Northern Lights @ Chena Hot Springs Resort, Alaska
Pictures to come.
Pictures to come.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Day 47 – The final day
We went to Antwerp to see Rubens festival. Supposedly there was supposed to be a giant outdoor market going on with all the vendors dressed in costumes from the Rubens period. We was looking forward to some booty.
So instead there were vendors selling everything from grandma-style night robes to bed linens and socks. There were some green grocers, a few candy vendors, and several were selling fish, meats, and cheese. No arts and crafts. A few vendors were dressed up. All the stores other than food and souvenirs were closed. We went to the main train station to get some coffee and pass time. For the next few hours we could only see people over 100 on the streets. Poor Rubens, that’s probably not what he would have had in mind.
While leaving we spotted a playground and a supermarket. Would have been a hell of a walk from our apartment if we ended up staying there.
On the way back we stopped at Michelin. Lovely town… if you haven’t had our fill of the beautiful Belgian towns.
We are looking forward to going home. The last 6 weeks did not play out how we planned originally but we had a really great time. It was the most interesting summer so far. It was also very enjoyable to spend more time with our girls and be able to watch them literally grow before our eyes. Dan and I had grown too, just in other ways.
So instead there were vendors selling everything from grandma-style night robes to bed linens and socks. There were some green grocers, a few candy vendors, and several were selling fish, meats, and cheese. No arts and crafts. A few vendors were dressed up. All the stores other than food and souvenirs were closed. We went to the main train station to get some coffee and pass time. For the next few hours we could only see people over 100 on the streets. Poor Rubens, that’s probably not what he would have had in mind.
While leaving we spotted a playground and a supermarket. Would have been a hell of a walk from our apartment if we ended up staying there.
On the way back we stopped at Michelin. Lovely town… if you haven’t had our fill of the beautiful Belgian towns.
We are looking forward to going home. The last 6 weeks did not play out how we planned originally but we had a really great time. It was the most interesting summer so far. It was also very enjoyable to spend more time with our girls and be able to watch them literally grow before our eyes. Dan and I had grown too, just in other ways.
Day 46 - More countryside
On Saturday the city has gotten so busy that it was difficult at times to squeeze through. In the morning we went to the money museum next to the cathedral. It is very nicely designed from the perspective of Belgian children – there were lots of interesting multimedia exhibits, cartoons, and stools to view the exhibits. But Dan was disappointed with the amount of the actual coins shows.
We drove to Teruven to check out the museum of Central Africa lovingly put together by the king while the colonization was going on. The African exhibits were very extensive and varied. Most incredible and creative masks. Lots of nasties – including the real shrunken human head and richly decorated skulls (incidentally there were some of those in the kid-oriented Paradisio yesterday). On one hand the people who were used for these exhibits were dead so they could not care less, but on the other they probably did not die of the natural causes. And then again how do you come up with the process for shrinking one’s head? Method 1: smoke the head for 20 hours. Result: dark, wrinkly human head, yak, no go. Method 2: boil the head for 20 hours in special herbs. Result: soup, nice idea, save for the future reference, but still no shrunken head. Method 3345: … There were also lots of dead stuffed birds, snakes, and animals including the giraffe and elephant – imagine stuffing a corpse this big. There were nice collections of African faded butterflies, beetles, and bugs; with graphic photos of what would happen to a person if the latter would crawl under their skin or lay their eggs inside a person. Finally there were some interesting fishes in marinating in formaldehyde. Very old school and pretty disgusting.
The next stop was the ruins of Villers Abbey. Having read the Pillars of the Earth the structure provides a very good perspective on what the life was like in a monastery from 800 years ago to 200 years ago. There were walkable areas of abbot’s palace, workshops, hospital, main church, guesthouse, monks and lay monks quarters, and a cellar under the whole church (alas no flashlight and the metal detector). Nowadays the church is used for the concerts. Not as lovely as the yesterday’s ruins but pretty thorough and informative. Definitely recommended.
We tried to go to St. Gertrude’s collegiate church but made a mistake and went to the wrong town. We must have driven for 10 km on the cobblestone road made for 1 car. Don’t know long old it is – cannot imagine anyone caring enough to do this nowadays. Some of it was patched with asphalt. In some spots the middle has buckled so high that it was scratching to belly of the car. Useful hint: if you see a Mercedes or a BMW heading towards you and you are not driving a vehicle made by either of these manufacturers – pull over, because they won’t.
