I have access to a car, so we piled our bags in the back seat and hit the road. I did a small bit of research and found the route I wanted to take, and except for one wrong turn that brought us from Holland back into Germany, we did just fine. It really was only a small detour, and didn't set us too much off course. The weather, however, could have been nicer. This was a pretty standard view out the windows....
Needless to say, we couldn't see much of the scenery, but we entertained ourselves and still had a good time.
We arrived in Tilberg, our destination, at about 6pm - about four hours after our departure from Kasewinkel. Jane's friend Wouter met us at the train station (an easy landmark for out-of-towners), and led us to their home. It is a lovely, cozy European home, and he and his wife Cath were exceptional hosts. About an hour after our arrival, Wouter served RACK OF LAMB that he had prepared, along with a sliced potato dish, beans, homemade cole slaw, and for dessert, a homemade key lime pie. Absolutely amazing.
Then yesterday, after breakfast of toast with peanut butter - a rarity in these parts, but entirely welcome! - we hopped on bikes (literally, for Jane, that's her on the back there) and headed to the train station to catch a train to Antwerp.
Here's the train station in Tilburg:
And this magnificent building is the train station in Antwerp:
Absolutely stunning. Although, the Tilburg train station did have this, which was pretty cool:
Again, Antwerp is Stunning. I had been to Belgium once before, but never to that city. I was impressed.
Here's a photo of Jane and me in front of a statue of Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641), who was an influential Baroque era painter.
And some Guild Houses built in the late 1500s for individual guilds, or trades (e.g. Coopers, Grocers, Archers, and Carpenters):
Here's the Antwerp Weihnachtsmarkt, with the Cathedral of Our Lady of Antwerp towering in the background. It's the largest Gothic church in the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg):
It is amazing. And huge. And has four Pieter Paul Rubens paintings inside. It was constructed between 1350 and 1520, which is a wonder to me. How could they build something so massive so long ago?
After touring the city for a bit longer, we ended up in a fun and unique bar/restaurant for some awesome food.
Here's Jane's steak with mushroom gravy, and the requisite pommes frites:
Today Jane boarded a train for a couple days in Paris, and will return to Muenster on Saturday. I made the drive back from Holland by myself, and was thinking that it really isn't much different from driving through Wisconsin, except there are fields of miniature horses everywhere, and the highway signs have way more vowels (and directions to the crematoriums, curiously).
Hope you enjoyed the sights. If only you could also capture the smells and tastes....
Until next time, be well.
4 comments:
That church was one of the most beautiful I've ever see, with nooks everywhere filled with art. Kate, you lit candles in how many places there, three???
Nope, two candles in just one place - the little chapel area with the round stained glass window and the stone arches, where the man is sitting in the pews. The light from the candles was much prettier in person than in the photo.
It is amazing all of these churches and other building that were erected way back when the USA was waiting to be "discovered". We are such a young country comparatively and that hots home, it seems, when viewing European architecture. Sounds like you are having fun, Kate!
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