On Ascension Day we had purchased tickets in advance to view the Procession of the Holy Blood in Brugge, Belgium. The procession started at 3:00 pm so we decided to go early for a nice lunch. Also, since traffic was to be heavy, we decided to take the train instead of driving. We caught an early 10:00 am train, not realizing how crowded it would be. The train continued on past Brugge to Oostende and the beach. I should mention that we have had sunny, warm weather since Memorial Day weekend and when that happens, Belgians flock to the beaches in large numbers. So while there were extra trains for the procession, we found the train also crowded with families and teens going to the beach.
We had reservations at a very nice restaurant named t’ Bourgoensche Cruyce or the Cross of Burgundy. The restaurant was located on a favorite, picturesque spot of the main canal so we had super views along with our meal. And, importantly, it was air-conditioned. First we had an amuse bouche of a thick, cold soup, smoked salmon and cheese pastry. I had a starter of foie gras while Rita had a nice asparagus salad. We both had fish for our main courses. I had sole and Rita had John Dory. We had a bottle of house Chablis with the meal. Rita and I split a chocolate mousse then had coffee that came with an assortment of small sweets. It was a good and filling meal.
After walking around the beautiful city of Brugge, we finally went to the Grote Markt and took our reserved seats on the grandstand at 3:00 pm when the procession was to start. It was very hot and no clouds in the sky so we were glad we took a bottle of water and hats from home. We also took sun block, which was shared with several people sitting around us. The procession didn’t get to our area until 4:00 pm so it was a hot wait in the sun.
The history of this procession goes back at least to 1291. Legend has it that in 1150, following the second crusade, Thierry d’Alsace, count of Flanders, brought a vial of the blood of Jesus back from Jerusalem. Ever since, the relic has been kept in the Basilica of the Holy Blood in Burg Square in Brugge and is paraded every Ascension Day. The procession is divided into four themes or parts. The first two are scenes from the Old and New Testaments. These are local townspeople dressed up as Adam, Eve, Joseph, Jesus, Mary, etc. The third part represents Count Thierry and medieval soldiers bringing back the relic. The last part is the actual relic carried by two prelates and surrounded by members of the Noble Brotherhood of the Holy Blood. The crowd stands up when the relic is carried past. The locals take it very seriously and I won’t make any smart-ass jokes here.
After the procession ended we went to a sidewalk café and had a beer. We waited for the crowds to die down and caught a 7:00 pm train, arriving in Brussels about 8:00 pm. It was a long, hot day and Rita’s pedometer said we walked about 7 miles.
On Saturday, May 31 we took a day trip to Paris. Luckily we arranged for our trip and train tickets between two large transportation strikes that shut Paris down badly. We caught an early high-speed train, also known as the TGV, which got us into Gare Nord in Paris about 11:00 am. Again it was hot and crowded in Paris.
We took the metro to the George V stop and walked along the Avenue des Champs Elysees. We had made reservations to eat lunch at the famous Fouquet restaurant. Fouquet recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and it was a famous eating place for the World War I flying aces. We were seated in a private terrace and had a very nice dining experience. I started with gambas in green tea sauce with mushrooms and asparagus. Rita had a starter of asparagus, spring beans, morels and sorrel. Rita had hake, a light white fish, with tartar sauce and baked potato. I had medallions of veal on potato slices with green asparagus. We had a white Cote de Rhone wine and coffee with sweets afterwards. It was a nice meal and we could have sat there all afternoon.
But we came to Paris to see the special train exhibit that lasts for about a month. Several trains, engines and cars, are parked on rails alongside the Avenue des Champs Elysees. It makes for a nice exhibition but it was hot and dusty. There were some of France’s oldest trains from 1844. These trains came from several museums across France. There were special cars that belonged to Napoleon and Charles de Gaulle, boxcars used to deport Jews in World War II, mountain trains, cars from the Orient Express and modern day trains as well. They stretched from Rond Point to Place de la Concorde on both sides of the avenue.