Our final stop was Bois Des Reves. Weird place with a lake, some walking trails, pool, playground. Weird because playground costs 1.70 euro per kid, parking lot is 1 euro, and the pool costs something too. That's Belgium for you - there is no free playgrounds. There were fisher men sitting around the lake catching very large fish with very long fishing poles and then letting it go.
The city was buzzing when we were back. Near our hotel you pretty much could be carried around by the crowd. We went to the upper town (we drove around it for days and last night finally made it out there). It was much less filled up with people, especially considering that there was a music festival going on and several bands were playing in the stages around the justice palace and the park. It is a nice place.
Incidentally, speaking of the upper town, a few days ago we passed Mary Chocolatier, the vendor who supplies the king. I asked about the favorite candy of the king. The salesgirl said the king’s office always orders everything. Either they are dead-beats in the king’s office – how could you possibly like everything equally. Or Mary the Chocolatier lies. It is just not interesting. If it were I, I would say: “the king like these the most but everyone else prefers these, and these, and the other ones.” And let the client figure out what they like the most.
We drove to Teruven to check out the museum of Central Africa lovingly put together by the king while the colonization was going on. The African exhibits were very extensive and varied. Most incredible and creative masks. Lots of nasties – including the real shrunken human head and richly decorated skulls (incidentally there were some of those in the kid-oriented Paradisio yesterday). On one hand the people who were used for these exhibits were dead so they could not care less, but on the other they probably did not die of the natural causes. And then again how do you come up with the process for shrinking one’s head? Method 1: smoke the head for 20 hours. Result: dark, wrinkly human head, yak, no go. Method 2: boil the head for 20 hours in special herbs. Result: soup, nice idea, save for the future reference, but still no shrunken head. Method 3345: … There were also lots of dead stuffed birds, snakes, and animals including the giraffe and elephant – imagine stuffing a corpse this big. There were nice collections of African faded butterflies, beetles, and bugs; with graphic photos of what would happen to a person if the latter would crawl under their skin or lay their eggs inside a person. Finally there were some interesting fishes in marinating in formaldehyde. Very old school and pretty disgusting.
The next stop was the ruins of Villers Abbey. Having read the Pillars of the Earth the structure provides a very good perspective on what the life was like in a monastery from 800 years ago to 200 years ago. There were walkable areas of abbot’s palace, workshops, hospital, main church, guesthouse, monks and lay monks quarters, and a cellar under the whole church (alas no flashlight and the metal detector). Nowadays the church is used for the concerts. Not as lovely as the yesterday’s ruins but pretty thorough and informative. Definitely recommended.
We tried to go to St. Gertrude’s collegiate church but made a mistake and went to the wrong town. We must have driven for 10 km on the cobblestone road made for 1 car. Don’t know long old it is – cannot imagine anyone caring enough to do this nowadays. Some of it was patched with asphalt. In some spots the middle has buckled so high that it was scratching to belly of the car. Useful hint: if you see a Mercedes or a BMW heading towards you and you are not driving a vehicle made by either of these manufacturers – pull over, because they won’t.
Our final stop was Bois Des Reves. Weird place with a lake, some walking trails, pool, playground. Weird because playground costs 1.70 euro per kid, parking lot is 1 euro, and the pool costs something too. That's Belgium for you - there is no free playgrounds. There were fisher men sitting around the lake catching very large fish with very long fishing poles and then letting it go.
The city was buzzing when we were back. Near our hotel you pretty much could be carried around by the crowd. We went to the upper town (we drove around it for days and last night finally made it out there). It was much less filled up with people, especially considering that there was a music festival going on and several bands were playing in the stages around the justice palace and the park. It is a nice place.
Incidentally, speaking of the upper town, a few days ago we passed Mary Chocolatier, the vendor who supplies the king. I asked about the favorite candy of the king. The salesgirl said the king’s office always orders everything. Either they are dead-beats in the king’s office – how could you possibly like everything equally. Or Mary the Chocolatier lies. It is just not interesting. If it were I, I would say: “the king like these the most but everyone else prefers these, and these, and the other ones.” And let the client figure out what they like the most.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Day 45 - South Western Circuit
Yesterday morning I spent an hour trying to find the best itinerary for today. There were a few beer festivals going on but based on the pictures they were not a family type of event. Also, none of them were easy to reach by the public transport and it would not make sense to make the trip for only 1 drinker. We are sampling the local product every day and still did not find the one yet. So we went to the tourist information office and unhelpful lady gave us amazing booklet for 365 Discovery Days Belgium. Better than any tour book!
