On Saturday morning (Oct 25th), we got our little pirate ready for the AWCA Halloween party at VondelPark. He did a pretty good job of keeping the bandana on his head, for about 2 seconds. :) The park was beautiful with all of the autumn colors, and it was lots of fun to see all of Ben's friends dressed up.
After the party, we went home for lunch and a quick nap before heading to the airport to pick up Mom and Dad Zabikow. We met them about 4 p.m., and it was hard telling who was more excited - Ben or MeMa and PePa. Lots of hugs and kisses, then back to our apartment for dinner and unpacking...and re-packing. We were leaving bright and early the next morning for Brussels. Thankfully, Europe was 'falling back' with our clocks that night, so at least we got an extra hour of sleep.
On Sunday morning, we took the 8 a.m. train to Brussels, arrived about 11 a.m., dropped bags off at the hotel, grabbed 5 waffles (couldn't resist!), then back to the train station for the 11:45 a.m. train to Mons. Mons is about 30 miles southwest of Brussels and is where Boris was born. He had never been back since his family left when he was about 2 years old, so we were glad to be so close that we could visit Mons while they were here. As we walked out of the station, there was a flower market set up...mums in Mons. (That 'funny' is courtesy of Greg.)
We slowly made our way to St. Waudru Cathedral, a beautiful gothic church. Building started in 1450 and lasted over 200 years. From there, we saw the Belfry Tower, 87 meters tall and built in the 1660's. It replaced an older tower that collapsed in the late 15th century. I read that Victor Hugo (Les Miserables) once wrote his wife about it..."Imagine a giant coffee pot, with under it four smaller tea pots. It would be very ugly if it weren't that big."
We came into the town square, very charming. We ate lunch at a great little restaurant in the square, yummy food and the waiter was very friendly. After lunch, we explored around the square a bit. The gothic town hall dominates the square, and through a small tunnel of the hall, we found a little courtyard with a fountain that I'm pretty sure Ben was not supposed to be sitting on. Grandma helped Ben gather some leaves, his favorite pasttime. He loves fall, just like his mommy.
One of the symbols of Mons is a little monkey statue that sits outside the Town Hall. Legend has it that the monkey brings luck to those who rub his head with their left hand...who doesn't like a bit of luck? :) Apparently even Napoleon and other famous emperors have been there and rubbed too.
The nice waiter from lunch had told us that Saint Joseph hospital, where Boris was born, was a short walk down the street and pointed us in the right direction. We didn't go in or stay too long, but saw a lady walking out with a baby carrier while we were standing out front. It was really wonderful to imagine the joy of his parents as they carried Boris out of there - not too long ago. :) And, with Ben being almost 2 (the age that Boris was when he left Mons), it was fun to watch him running around and think of Boris doing the same.
It was now early evening, so we decided to head back to Brussels. Boris hadn't been sure what to expect of Mons, but I think we all are very glad to have visited. Ben enjoyed lots of 'toe-eating' by Grandpa and singing by Grandma on the train. We briefly walked through the Brussels Grand Place to see the evening lights, and then checked into the hotel. We were still pretty full from lunch, so we found a place to get some coffee and sweets, then to the hotel for sleep.
Ah, sleep. That didn't come for Boris and Sherry. There was an Irish pub playing disco music (we didn't understand the Irish/Disco connection either) until 4 a.m.!! Their window was probably the closest to the pub in the hotel, poor things! So, it was a slower start to the morning, but we're on vacation, so no worries! We walked through the Grand Place square again, did some window shopping, and of course visited the Manneken Pis. Oh, and did I mention the waffles yet? :) We walked to see the St. Michael Cathedral, one of our favorite sights in Brussels. Then, it was time to grab our bags and head home about 1 p.m. for a little R&R before our next travels!
