said a silent thank you for their sacrifice.  I know I wasn't alone in this, because later each of the others in our group mentioned the ranks and names they read too.  I didn't get my camera out while we were there, but I did take a couple of photos with my phone.

As of now, 2nd Lt Willis A. Utecht was the last American to be buried in the cemetery in September 1994.  Once the grounds were designed and dedicated, policy held that no others were to be buried here.  2nd Lt Utecht was listed as one of the 1,722 American names on the Tablets of the Missing as his platoon was last seen in October 1944.  Fifty years later, his remains were found in a Dutch field and his family requested burial at the cemetery.  Since policy wouldn't allow this, the family petitioned Congress and were granted the right to have 2nd Lt Utecht laid to rest among his comrades.  Because the plots were already in a set formation, he was given his very own row.  At least, for now.  Our tour guide felt that it's very likely that there will be more remains found in the future, and thus there will be more.  You can read more about 2nd Lt Utecht and see his photos here.

Once we finished at the cemetery, we drove the 15 minutes to our hotel in Valkenburg.  We quickly checked in and walked downtown to check out the area.  The entrance to the castle ruins were closed by the time we arrived, boooooo!  

Castle ruins

We found a souvenir shop for our touristy needs, then had dinner at a place called Chickens.  We shared a bucket of chicken and some fries, and we enjoyed some locally brewed beer.  One of our favorite things about Europe is relaxing outside at a cool restaurant and just enjoying a nice meal together!  We will really miss this part of living here.

View of the street from our table.

We finished up and tried to find an eis creme shop, but they were all closed already.  What?!  Crazy.  We were bummed, but Rich posted our first Facebook Live video.  If you missed that one, you should go and find it!  There really wasn't anything else to do by this time, so we headed back to our hotel.  On the way, I noticed something sadly familiar in the sidewalk.

If you haven't heard of stolpersteine, or stumbling stones, then let me tell you that they're humbling.  As you're walking down a sidewalk, if you pay attention, you'll see these small engraved brass plates.  On each plate is the name of a Holocaust victim, the year that they were born, and the date and place where they were murdered.  The stumbling stones have been placed in front of the victims' last known residence.  I have found many around Wiesbaden, and I knew they have been placed in other cities around Germany, but I didn't know until Friday night that they were in other countries as well.  This was also the first time I've seen Auschwitz on one of them.  NPR has a really great article about this project and the artist who is responsible for this movement.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel before heading to Dinant, Belgium.  I was really enthusiastic about the scrambled eggs in particular.  Rich warned me not to eat them because they looked watery, but they tasted fine to me!  Yeahhhhh...the hour and a half ride in the car was pure misery for me.  I was so nauseous, and every bump in the road was a threat to my stomach.  Once we parked in Dinant and started walking, we immediately wondered what was with all the saxophone statues!  Turns out that Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, was born here in 1814.  ("Saxomophoooone, saxomophooooone...")  There was a lot of construction going on, so amazing photo ops were kinda ruined.  I still wasn't feeling good, so I left the camera in the car.  Thank goodness Rich took some pics with his phone.

Dinant is first known to have been mentioned in the 7th century.  Over the years the city has seen many wars and much destruction as a result.  The Collegiate Church of Notre Dame was built in the 13th century.  The pear-shaped bell tower was added in the 16th century.

  

The Citadel of Dinant overlooks the town.  It was first built in the 11th century, then rebuilt and enlarged in the 16th century.  In 1703 the French completed destroyed it, and what we see today was rebuilt in 1821.  There were cable cars to take visitors up to have a look around, but boy oh boy my nausea said nope.  Anyone who knows me knows that I don't just turn down rides on cable cars, sky buckets, roller coasters, or anything else of the sort.  

Hey, speaking of my tummy.....see the beautiful Collegiate Church of Notre Dame in the photos below?  Those scrambled eggs and I publicly defaced the outside of that church.  Four times, Rich says.  Please forgive me, Father, for I didn't mean to.  I was especially grateful to sit in that church that day and let my knees rest while Rich looked around!  And the next time that my husband tells me not to eat something, it is now publicly written that I WILL LISTEN.