The first stop was the ruins of Aulne Abbey. This was one of the major highlights of our entire summer trip. The monastery is over 800 years old and now just a number of supporting walls from the structures remain. There are also a few functional buildings in and around the ruins - beautiful restarants, brewery, cellar bars. The ruins are incredible. The views all around are too much for our little camera to capture.
Next we stopped on the in Thuin to take a look at the famous belfry and the surrounding valleys. The views here are very different than on the eastern circuit. There is much more land used for farming. The farm houses are more colorful than the gray slate of the Eastern region. The area is also much more populated. Isabella went to sleep so we opted in for lunch rather than going up the tower. Lunch at a local little restaurant with only locals present was very pleasant.
Next we wanted to go to the Distillerie de Biercée but made a mistake and ended up in a Fosterau Castle (will check the spelling) instead. It is hard to miss a castle here, they are all over the place. And this one is not even on the list. A very warm and courterous lady with flawless British accent called us in. The castle was never used for protective purposes. It was initially jointly owned by an Abbey and a lord, so it was only used as a home for the manager who was responsible for taking care of the land around. It was a kind of a working castle. It looks very much like it is still used in the same capacity and that was interesting There are rooms with accumulation of furniture and rugs. They sell some modern paintings and sculptures. Host events and possibly travelers. On the first floor there is a pharmacy that was probably there for a very long time - possibly used by the surrounding farmers. There are a few tea rooms for the meetings like collecting taxes.
The next stop was the distillery. We were sort of disappointed. The building complex from gray slate is magnificent. Here and there there are gleaming attributes of distilling process. There is a desk arranging the tours and buying products and a little cafe to sample the product. There was just one waitress manning the establishment so there was no possibility of discussing a tour with her. Dan ordered a cherry liquor for me while I played with the girls on the minimalistic playground: two wave bugs and a little wooden house. The liquor was too sharp and alcoholic. A pleasant gift to see us off: there was a wall of pear trees trained to line the wall of the distillery. They were full of fruit. We stopped there and picked enough for everyone. Isabella fought with me over the tail end section.
The final stop was the Cambron-Paradisio in Brugelette - a large zoo/acquarium/play area. It was really impressive. Scrumptious is probably the word. The grounds are extensive and full of interesting buildings reminiscent of the Asian building style. There are different sections that house animals and environment is set up to show the part of the world where they live. We visited enormous Chinese section, saw a bit of Bali section. They have genuine historical artifacts. The sections are full of them to the point of them looking gaudy - 20 bansai trees all close together, a stone garden with way too many stones, not a bit subtle. I guess they do not have that much space after all.
We started at the farm animal section. It is a bit different that typical sections in other zoos - there was a black piglet out for petting, interesting varieties of goats and lambs. A large goat ate my map of the place. We could not stop him. Isabella was very excited.
One other impressive section was the Aquarium located in the classical building changed inside to look like the submarine. Exhibits looked like illuminators. Sometimes the typical submarine sounds were sounded. They have incredible jelly fish exhibit.
There is a canopy road in the trees around several areas of the zoo. When we finally found the entrance, Georgia and Dan went around it. Very brave of Georgia. This thing shakes like there is no tomorrow and she was the youngest on it. There was also a large sandy playground. Like most playgrounds here it is boring and most sections just repeat. It was enough for Georgia. Absolutely nothing there for Isabella - not even a baby swing. And we did see a lot of parents with little toddlers.
It started to rain and kids were freezing so we left. But it was incredible place. And we had incredible day.
The first stop was the ruins of Aulne Abbey. This was one of the major highlights of our entire summer trip. The monastery is over 800 years old and now just a number of supporting walls from the structures remain. There are also a few functional buildings in and around the ruins - beautiful restarants, brewery, cellar bars. The ruins are incredible. The views all around are too much for our little camera to capture.
Next we stopped on the in Thuin to take a look at the famous belfry and the surrounding valleys. The views here are very different than on the eastern circuit. There is much more land used for farming. The farm houses are more colorful than the gray slate of the Eastern region. The area is also much more populated. Isabella went to sleep so we opted in for lunch rather than going up the tower. Lunch at a local little restaurant with only locals present was very pleasant.