Tuesday morning was swim lessons, and then Mom and Dad Z went to climb the Westerkerk tower for the amazing views of the city. They were the only 2 in their 'tour', so they got a private showing. We spent the afternoon packing (again!), and we had an early dinner once Greg got home from work. We had bathtime and pj's for Ben and left for Central Station about 7:30 p.m. It was a really crisp, beautiful fall evening for a walk - maybe I'm just saying that because I was pushing a stroller and not shlepping bags. Anyhow, we boarded our overnight train and left for Munich at 8:30. We had a 4 person sleeper car, very cozy, but fun. Ben slept with me, how can someone so small take up so much space? :) It was also a little hard to sleep with the train stopping a few times, but it worked out well so that we could start our day in Munich once we arrived.
We arrived in Munich on Wednesday around 7:30 a.m. We went to our hotel expecting to just drop off bags, but thankfully our quad room was ready! So, we had a little time and space to freshen up and get settled. We had breakfast at the hotel, and then ventured out in the cold drizzle for Munich sightseeing. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, behind Berlin and Hamburg, and is probably most well known for Oktoberfest, which ended in early October. We entered Alstadt (old town) through the Karlstor, a 14th century gate that had to be rebuilt after WWII. We walked to Michaelskirche (St. Michael's Church), as you can see was being renovated (see church with big ad in the center, I found this funny). Inside is the crypt of the "mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria, whose fairy tale castle we were going to visit on Thursday.
Nearby is the Frauenkirche, also known as the Dom, which was built in the 15th century and has served as Munich's cathedral since 1821. It's twin towers are regarded as the city's trademark and look (appropriately) like 2 gigantic old-fashioned beer steins.
Past this church is Marienplatz, the large open square is named after the Mariensaule (column in the center dating from 1638 with the Virgin Mary at the top). A tiny casket inside its base allegedly contains a piece of the True Cross. The Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall), built in the late 19th century, has the famous glockenspiel - every day at 11 a.m., it chimes and re-enacts 2 stories from the 16th century. Ben literally was oohing and aahing. :)
We were feeling pretty chilled at this point, so we stopped in a little cafe for some coffee to warm up. Normally, I wouldn't share a photo of my beverages, but my hot chocolate was so cute with the heart on top, and Greg's macchiato was beautifully layered. After coffee, we went back to Marienplatz to see the 15th century Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) and to climb the New Town Hall tower for views of Munich (well, not really climb, they had an elevator). :) All that button-pushing was worth it, I love getting a feel for a city from above it - really amazing!
From there, we walked by Peterskirche, the oldest church in Munich - even predating the founding of the city. By this time, pretzels were calling our name, so we stopped for a quick snack. Then, to the National Theater, home of the Bavarian State Opera (the theater was destroyed in the war and completely reconstructed in 1963). Across the street from the Theater is the Residenz, which was the royal palace from the 16th century until the end of the kingdom in 1918 (and again with the ad in the renovation screen, wacky). There are 3 parts to the Residenz: the Treasury, the Museum, and the Cuvillies Theater. We agreed that we weren't up for visiting all 3, so we chose the Museum - with the royal apartments and art galleries. I didn't get to visit myself, Ben was sleeping and they would not allow personal strollers in the Museum. (??) But, Mom, Dad, and Greg enjoyed it.
After the Residenz, we were ready to sit, relax, and eat. We went to the famous Hofbrauhaus (built in 1896 to provide poorer citizens with a place where they could drink cheaply) for a traditional German meal. Wow, what a party! Music being played, and the beer was flowing. I dipped my fork in my beer and gave Ben his first (and last, right?) taste...yucky (see photo)! We ordered the WeiBwurste (boiled white sausages), served with sweet mustard and a pretzel. Pretty tasty. We'd had quite a day, so we spent the rest of the evening getting settled at the hotel.
Monday means more travel! We took the train to Delft, about an hour away. Our first stop was De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles (The Royal Porcelain Bottle) factory, founded in 1653. We were able to take a self-guided tour of the factory, watching how they make and paint the Delftware. And of course, they have a showroom at the end of the tour where you can purchase Delftware - and we did, and not because Ben broke anything, he was quite good at keeping his hands to himself! Thank goodness, some of the pieces can get quite expensive. :)
Tot ziens!
PS - Met a very nice man who lives in our building yesterday named Kurt. We was an American ex-pat on a 2 year contract - that was 15 years ago! Don't worry grandparents, we promise we are coming back before 2023!
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