Statue of Charles de Gaulle, erected in 2014.  The future President of France was shot in the leg during a battle in Dinant in World War I.

Dinant, along the River Meuse

We had some lunch then Rich said he had a surprise for me.  I didn't know where we were going, but I was feeling much better by this time so I was good just enjoying the ride and the beautiful Belgian countryside.  

We arrived at Villers Abbey and, once again, I was blown away at how Rich gets me and knows how to surprise me in ways that I truly appreciate.  

Construction of the abbey began in the 12th century.  The Gothic settlement took over 100 years to complete.  Over the years and due to many invasions, the monks had to leave the abbey and flee to safety nine times.  During the 18th century, the buildings were reconstructed in Neoclassical style.  The French Revolution brought the abbey to its final days, and in 1794 it was pillaged, sold, and dismantled.  Visitors were first attracted to the ruins during the 19th century, including one Victor Hugo.  

I can't even tell you how excited I was to wander these majestic ruins with my camera in hand.  I took my first shot only to realize that I hadn't checked which lens was in the bag before we left home.  Dang it, I brought the wrong one, so I was very limited to close-up shots instead of larger scale landscape ones.  It turns out that this wasn't all bad, as it gave me some much-needed time to be creative and enjoy a hobby that I haven't touched in way too long.  Rich did some live video feeds while I wandered around looking for interesting bits of architecture and nature.  Here are some of my photos...

We explored the abbey for a couple of hours, then it was time to head to Maastricht for dinner.  We've visited this town before, but Rich had found a Mexican restaurant on TripAdvisor he wanted to try.  Unfortunately we couldn't find it, so we went with the Famous American Bistro.  We both picked the tequila lime chicken, but the mixed regular and sweet potato fries were so good.  Oh man.  After dinner, we drove the short distance back to our hotel to get some rest.

The next morning we had one last thing to do before driving home.  If you guessed the Tongeren flohmarkt, you're right!  Oh wow, how I've waited patiently for the chance to get to go to this one.  I've heard it's huge, with tons of vendors and tons of good stuff.  I skipped the eggs at breakfast and took the high road with bread and yogurt--but come vomit or high water, I was PUMPED to go to Tongeren!

What a letdown, yall.  Seriously.  Yes, there were TONS of vendors, it's true.  I think my expectations were just way too high, and much of it was severely overpriced.  I spotted a beautiful enamel pitcher at literally the second booth we came to after we parked.  I asked the vendor in German how much he wanted for it.  He angrily answered me back in German, "One hundred euros."  Um, okay.  I set the beauty back down and we walked away.  My hopes were deflated.  Trampled on.  Set on fire.  Ripped to shreds.  The majority of people in this area of Belgium are French speakers, and though my French is at least enough to get by, I just asked in German out of habit I guess.  Maybe he doesn't like Germans, or maybe he knew we were American.  Either way, he wasn't getting a hundred euros out of me for that lovely piece of vintage gorgeousness.  

We ended up buying a lace table scarf, three old books, and a little wooden wagon.  Rich has been wanting a wooden wagon for a long time, and we found one at a flohmarkt a few months ago for a STEAL.  Unfortunately, it never would have fit in our car so we had to pass.  The little guy we found at Tongeren is much smaller than what we really want, but he'll do just fine.  

After a couple hours of being disappointed overall, despite the few things we did find, we were just ready to go.  We had a snack at a little cafe and hit the road, Jack.  Home, sweet home!

We really hope you've enjoyed reading about the latest Koch adventures.  I really do plan to get better about blogging regularly.  Goodness, I have so many trips and photos to share with you all!  

Oh, and happy first day of Spring!

brugge + north sea + aachen + bastogne

Still playing catch-up here on the blog, but I'm making progress!  I added a few new things to our page (check out the new tabs which list the countries Rich and I have been to!) and updated the title banner.  What do you think?

We have some really cool places to tell you about, and tonight I'm going to share our trip we took a few weeks ago to Belgium!  