Next we wanted to go to the Distillerie de Biercée but made a mistake and ended up in a Fosterau Castle (will check the spelling) instead. It is hard to miss a castle here, they are all over the place. And this one is not even on the list. A very warm and courterous lady with flawless British accent called us in. The castle was never used for protective purposes. It was initially jointly owned by an Abbey and a lord, so it was only used as a home for the manager who was responsible for taking care of the land around. It was a kind of a working castle. It looks very much like it is still used in the same capacity and that was interesting There are rooms with accumulation of furniture and rugs. They sell some modern paintings and sculptures. Host events and possibly travelers. On the first floor there is a pharmacy that was probably there for a very long time - possibly used by the surrounding farmers. There are a few tea rooms for the meetings like collecting taxes.
The next stop was the distillery. We were sort of disappointed. The building complex from gray slate is magnificent. Here and there there are gleaming attributes of distilling process. There is a desk arranging the tours and buying products and a little cafe to sample the product. There was just one waitress manning the establishment so there was no possibility of discussing a tour with her. Dan ordered a cherry liquor for me while I played with the girls on the minimalistic playground: two wave bugs and a little wooden house. The liquor was too sharp and alcoholic. A pleasant gift to see us off: there was a wall of pear trees trained to line the wall of the distillery. They were full of fruit. We stopped there and picked enough for everyone. Isabella fought with me over the tail end section.
The final stop was the Cambron-Paradisio in Brugelette - a large zoo/acquarium/play area. It was really impressive. Scrumptious is probably the word. The grounds are extensive and full of interesting buildings reminiscent of the Asian building style. There are different sections that house animals and environment is set up to show the part of the world where they live. We visited enormous Chinese section, saw a bit of Bali section. They have genuine historical artifacts. The sections are full of them to the point of them looking gaudy - 20 bansai trees all close together, a stone garden with way too many stones, not a bit subtle. I guess they do not have that much space after all.
We started at the farm animal section. It is a bit different that typical sections in other zoos - there was a black piglet out for petting, interesting varieties of goats and lambs. A large goat ate my map of the place. We could not stop him. Isabella was very excited.
One other impressive section was the Aquarium located in the classical building changed inside to look like the submarine. Exhibits looked like illuminators. Sometimes the typical submarine sounds were sounded. They have incredible jelly fish exhibit.
There is a canopy road in the trees around several areas of the zoo. When we finally found the entrance, Georgia and Dan went around it. Very brave of Georgia. This thing shakes like there is no tomorrow and she was the youngest on it. There was also a large sandy playground. Like most playgrounds here it is boring and most sections just repeat. It was enough for Georgia. Absolutely nothing there for Isabella - not even a baby swing. And we did see a lot of parents with little toddlers.
It started to rain and kids were freezing so we left. But it was incredible place. And we had incredible day.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Day 44 – Proud to be an American
There comes the time in our travels, every time, when we think back to the home country we left behind and feel proud to be its citizens. Not that we do not think that normally. But sometimes comparisons bring home better what we have.
We went to see the Atomium today. It is a giant model of the Iron molecule built for the 1958 World Fair. It was recently renovated and looks pretty good on the outside. The inside is much of the late 50s splendor so not very impressive.First, you are squeezed like sardines in the elevator that takes you to the top sphere for the view of the city, from maybe 20th story height. Next, you are herded back to the ground floor and take escalator and stairs to 2 more spheres.
What disturbed us was the exhibition that was designed to showcase the challenges of being accepted by the Belgian society of the new immigrants. There were stories of immigrants, pictures and all that good thing. But they also had exhibit labeled “Foreign Scum.” The board said something like “6 out of 10 African immigrants think they are not being treated right.” There were other similar statistics and I do not remember them. There was also a TV with a taped interview in French presumably on the same topic. We moved to a different sphere and there was artistic exhibit – a neon sign saying, “Scum.” It was interesting that it was pointing towards the elevator that could only be used by the staff on this floor and at the moment a black cook was standing next to it. There was another sign about the foreign scum a few feet away.
The fact that the subject comes up and there is a word for it or rather label, and there exhibits showcasing it indicates that yes, immigrants know that they are scum, and locals know that immigrants are scum. And yes, indeed it is a great social problem.
