Low Countries - Part 2

January 20 - Accepted an invitation an went to Zeeland (southern province of Holland) to meet distant cousins. After about an hour of conversation it struck me that this really was family complete with a sense of humour and a certain irreverance that was decidedly familiar. Makes me inclined to believe that there is something to the idea of an underlying connection with people that you are related. I'll have to go back to meet more at some point.

Beers - Grolsche

January 21 - After breakfast with the family I was taken to the train station to meet Bart in Diutsmuide for a day of WWI memorials. Climbed the Essel Tower which is right where some of the front trenches were and checked out some of the maintained trenches along the river (considerably drier looking now). Visited a couple of German and Commonwealth cemetarys noting the significant differences in splendor and granduer. The Canadian monument was quite subdued but very effective. Got to be at the New Menen Gate in Ieper (Ypres) for the Last Post that is played every night. We loucked out and there was a troop of bagpipers as well so it was quite the show, nicer and more influencal than most Remembrance Day ceremonies I've seen. Met up with Bart's sister Ann and her fiance Fre for a night of ripping it up in Gent. One very strange club that was devoid of and furniture and played really loud music but was so full that no one was able to dance; damn, these Europeans smoke a lot!

Beers - Bavik, Orval, Vedett, Hommel, Jupiler, Tongerlo Brune

January 22 – The main attraction in Gent is the castle right in the middle of town. Even now there is still work going on restoring more parts of the castle but the areas that were open were just my sort of things to look at. All the doorways are way too low and many of the hallways have to be walked through stooped over to avoid painful head bashes. Great spiral staircases going to the top of the keep: narrow and steep. Since this town is where Fre grew up he was able to take us on the ultimate local tour able to point out all the places for good food and drink as well as regal us with stories of past concerts and festivals. After handing over my left shoe for colateral I had a Kwak beer which comes in a very special tall glass (hence the colateral) and makes a quack-like sound when the air bubble reaches the bottom. One pub was entirely dedicated to genaive with different fruit flavours, various ages and even one type that the owner made. Completed the day with all you can eat delicious ribs and wine that is charged by the centimetre.

Beers – Kwak, Hoegarden Grand Cru, Grimbergen

January 23 – I had hoped to go into Holland this day but was just too exhausted so caught up on sleep and ran small errands.

Beer – Duvel

January 24 – A university city in Holland, Utrecht is filled with canels and pubs making it a great city to walk around in. Arriving mid-day meant that I only had a few hours to check things out and unluckily the Dom Tom was closed for cleaning. This tower is a part of an old church that was partially destroyed by a hurricane back in the day when the water was a little closer to Utrecht; it is now a couple of hours away from the coastline. However, a water tower was available for tours and out of a couple of small portals at the top one can see out over the city. Stayed in one of the hostels that was quite nice and fairly cheap. I can easily see backpacking and staying in them across Europe.

Beers – Leffe Brune Dubbel, Le Chouffe, Moreeke, La Trappe (Witte)

January 25 – The trip to Hoek van Holland was just to see the surge barrier that allows the engineers to seal off the mouth of the river leading into Rotterdam in the event of a spring tide and a strong north-eastern storm. This combination of weather conditions has yet to happen but given the millions of people and the harbour just up river it seems like a good precaution. Getting here however is a train ride out of the way and a solid hour to walk to it. Fortunately, it was a nice day but I would not recommend it as a destination in the future. Spent the afternoon in Delft which felt really touristy, filled with numerous shops advertising cheap mementos and porcelin. Very nice pair of churches to be checked out though, the Old and the New church with nice artwork and interesting crypts with the Old church’s steeple leaning out over the canel. Returned to Utrecht for the night and, to satisfy the inevitable question, went to a coffee shop. Turns out that places to smoke pot are run by potheads (surprise, surprise) and the whole scene was a bit too grungy for my enjoyment. Enjoyed a nice walk around the canels instead of hanging around.

Beers – Brand, Korenwolf, Regal Christmas, Wieckse