This wasn't our first time in Belgium (Rich got this country back in January, then Mom and I got it in February while she was visiting), but this was our first time to really experience it!

Rich always plans the details of our trips well in advance...the most scenic routes possible we'll take to get there, hotel reservations, historic places we should see, etc.  I guess some people may be uncomfortable with not knowing--I am not one of those people.  In fact, I had no idea where we were going on both of the last two trips we took (after this Belgium trip).  I only asked what I should pack for the weather and got in the car, and I'm totally okay with this.  Rich is so dang good at planning trips that I know I won't be disappointed.  In case you can't tell, I LOVE this about my husband.  He is the best.

Anyway, for this particular trip I knew we were going to Brugge (pronounced like Brooj) but didn't really know much else.  He plugged the address of the hotel he'd reserved into the GPS, and about 5 hours later we arrived at the Boathotel de Barge.  Yes, you read that right.  Our hotel was a boat.  A BOAT!  See what I mean with being totally okay with his planning?!  Almost four years ago, we spent the night in one of the boxcars on the Chattanooga Choo Choo, so sleeping on a boat in Belgium sort of one-upped the game!

Our room!  And yes, those are life jackets on the bed!  And yes, that is water outside our window!

We settled into our room quickly, then headed out to explore the city.  And let me tell you, this place did not disappoint.  Brugge is best guessed to have begun its existence in the first century B.C., though it didn't receive a city charter until the year 1128.  Because of its location on the North Sea, the city became an important port for trade routes.  In 1907, the port of Zeebrugge was built.  

Look closely for the red spot on the bridge...that's Rich!

Seriously?  And this is just the beginning.

 And now, a selfie!

One of our first stops was for a snack.  Rich had a Belgian waffle with fresh whipped cream and strawberries, and I had French fries.  Not sure what it is about fries here, but they were so good (and I forgot to take a pic of them)!

Belgian waffle...absolutely delicious!!!

Next stop was for Belgian chocolate.  Oh.  So.  Good!

No, these are not rusty pieces of hardware.  They are chocolate!

No, these are not seashells.  They are chocolate, too!

Canals wind all through the city, and swans are everywhere here!

Canal beside Minnewater Park.

Canal beside Minnewater Park. 

Can you spot the two hiding swans?

There are plenty of opportunities to take horse-drawn carriage tours through the city.  We didn't take one, as we prefer to wander around on our own, but there is no shortage if this is your thing!

There are also lots of boat tours through the canals as well!  We considered doing one of these, but it was a little too late in the day.  Next time!

We didn't go inside, but the towering steeple of Church of Our Lady could be seen from all over the city.  Construction began in the 13th century, and a statue by Michelangelo called Madonna and Child sits inside.  

Steeple of Church of Our Lady

 

Statue of Simon Stevin, a Dutch physicist and mathematician.

Another building that can be seen from all over the city is the Belfry.  It was built around 1240 A.D. to be used as an observation tower to spot fires and other danger.  Today, there are 47 bells in the tower, ranging from 2 to 11,000 pounds each!

The Belfry in the Markt.

Saint Salvator's Cathedral at the end of the street.

I have never seen such beautiful crucifixes as I have in Europe.  They're everywhere, even on the side of the road in the middle of the country!

There are also a LOT of beautiful, very intricate doors here.

 And tons of statues.  Everywhere.  

Statue in the middle of the Markt (bonus points if you noticed the pigeon!).

Did you think I wouldn't give you a better view of Pigeon Head?  I find a Pigeon Head in every.single.city.we.visit.

Provincial Hall in the Markt.

One very significant place in Brugge is the Basilica of the Holy Blood, built in the 12th century. The Basilica is known to hold a piece of cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ.  It is believed that when Joseph of Arimathea (the man who gave up his own tomb for Jesus) and Nicodemus washed and prepared the body for burial after the crucifixion, Joseph preserved the blood.  Unfortunately, the Basilica was closing just as we reached the steps, so we were unable to go inside.  We'll definitely plan to visit again.

See the small grey building in the corner with gold statues on the facade?  That's the Basilica of the Holy Blood.