Now in US, if someone so much had called someone a foreign scum they would probably arrested for racial/religious hate crimes. There is no concept such as a foreign scum here. Everyone in the country is immigrant and an American and I appreciate the great pains that country is going through every day to make sure it stays so (give or take Arizona). That’s why you can bring your family to Belgium, and dozens of other countries in the region, and give them you best and in the end, the best you would be is still the foreign scum.
I am sure that great quantities of Belgians are good people and do not think of foreigners as scum and do help them, hopefully more of them would get the message. One other note, I ranted on the first day how hard it is to find anything "Belgian" in some areas and how depressed and run down things that are not Belgian are. I guess this all stems from the scum concept. The same donner may look glorious on the market in Marakesh. But here it is a sign of decline. Fixing this should start from beginning to respect it. If you respect foreign things, you could extract and distill the very best out of them. For example, Americans were able to perfect the Italian pizza and take it to the new heights via the deep dish and the New York style pizza. Lithuanians did it by putting the entire contents of their fridge on it.
Our next point was the glass town but having received varrying directions for the locals we ended up wandering for 3 hours in the outskirts. Eventually we made it back to town. Walked around for the rest of the day re-sampling to local specialties. Here they are again: waffles, doner kebab, French fries with mayo, and deep fried meat. Had some beer on the street. Dan was embarrassed to have it out in the open :) Take out coffee is soo bad. Coffee Inn, Coffee Inn!! How come Starbucks never made it past the airport?Flower carpet on the Grand Place is almost finished. It is awesome. Will try to find a high point tomorrow to view the whole thing.
Day 43 – The South Eastern Circuit
We spent today covering about 1/3 of the South Eastern Belgium circuit described in the Eyewitness guide. The circuit covers about 21 points which include several beer breweries, castles, gardens, pretty and interesting towns, and similar things. We figured we would do one of each. We missed Huy, but I heard it is not much to write home about. It was drizzling at times but usually when we got into the car to drive to the next destination. The whole thing took about 12 hours. After the 30-minute cry-fest by Isabella on the way in, we set out expectations for the day really low, but the kids were perfect even though it was a challenging. We had a really great time.
We started in Namur, beautiful quiet and empty town on the river. The main church is nothing special after the splendor of the Brussels cathedral. We walked over to the river and saw the fortifications high on the hill across. Next we wandered around the streets. Checked out a few interesting stores, surprisingly, very expensive. We were really impressed with Namur's Notre Dame: very unusual, non centered layout inside, medieval statues and magnificent glasswork.
The next stop was the Floreffe abbey. They make, no surprise, Floreffe beer, and also cheese. We got into a small town and entered the monastery. It was not like imagined - lots of monks in robes, scurrying around carrying the barrels. Instead there that a functional shop with a sales lady who looks to be very fond of the main product. We got the blond variety and some local cheese, ham and bread. They do not sell samples. The blond is very good in a solid kind of way but not beyond that. Cheese and meat helped us recover the calories lost since breakfast. Having satisfied the crucial needs, we walked around the publically accessible areas.
The monastery is situated high on the hill above the river and has extensive grounds lots of very substantial buildings of gray stone. Nowadays they also have boarding school, seminary and other things. They also rent out the grounds for the weddings and other events. The last event probably involved a lot of laser and other specialized light equipment as we saw the dismantling efforts from the gruff looking staff.
Next stop were the Gardens of Annevoie. It was a very pleasant stop for kids. Georgia and Isabella played on the nice playground with wood carvings. We walked around and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and lots of varieties of fountains which were all operating by gravity. There were plenty of areas to play and tell fantastic tales. The only thing that was kind of funny were some of the areas near the vegetable gardens where flat classical statues were displayed. From afar they looked 3-d, but as you got closer you could see that they were flat. I am not sure why it is like that. Maybe a style at the period when those were done? Maybe they run out of funds for the 3-d versions? Some of the pools hosted large trout lazily swimming around confident that they will die of the old age. For the fishing conosseurs living in the castle-home surrounded by the moat with clear water, beautiful water plants, and trout would be a dream come true - wake up, walk out on the balcony in your PJs and trout is out there, waiting. I dare say it is better than the gardens of Versailles.
