No Diamonds in Antwerp, the World's Diamond Capital

We had a slow week and it rained most of it. We tried the market again on Thursday but bought nothing. We decided that we weren’t going to stay home even if it rained. We took off on Saturday morning for Antwerp to see the Zoo. When we pulled into Antwerp we saw an old castle that we walked to see.

It was one of the kinds that ended up being a photo op stop because you couldn’t go inside. We had a good hike and found several buildings and a church in the city center to photograph.

Nearly all public restrooms in Belgium have an attendant and it costs about 70 cents to go. After visiting the city center we went to the train station that was right next to the zoo. The train station was huge. It was very ornate and fascinating to see.

This zoo was right in the middle of the city with high walls around it. I was wondering what the smell is like on a hot summer day for the neighbors. By the time we arrived it was lunch time and we all needed to get a bite to eat. For the price the lunch was very tasty. Then we spent about five hours in the zoo looking around. It would rain for a while then it would quit. It was an excellent zoo and was quite clean. All displays were done very nicely.

Poison Dart Frog

The zoo was very large with a huge variety. For a zoo trip and the rainy day it was a good trip. We drove home and went to the Cesar to have some dinner. As with our first dinner in Belgium the Cesar offered us the very best dinner. On Sunday we went to church. We sit in the back so a member can interpret for us during meetinges. The interpreter sits between us to translate during Relief Society and Sunday School. In sacrament meeting we wear head sets that let us hear the interpretation of what is being said. Sometimes I find it hard to concentrate on what’s being said.

Four Countries in a Weekend

This week was a slow one for me. I had an ear infection that I had to go to the doctor here. Someone that Dad works with made an appointment for me. The doctor was nice and spoke some English. He gave me some medication to relieve the pain in my ear. Some other medication was given me to clear the infection. It was not antibiotics but seems to do the job. We stayed home most of the week because of me not feeling well. We did make a trip out to see how Mihaela (not Michelle) was doing. To meet her cat named Poophy. To see her house after they got furniture in it. We went into Oudenaarde after dark to see the city light up.

For the weekend we decided to drive to Bastogne to see where some of the battles of World War II were fought. The Battle of the Bulge was fought here. We had our lunch here sitting on a bench at the Bastogne Historical Center. We visited the Mardasson Monument. It was in the shape of a star with the names of the states on all the angles. This is a monument to the 101st Airborne.

We spent quite a bit of time looking around the monument. As par for our days it started to rain again. The historical center museum was closed so we drove on into Luxembourg. It rained a hard rain on us as we traveled down some very narrow roads. The forests were thick with trees that canopied over the road. It was dark in the forest and the trees were so thick it made the rain slow. When we came out it became heavy again. We could smell the onions in the fields as we traveled. Agriculture is a large part of the countryside. After reaching Luxembourg the rain stopped so we could enjoy the sites. We stopped to take some pictures at a dam.

Then we drove in to Esch-sur-Sure. There were fortress walls of an old castle.

We hiked up to it to see the views of the city from the castle. The view was just breathtaking. It sure can make your imagination run wild as to how this people could have lived back then. The labor the poor people had to do to build the fortresses and castles.

Down in town along the riverfront they were just getting ready to open a market. We walked through to see what was to be had.

I knew that I could not carry any more weight in my suitcases than I came with. Here we got a wild hair and decided to drive into Germany. Bonn was our destination. We got to the town of Mechernich in Germany and decided to stop to have some dinner. Dinner was at the Stadtkrone Restaurant. The food was good. Laurene and I just had chicken soup but Dad and Dave had meals.

After dinner it was back on the road to Bonn. Even when you go the speed limit cars zoom past as if you are standing still. We found a hotel in Bonn called the Mozart Hotel.

It was ready to close when we got there. The receptionist was at the door to lock it as Dave and Dad walked up. She stayed open to let us have a room. The rooms were small but very clean and comfortable. The lady who checked us in told us a list of things to see the next day. Most all stores were closed for Sunday. We took a walking tour. We caught a good part of what there was to see. We even saw where Ludwig van Beethoven was born.

Because Bonn is where Beethoven was born and grew up he is honored throughout the city.

The city government building at the opposite end of this market square was also very beautiful.

Dad wanted to see the Rhein River.

While we were standing by the river we decided to take the boat up the river and back. We rode to Konigswinter,

had some lunch, walked around the market

and then rode back on the boat to Bonn. We wanted to see a couple of churches where Beethoven played the organ for mass, in this one when he was ten years old.

They even had the font in which he was baptized.

These churches were built from 1276 through the end of the 14^th century. The other one was larger and more ornate.

We then had a non-stop ride back to Belgium and home. In this segment we passed through a small piece of Holland for the fourth country on our trip. We did notice that we passed at least six nuclear power plants on our trip. The trip was beautiful. During each one I think we just can’t surpass this one but then we do. It was great trip with lots of things to see.

Fourth Week in Belgium

The week started rather slowly for Laurene and I. We stayed home the first two days of the week. It was still rainy so that made it easy. The weekend, however, was a lot of fun. We drove to Oostende on the West coast to see the North Sea. It was very overcast and cool but the rain held off for the day. We walked along the shore and very few people were in the water.

A few diehards braved it though. To me it was just a bit too cold for that. We had our lunch at one of the vendors that border part of the harbor. Dad had a basket of immitation crab with other kinds of sea food. Dave shared his with a big seagull that swooped down and stole some of his fish on the fly. It almost knocked the dish out of his hands.

Another guy lost his whole lunch to the seagulls that way. I had what I thought were onion rings but it turned out to be fish of some kind. It was good tasting and and I enjoyed it very much. Then we walked to a large sailing ship moored in the harbor. We toured this ship called the Mercator.

Marina on Harbor

Marcator

In her glory days she was a great sailing ship built in 1932 at a cost of 225,000 euros and was used to train sailors and officers of the Belgian merchant fleet. She was retired in 1960 and is now a musem and a very intesting one at that.

We then walked to a nearby church to see it. It is being renovated on the outside. As with all the churches here it was big and very ornate. I was kind of awe struck at the hugeness of it.

Laurene's knee was hurting so we then returned to home. It's quite swollen and painful for her and I hope she can get it healed again. On our way home we stopped at the construction site of Steven's house to see how it is going.

Steven invited us to come and see his father-in-law fly his hot air balloon at a huge hot air balloon festival in the city of Eeklo late Sunday afternoon. We got back in time for dinner and went to a restarant where Dad had eaten before. They were full so they invited us next door to their partner diner that shares the same kitchen. From the lack of customers and decor it was obviously a high class place but Dad recognized and talked with the head waiter and a waitress he knew from another hotel on previous trips. We considered leaving but stayed and spent more for dinner than we have ever spent in our lives. The food was very well presented and most delicious but we probably won't repeat going there. At church on Sunday morning the temple president from the Hague in the Netherlands and his wife were visiting the branch. It is about a two hour drive from here. Afterwards we came home and got ready for the hour-long drive to the balloon festival. This is the third largest hot air balloon festival in the world. When we got there we met with Steven and his wife, Valerie.

Steven had arranged to get us passes onto the field where the balloons were being filled with hot air. They begin with large gas-powered fans to fill the balloon after it is attached to the basket.

Then the pilot fires burners into the horizontal balloon to bring it vertical for liftoff.

What a fantastic and exciting experience this was to see over seventy hot air balloons filled and then rise into the sky.

They were huge and colorful. It was a great experience to be so close to all of the action.