When we finished with that, we caught the metro to the Cite stop across from Notre Dame. We walked past Notre Dame to a fabric shop in the West Bank where Rita found fabric she wanted. Then we walked to the Ile St. Louis to a place we discovered years ago called Pom Cannelle. Here we had delicious Bertillon ice cream dishes – Rita had strawberry liegeoise and I had a chocolate liegeoise, which is basically a very rich sundae.
We took the metro to Segur stop, which was the closest metro stop in our neighborhood when we lived in Paris. We walked past our old apartment, up Avenue de Saxe to Place de Breteuil with views of the Eiffel Tower and Hotel des Invalides where Napoleon is buried. We walked down Avenue de Breteuil and around the Hotel des Invalides, along the esplanade to Pont Alexandre III, one of my favorite bridges. While we were walking I heard the distinctive sound of the Concorde, looked up and saw it flying its last commercial flight. We caught the metro back to Gare Nord and our high-speed train back to Brussels. On the way, the driver came over the loud speaker to inform us that we had just reached 300 kilometers, or 180 miles, per hour speed. Not as fast as the Concorde but fairly fast for ground travel. Today Rita’s pedometer said we walked over 10 miles!
On Sunday, June 1, we decided on the last minute to drive to St. Truiden in Flanders. This town is an old Roman town but known now for its fruit trees. We had hoped to get cherries but we were informed we were about a month too early. However, we did come across a strawberry seller so we bought a kilo of sweet, juicy strawberries. Then we made another last-minute decision to drive to Schinnen, Holland to the US Air Force base. It’s only an hours drive and we stocked up on groceries while we were at it.
On Tuesday, June 3, we finally got together with an old army buddy of David’s. I had met Bill Quast years ago before I was married. He and his wife, Kay, were visiting their daughter who married a Belgian and lives near Brussels. We hit it off great with Bill and Kay who are retired and live in Great Falls, Montana, where both are from. We went to a local restaurant called Lola and had a nice meal. I had codfish while Rita had chicken but the conversation was the best part of the meal. It was past midnight when we finally went to sleep so the next day was difficult at work.
On Friday, June 6, I took off work at 3:00 pm and met Rita behind the Embassy. She had everything already packed and we headed southeast into the Eifel region of Germany. We like the Eifel region, full of thick, evergreen forests, rolling hills and castled towns. Our destination for the night (2 hours drive away) was Spangdahlem and the US Air Force base. Another benefit of the Foreign Service (in Europe) is that we can stay on military bases if there is space available. Spangdahlem air base is located on a long, flat hill in a very scenic area. We checked into the Eifel Arms Inn on base and had a nice room for the astronomical price of $25 a night. It is very much like a nice motel with young military non-coms greeting you and checking you in to your room. Rita says they treat us so friendly because with my short haircut they probably think I’m a retired officer. I don’t know about that but they are friendly.
We drove into the village of Spangdahlem and had an artery clogging meal at Mom’s restaurant, recommended by the front desk. It was good German food too. Rita had rahmschnitzel with a cream sauce and spatzele. I had schnitzel with melted cheese and mushroom sauce and home fried potatoes. We had salads with the meal and a glass of local beer. No room for dessert. We went back to the base and, since it didn’t get dark until 10:00 pm, we went for a nice walk on base. And we watched American TV programs on Armed Forces TV!
These trips to US military bases are like a mini-trip back to the USA in some ways. The next morning we had a breakfast biscuit at Burger King on base. We have Burger Kings in Europe but they don’t serve breakfast and if they did, they wouldn’t serve biscuits. We drove on to Ramstein Air Force base, the largest US air force base outside the USA. First we headed for the optical shop where Rita had her glasses repaired. Then we went to Cinnabon and had a cinnamon pecan bun with coffee. We went to the base exchange (BX) and shopped, then filled the car with gasoline. The last stop was the commissary where we bought some groceries before heading home.