At the end of the property was the wall of the town church and next to it, inside the property was the mausoleum for the family members. Some of the dates were around early 17th hundreds. It is interesting to have a territory to large as to have the family semetary there. And it is interesting that the same family owned this property for over 300 years only to sell it 10 years ago.
The next stop was the town of Dinant. The city is squeezed between the river and the mountain. It is one of the prettiest towns we ever saw. Unfortunately it was also one of the busiest. The narrow streets were groaning under the weight of the non-stop flow of cars moving back and forth. And that on a Wednesday afternoon. Elderly gentlemen were screaming something into their phones (we counted 2). Old ladies were doing their promenade at the snail pace (far too many to count). Tourists of all kinds were going back and forth. We were also pretty tired at this point so all this noise in the beautiful surroundings was not helpful. While Isabella nodded off we stopped by at one of the restaurants by the river, we had late lunch and moved on.
The next stop was Veves Castle. It really qualifies as a stop because the castle was under construction and outside view is the main attraction of the castle. So we looked at the one tower that was not covered by the latticework and went to our final destination.
Han on the Lesse river is a tiny city that seems to have been created to support the tourist industry to the caves. We took the 1.5 hour tour. It was really enjoyable. We were worried how the kids would respond to being in the closed quarters for so long and also whether they would be OK with the temperature. But both of them were great and all of us had a great time. The caves are beautiful, with lots of interesting staglatites, staglamites, other rock formations. There was a light and sound show in one of the largest caves. It must be incredible to listen to a concert here. Isabella conributed a little song too, the cave acoustics were equally obliging. Afterwards another great playround and some farm animal enclosures that kids enjoyed prior to our drive home. Isabella was giggling all the way back.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Day 42 - Brussels, the right way
So, Isabella and I woke up at 5:30am today and the day began. It sounds painful but it was actually very precise on her part - it is 6:30am LT time. It was still dark out so we hanged out in the lobby and watched intense cleaning that was going on inside. The windows, floors, rugs were all scrubbed. Desk clerk treated us to a chocolate croissant straight from the oven. When it got light out we went outside and watched more cleaning going on. There were lots more people out at 6:30am than in Vilnius - mostly people going to work, having breakfast at the coffee shops. We walked around the Grand Place and did some window shopping on St. Hubert's shopping gallery.
By 8:30 everyone was up. We walked around and enjoyed the city without too many tourists at this time but plenty of locals going about their things. We walked up to St. Catherine's. It is a beautiful area and looks exactly how I imagined Belgium to be. There are lots of buchers, fish shops, and pastry houses. St. Catherine's is amazing to look at too, if in part because it looks abandoned. It is in a real bad need of the restoration. Yet, all the beautiful sculptures, ancient organ, darkened paintings, in an "unmanicured" state somehow, look more real.
Later in the day we watched the creation of the new flower carpet on the Grand Place and later still checked out St. Michael's Cathedral, the main one in the city. It is certainly "eye candy" on the highest level. One other largest cathedrals we ever saw, with incredible huge medieval culprit, clear and gorgeous window glasswork, lots of distinctive chapels in different styles, old and modern religious art, and enormous modern organ suspended near altar windows. I cannot imagine how much the thing weighs. And yet it is fitting on the giant wall. We will be back to check it out again and also visit the crypt.
We went through all the usual fares: got Belgian waffle near the Pissing boy, it is the best one so far. Isabella chewed on it like it was gum. We also got chocolate candy and marmelade. I wonder what the history of Belgian chocolate is associated with. Does it have anything to do with Congo colonization? We got some local beers, and french fries with mayo. We even got dinner from the one of the restaurants on the street with identical menues and prices behind the Grand Place. Dan was ashamed of our choice of the tourist trap for a meal but in defense I argued that the service would be faster that Lithuanian McDonalds and with 2 kids this is an important factor :). The food was good, fast and not expensive. Don't have the name of the place and it really does not matter on that street.
Isabella can walk around the furniture by herself or if someone is holding her one hand. She really loves to walk around and we let her down from her backpack frequently so she could stretch. Georgia had a mixed day - early in the morning some mean little Russian kid on the street slapped her. It happened so fast that Dan and I did not react to the kid or to his parents. His parents made a bit of a show admonishing him. We met them later in the day, he pretty much does what he wants. We promise to protect our kids better the next time. Georgia was alternating between good and bad moods, but in the end went to bed happy having watched all the cartoons she wanted.
