The Deep South

The province of Limburg, squeezed between Germany and Belgium, is the only part of the country that has rolling hillsides. We took a weekend to explore some of the unique sites, avoiding the main town of Maastricht (as we'll surely venture back). The Maas river (pictured above), which goes through Rotterdam on its way to the North Sea, cuts through much of the province.

Our first stop was the town of Thorn. The main draw is the "picturesqueness" of the whitewashed buildings in the town center that surround the old abbey church. The town itself dates from the 10th century; the church from the 12th (although like most old churches it has undergone a number of changes).

From Thorn we headed to the town of Arcen, famous for its Kasteeltuinen (castle gardens). Really more of an "estate" than a castle, the gardens are quite extensive.

Fall hadn't quite taken hold yet, so many of the roses and other flowers were still in bloom. There are also some small animal exhibits; among others we saw cranes, antelope, and capuchin monkeys (all pictured below; click to enlarge any photo). There's also a pic on our daily blog.

We stayed in the small town of Kessel. We had a neat room in what looked like an old stablehouse next to the castle ruins. We picnicked by twilight next to the castle along the river Maas, watching the muskrats in the river and listening to a production of "Romeo & Juliet" being performed inside the castle (in dutch, which was quite novel for us).

The next day we headed down to the Netherlands American War Cemetery in Margraten. The only American military cemetery in The Netherlands honors the soldiers who fought in this region during WWII. To see more, here's a post from our daily blog.

On our way home we skirted into Belgian Limburg (yes, just to confuse you, both countries have a Limburg province).

Rochelle was able to enjoy one of her favorites ... mussels ... and with apologies to the dutch and french, she still insists that Belgium does them best.

And I was able to enjoy one of my favorites, Belgian beer ... with apologies to just about every european country, Belgium wins here too, if you like unique flavorful beers.

Tongeren is dominated by its 13th century gothic church. Next to the church is a WWI monument, topped by small children or cherubs that almost look like they're playing with war implements. Pictured below are some detail shots from the church and the memorial (sorry for the blurry crop).

Come back for our next post on 15 October when we return to Brussels.

Our kind of town...

Last month was our annual "home visit." Our trip was split between Metro Detroit and Chicagoland (our European friends like to remind us that "Chicagoland" makes it sound like a theme park). Our Detroit time was spent out in the far western 'burbs ... it's hard to think of Brighton as a suburb, as it used to be considered "the boonies," but with urban sprawl it's now pretty much part of the area. We had a great time catching up with family and friends, even though we didn't get to see everyone on our list.


For the Chicago portion of the trip we managed to squeeze in a very limited amount of "free time" in and around the city. We made a quick stop at one of our favorite nature spots, the Magic Hedge. The picture at the top of the post is looking back at the city -- through typical Chicago summer haze. Note the strange formation in the upper left ... it was practice day for the Air & Water Show. The weather turned miserable for the weekend and the show was rained out on Sunday ... too bad they couldn't have held it a day earlier! For those of you who don't know what the magic hedge is, click on the sign to enlarge.


Another quick stop: the Wicker Park/Bucktown area, which had become a favorite haunt for us. Here are a couple of reasons why: good "pubs" like Lotties, where you can pop in anytime for a cool drink and a nice game of darts, and neighborhood features like the dog park.




We call the drive north along the lakeshore the "inspirational drive" because of the huge homes (some are truly mansions) and the beautiful scenery. Just over the border from Evanston in Wilmette you'll find a nice harbor and the B'hai Temple. We had never stopped in the temple before, so we decided to be tourists and check it out. The way the building incorporates symbols from a variety of religions is really amazing, and it's beautiful on a sunny day (or lit up at night).






No pics, but we drove by the old house. Rochelle was expecting the worst for her garden: in her mind, it was probably layered over by stones. But surprisingly little had changed. We suspect that the new owners are waiting a year to see what comes up. It'll be interesting to keep an eye on it over time.


Just to throw in some other nice Chicago pics, to follow are some shots we took last year (on our "leaving Chicago" tour). Thanks to all of the family and friends for their time and hospitality, and to anyone we didn't have a chance to see hopefully we can meet next time (or come and visit us).




Pictured left to right:

• The Sears Tower looming behind 311 S. Wacker building (which is more interesting at night) ... from the Architectural Boat Tour which is high on our list of Chicago reco's


• Looking north on Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River: Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower


• The wonderful Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park; if you squint that's the Grant Park Orchestra performing on stage

In the Eifel

The Eifel region of Germany, that is! Just under 3 hours' drive from Wassenaar, we visited the part of the Eifel region that borders The Netherlands and Belgium.

Aachen is probably one of the most historic German towns you've never heard of. The town is dominated by the cathedral (left), part of which dates back to the reign of Charlemagne. While the exterior (with its mishmash of styles) and the interior (particularly the mosaic dome) are interesting, the treasury is the real can't miss. Several huge reliquaries, a sarcophagus dating from the second century, and numerous other invaluable relics are displayed here. Charlemagne built quite a treasure trove of goodies, and Aachen's importance as a place for the coronation for German kings evidently kept the riches rolling in for some time.





Above: Charlemagne (looking a little concerned); detail from the cathedral roof



Above: cathedral interior; mosaics in the dome



Above: decorative mosaics, Persephone sarcophagus


Above: Charlemagne's bust and reliquaries from the cathedral treasury

Of course, there are more sights than just the cathedral. There are more statues than you can count, and the streets are filled with shops selling the local delicacy printen (a sort of chewy gingerbread).

Above: local statuary (the one in the middle picture moves!) and a printen shop window

We happened upon a pretty busy day: stag/hen parties, a string trio, and a bike race! All that and we still found time to relax at a friendly wine bar (those are real grapes pictured above).

Above: a groom-to-be, string trio

Above: scenes from the bike race

The following day we visited two picturesque villages. We blogged about the second town, Valkenburg (NL), on our daily blog. Our first stop on Sunday was the picture-postcard town of Monschau (DE). Situated about a half hour's drive south of Aachen, it is nestled along the sleepy riverbank of the river Rur. Tourism seems to be the order of the day; not very crowded when we first arrived, by afternoon it was bustling with activity.

Above: Monschau contains lots of pretty half-timbered buildings, old churches, and interesting architectural details like downspouts shaped like lobsters.

Among the sights (pictured above) were a sculpture garden, a brass band, and perhaps the prettiest firehouse we've ever seen. After a nice riverside meal, we set off for home relaxed and ready for our trip back to the US to visit family & friends.

We'll do a mini post on Chicago in two weeks as our next installment.