We took motorway A-62 to exit 4 and decided to take back roads for a while. We drove a pretty, scenic-marked road, B269, from Birkenfeld to Kues-Bernkastle on the Mosel River. We have visited Kues-Bernkastle several times and enjoy it every time. The village is 700 years old and has many quaint, half-timbered houses throughout town. We parked the car and walked to a recommended restaurant called Rotisserie Royale. We were only a little hungry so we sat outside and had a small meal. I had a cheese plate with about six different cheeses. Rita had smoked salmon on a potato pancake with sour cream. We shared our meals and had glasses of local, dry Riesling wine to go with it. We walked around the town a while and indulged in two strawberry ice cream cones which went down well in the heat. We went back to the car and drove straight back home arriving in the early evening.
Sunday, June 8 was uneventful with regards to traveling. We were debating if we should go somewhere when dark clouds gathered about 10:30 am. Soon we had a good thunderstorm with lightning, thunder and hard rain. It rained hard off and on all day so we stayed home and read or worked on projects.
Monday, June 9 was another local holiday, Whit Monday, the day after Whit Sunday, which is also known as Pentecost and the end of the Easter season. It was a beautiful day – cool, crisp and sunny. We decided a little late to get out and enjoy the nice weather. We thought we would drive to Dinant and see some of the sights in town. We had driven through Dinant several times but never had time to stop. As it turns out, we still haven’t stopped in the city.
Our first stop after exiting the motorway at the Dinant exit was a small, sleepy village called Celles. It turns out that there is a WWII German tank in Celles that marks the furthest point that the Germans advanced in Belgium in 1944. Next we came across the pretty, picture-book castle called Veves. It is a 12th century castle that was destroyed and rebuilt in 1466 then slightly altered a few times. It was small, as castles go, but very pretty and compact. We toured Veves, which has a good amount of Louie 14th furniture and artifacts. Then we drove through the gray-stoned village of Furfooz to Furfooz Park.
I was expecting just a small park with views of the Lesse River valley. In fact, Rita and I hiked the trail through Furfooz Park with a nice guide in English. First we came across a Roman bathhouse, or thermae, that was restored on its original foundations. Further up the hill on a promontory with cliffs down to the river, were the ruins of a Roman fort with evidence that Germanic tribes occupied it after the fall of the Roman Empire. Then the trail snaked downwards to the riverbanks where hundreds of canoes were paddling by. The Lesse River is fairly shallow and a favorite spot for canoes. It reminded us of some of the rivers in central Texas except we didn’t see people in innertubes. Along the river we discovered several caves, which have been excavated by archaeologists who concurred that prehistoric man had occupied the caves as early as 4500 BC. We came across a small café at the river’s edge and sat down to have an omelet, frites and beer. Finally we hiked a circular route uphill and back to the car.
We drove to the village of Anseremme where the Lesse River flows into the larger Meuse River. Then we drove on a road running along the river to the Chateau Walzin but we did not tour it. We drove into Dinant through the rock known as Rocher Bayard and crossed the Meuse River to the left bank. We drove to the small town of Wepion, known throughout Belgium as the place to go for good strawberries. There were dozens of roadside stalls so we stopped and made our strawberry purchase.
We took back roads to Waterloo then La Hupe and Genval, a pretty little Belgian suburban town with a nice lake. It was getting late so we found a nice Italian restaurant, La Laguna, right on the lake and sat outside for dinner. Service wasn’t all that great but the food was good. Rita started with a fresh, green salad while I had ravioli with gorgonzola sauce. Next Rita had saltimbocca and I had veal with baked cheese. We split a chocolate mousse for dessert and café afterwards made a nice meal.
The next day Rita made a nice strawberry pie out of those Wepion strawberries. So that’s pretty much how our last few weeks have gone – busy but nicely so.
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