We pretty much covered the lower city (I don't just mean the food :)). Will work on the upper one tomorrow.
By 8:30 everyone was up. We walked around and enjoyed the city without too many tourists at this time but plenty of locals going about their things. We walked up to St. Catherine's. It is a beautiful area and looks exactly how I imagined Belgium to be. There are lots of buchers, fish shops, and pastry houses. St. Catherine's is amazing to look at too, if in part because it looks abandoned. It is in a real bad need of the restoration. Yet, all the beautiful sculptures, ancient organ, darkened paintings, in an "unmanicured" state somehow, look more real.
Later in the day we watched the creation of the new flower carpet on the Grand Place and later still checked out St. Michael's Cathedral, the main one in the city. It is certainly "eye candy" on the highest level. One other largest cathedrals we ever saw, with incredible huge medieval culprit, clear and gorgeous window glasswork, lots of distinctive chapels in different styles, old and modern religious art, and enormous modern organ suspended near altar windows. I cannot imagine how much the thing weighs. And yet it is fitting on the giant wall. We will be back to check it out again and also visit the crypt.
We went through all the usual fares: got Belgian waffle near the Pissing boy, it is the best one so far. Isabella chewed on it like it was gum. We also got chocolate candy and marmelade. I wonder what the history of Belgian chocolate is associated with. Does it have anything to do with Congo colonization? We got some local beers, and french fries with mayo. We even got dinner from the one of the restaurants on the street with identical menues and prices behind the Grand Place. Dan was ashamed of our choice of the tourist trap for a meal but in defense I argued that the service would be faster that Lithuanian McDonalds and with 2 kids this is an important factor :). The food was good, fast and not expensive. Don't have the name of the place and it really does not matter on that street.
Isabella can walk around the furniture by herself or if someone is holding her one hand. She really loves to walk around and we let her down from her backpack frequently so she could stretch. Georgia had a mixed day - early in the morning some mean little Russian kid on the street slapped her. It happened so fast that Dan and I did not react to the kid or to his parents. His parents made a bit of a show admonishing him. We met them later in the day, he pretty much does what he wants. We promise to protect our kids better the next time. Georgia was alternating between good and bad moods, but in the end went to bed happy having watched all the cartoons she wanted.
We pretty much covered the lower city (I don't just mean the food :)). Will work on the upper one tomorrow.
Day 41 - Loosers, Part Deux
We drove around our hotel Alma in circles trying to approach it closer with our enormous luggage. The neighborhood looks plenty eclectic, with the buildings being the only part Belgian left. Finally we pulled over behind some car where the guy was furiously doing something underneath the wheel (car jacking?). A bunch of men who, at best, looked like workers after a long day, sat nearby smoking. I took Isabella and our passports and walked over to the hotel to register. The lobby looked simple but updated. The older gentleman at the counter was surprisingly courteous. I read many reports of the hotel staff and this hotel being unfriendly but this was definitely not the case here. He showed me the Grand Place parking about a block away and explained how to get there.
We parked, grabbed our immediate stuff and walked into our room. We reserved a triple, thinking that Georgia would get the third bed and Isabella will sleep in the corner like before. The counter guy gave us two keys - for the rooms on the third and fourth floor and said that they are connected. It looked strange but we went in.
Here I pause effectively.
There was a winding staircase in the room on the third floor to get to the fourth floor. The same nasty crickety "I have way too many 4-year olds" staircase. We went back to the guy downstairs. He was nice and helpful but essentially said that there no triples or quadrupples at the hotel. That this is what they call the rooms that are connected by the staircase. And the most that he could do is try to move us to the larger room and stick another bed in there, tomorrow, and that's not for sure.
We walked around for a bit trying to sort things out. While one is in this special kind of mood everything is affected. All we could see were dilapidated old buildings with graffiti. Massage specialists inside Shanghai massage parlor, definitely did not come from China. Even though we were meters away from the Grand Place, walking to it we passed scores Greek, Indian, Chinese, Lebanese eateries and started to despair of seeing a place that sold waffles or chocolate. We finally found one (checkmark!) and went back to the hotel.
Next Dan went out to a pleasant square next to the underground parking and checked with Novotel and Ibis that were located there. Novotel had family rooms that cost less than what we were paying with breakfast included. I think we missed it because online prices are higher. So that's our new home for the final week.
