Exploring Near and Far

Old building in Brugge


Dad in the sidewalk cafe.



Dad in the kayak.


Boats near Naarden Vesting.

Baby lamb -in Dutch it's a lammetje.

Heron near Naarden Vesting.

On Saturday, we decided to drive to Brugge Belgium for the day. Belgium is known for chocolate, beer, and lace. We made sure to hit every one. We arrived in town in time for lunch after a 3 hour drive. Lunch in Belgium is a true joy and we found a tiny restaurant with a great lunch special.

With full and happy tummies, we made our way to the lace museum. We looked at the displays of traditional hand-made lace and some machine-made samples. Then we walked through the live demonstration area. There were several rooms full of people making lace. One room had the old ladies like you would expect. Another room had middle aged women taking lace-making lessons. The third room had young girls – they were the fastest! To make the lace, they have at least 20 spools of thread that they knot in a kind of complex braiding motion. As they finish each knot, they use a straight pin to hold it in place while they make the next knot. While they work it looks like a forest of pins and a tangle of threads but somehow it turns into beautiful patterns with flowers, windmills, and peacocks. I’m sure Dennis was thrilled by this museum.

We took a canal tour and learned a little bit about the city. One building was dated 1675. Another building housed retired lace workers. But after we saw all the old ladies at the lace museum, we seriously doubted that they ever retired. During the canal tour, they pointed out a couple of places that have beer-making tours. Since Mom and Dad don’t like beer, they partook in another local past-time – sitting in a sidewalk café and watching the people go by – while Dennis and I took the brewery tour. After the beer, we bought chocolate to take home and then found a restaurant for dinner. We looked for a place that serves mussels, another Belgian specialty. We figured our little tour covered all the best things in Belgium.

After a really long drive home (they have road construction here, too), we decided to do nothing on Sunday. It was pretty rainy in the morning, but the clouds cleared away in the afternoon. Dad wanted to test-drive the kayaks, so we took them over to Naarden Vesting. Dad and Dennis paddled around while Mom and I walked. We enjoyed looking at all the baby lambs and nesting birds. It was a very relaxing Sunday and typical of what Dennis and I normally do on Sundays.