The Holy Blood.  I did not take this photo.  I found it through a Google search, but there is no name to whom to give credit.

I really can't get enough of the faces in European architecture!

 

A recurring theme we noticed in Brugge was the abundance of Ave Maria statues built into the sides of buildings.  

 

This looked like someone's house, and this someone must spend a lot of time on their yard because...wow!

By this time, we'd walked off our snack and were ready for some dinner.  We chose a quaint little pub, and Rich enjoyed a local Belgian beer.

And while we were eating, we marveled at our hotel key which was "anchored" by a huge keychain.  See what I did there?

 Time to head back to our boat.  But first, one last look of the pretty views.

 

Brugge really was a place beyond belief.



The next morning, it started to rain before we left the boat.  Thankfully there was no screen on our window, so I was able to stick my head (and camera) out to get some shots.

We left Brugge and drove further north to De Haan, a little town on the North Sea.  Oh, how the beach is my happy place!

The beach + this guy = absolute happiness.

I never leave a beach without walking in the water.  Ever.  Even when it's cold.  And this was the North Sea.

I didn't want to leave.  Rich asked me several times if I was ready to go, and I ignored the question as long as possible!  But it was time to move on, and on our drive back toward Wiesbaden we stopped in Germany's westernmost city of Aachen (pronounced like A-ken).  Attracted to its warm mineral springs, people have inhabited the area since the Neolithic era.  The Romans built bathhouses here around the 2nd century A.D.  By the beginning of the 5th century, the Romans left and Aachen was taken over by the Franks.  Charlemagne was crowned King of the Franks in 768 A.D., and Aachen became the favored city of his court.  Around 796, under Charlemagne's order, construction of the Aachen Cathedral was begun.  The cathedral is the oldest in Northern Europe.  Between 936 and 1531, the church was the coronation site for 30 German kings and 12 German queens.  

The mosaic ceiling in the entrance is called Civitas Dei, or the City of God.

Carolingian Octagon chapel.

Carolingian Octagon chapel.

The giant chandelier that hangs in the Octagon is called the Barbarossa Chandelier.  It was made of gilt copper between 1165 and 1170.  It's over 4 meters in diameter, hangs 27 meters below the roof of the chapel, and contains 48 real candles.

Center of the chandelier.

Roof of the Octagon

Charlemagne died in 813 and was buried the same day in a tomb inside the Aachen Cathedral.  Instead of being buried in a laying state, he was sat upright on a throne wearing a crown and holding a sceptre in his hand.  In 1215, he was moved into a gold and silver casket, called the Karlsschrein, which is still on display today inside the Cathedral.

After leaving the Cathedral, we had a nice outdoor lunch at a nearby restaurant.  Then, we got in the car and I had no idea where Rich was taking me.  Even after we parked the car and started walking, I still didn't know where we were!

A very pretty walk!

During our walk, several tractors drove by.  You can't tell from the picture below, but each tractor seat had a smaller kids' seat beside it.  Awesome! 

Where are we?!

Turns out, we're at Drielandenpunt...the highest point in the Netherlands as well as the place where the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium meet!  

From here, we had one more stop to make in Bastogne, Belgium, before making our way back home.  It was Memorial Day weekend, and it seemed only fitting that we visit an American memorial.  

The Mardasson Memorial was built near Bastogne in 1950 to honor American troops who were wounded or killed during the Battle of the Bulge.  (Read this post about America's role in liberating the Dutch.)  If you've ever seen Band of Brothers, you've heard of Bastogne.

The Memorial stands 12 meters tall and has a side length of 31 meters.  Rich is standing in the middle of the Memorial in the photo below, so you can easily see that this thing is not small.

The names of each of the 50 states are engraved around and inside the top of the monument.

Don't worry--even though Alaska and Hawaii joined the union after the Memorial was built, they were still added.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating.  Seeing our flag being proudly flown, being aware of how far from home we are, gets to me every single time.  

Once again, we hope you've enjoyed this trip!  If you don't want to miss any future posts (and there are more coming very soon!), please enter your email address at the top right of the page so that you'll receive notifications.  We'd love to hear from you!