The room is really nice, the linens and the girl at the desk brought Isabella a crib and gave kids some stuffed animals. The view outside is definitely better. Wow. When the kids went to sleep, I went downstairs and got a drink and online. Ready to re-discover the city tomorrow. A shawarma for lunch would be great.
We parked, grabbed our immediate stuff and walked into our room. We reserved a triple, thinking that Georgia would get the third bed and Isabella will sleep in the corner like before. The counter guy gave us two keys - for the rooms on the third and fourth floor and said that they are connected. It looked strange but we went in.
Here I pause effectively.
There was a winding staircase in the room on the third floor to get to the fourth floor. The same nasty crickety "I have way too many 4-year olds" staircase. We went back to the guy downstairs. He was nice and helpful but essentially said that there no triples or quadrupples at the hotel. That this is what they call the rooms that are connected by the staircase. And the most that he could do is try to move us to the larger room and stick another bed in there, tomorrow, and that's not for sure.
We walked around for a bit trying to sort things out. While one is in this special kind of mood everything is affected. All we could see were dilapidated old buildings with graffiti. Massage specialists inside Shanghai massage parlor, definitely did not come from China. Even though we were meters away from the Grand Place, walking to it we passed scores Greek, Indian, Chinese, Lebanese eateries and started to despair of seeing a place that sold waffles or chocolate. We finally found one (checkmark!) and went back to the hotel.
Next Dan went out to a pleasant square next to the underground parking and checked with Novotel and Ibis that were located there. Novotel had family rooms that cost less than what we were paying with breakfast included. I think we missed it because online prices are higher. So that's our new home for the final week.
The room is really nice, the linens and the girl at the desk brought Isabella a crib and gave kids some stuffed animals. The view outside is definitely better. Wow. When the kids went to sleep, I went downstairs and got a drink and online. Ready to re-discover the city tomorrow. A shawarma for lunch would be great.
Day 40 - Leaving Vilnius
The last few days were not eventful. On Sunday we walked to the Panorama mall. When driving around it looks pretty far from the center but walking it is 5 minutes away from prison, and so 35-40 minutes from our apartment. The mall is newer and prettier than the rest but nothing other than the air-conditioning. They also have a nice picture of the alternative city plan near the entrance.
Later in the day we met up with Irochka and d. Izya. It is nice to meet the people from the homeland.
On Monday the weather did the Palanga trick - it was pleasant and cool all the way up to our departure. Walked around the town with Isabella at 6:30am for the last time. It is a beautiful city. Will miss it.
Everything worked out really well prior to our departure: apartment owner's daughter showed up and picked up the keys perfectly on time. The guy from the Autobest.lt was waiting for us in the departures area of the airport, again, perfectly on time. Alicia saw us off and off we went without waiting in any lines on account of being with kids.
The trip was good too. Georgia watched cartoons. Isabella entertained a group of very tall girls from the Belgian Cats basketball team. She got tired after a while and let out a few piercing shrieks. It is amazing how well the sound carries on a small plane. But she did not cry for very long and actually caught a little sleep.
So on to the last part of our summer adventures.
One last note. While we were doing our usual route we saw a lady pass us by on a bike and stop at the street light. I was maybe 80% sure that this was the mom of Max Frei. Chickened out to ask to make sure. But this still brings some kind of closure to the summer experiences here.
Later in the day we met up with Irochka and d. Izya. It is nice to meet the people from the homeland.
On Monday the weather did the Palanga trick - it was pleasant and cool all the way up to our departure. Walked around the town with Isabella at 6:30am for the last time. It is a beautiful city. Will miss it.
Everything worked out really well prior to our departure: apartment owner's daughter showed up and picked up the keys perfectly on time. The guy from the Autobest.lt was waiting for us in the departures area of the airport, again, perfectly on time. Alicia saw us off and off we went without waiting in any lines on account of being with kids.
The trip was good too. Georgia watched cartoons. Isabella entertained a group of very tall girls from the Belgian Cats basketball team. She got tired after a while and let out a few piercing shrieks. It is amazing how well the sound carries on a small plane. But she did not cry for very long and actually caught a little sleep.
So on to the last part of our summer adventures.
One last note. While we were doing our usual route we saw a lady pass us by on a bike and stop at the street light. I was maybe 80% sure that this was the mom of Max Frei. Chickened out to ask to make sure. But this still brings some kind of closure to the summer experiences here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)