Thursday, September 29, 2011

Touring Antwerp


Looking through the pictures I took in Antwerp reminds me that I am not a very good tourist, I much rather prefer blending in with the culture, and therefore I do not bring out my camera very often.  None-the-less, I will give a brief description for the few photos that I remembered to take.  Above is a picture of the right bank of Antwerp, taken from the left bank.  I took video of the the whole harbour I posted it below if you are interested. There are two foot paths that go under the river to get to the other bank, so we walked under the river (twice-here and back) to get this picture.



This is a statue of Brabo, Antwerp's hero of old.  In the background is  the Cathedral of Our Lady. The original plan was to have two spires, but during construction there was a fire and the second tower was never completed. Interested in more? you can check these links Antwerp and Cathedral.


Het Steen (the Stone) from across the river. The last remaining building from the old city.  I love really old buildings.

 It looks like a Castle from a fairy tale.


 Here I am at the super market in the chocolate section. There much to choose from, so I am very happy in the picture. Also, notice the "hand basket" that has wheels- I was really impressed by it.



This is Magali (my generous host) and me at Central Station.



This is Central Station from the outside, it is such a beautiful building. Here is a cute link that shows the inside of Central Station youtube video.

So, yes this is pretty much all the pictures I took in Antwerp minus a few pictures of food I shared on a previous  blog post.  I really had a fantastic time in Belgium, even when I was uber scared of the giant spider and had to be rescued by Magali's older brother who was willing to leave his family at 10 pm to come and smash the spider to pieces.



Friday, September 23, 2011

food from my Euro trip

Kipsaute Bapao en curry, lekker.  (Chicken with peanut sauce in a steamed roll, with a sweet curry sauce, yummy)

real Belgian frietjes with mayonnaise. rumor has it, it was the Belgians who first came up with  frying potatoes as "fries". I really don't care where the genius of this idea came from, I am just happy it came. 

 
my first "Belgian Waffle" it was yummy, but remarkably tasted just like a waffle!

 De Koninck- one of the many beers famous in Belgium. It was very good.

 the first of many cappuccinos I drank in Amsterdam. 

familiar faces


my lovely Rita.


Ralda, a fellow student from Bible school.


 Rob and Desiree von Os. Rob was staff from my Bible school, and Desiree came to translate a few times.


more friends from Bible school- Anton, Johannes, Annet, Stella, and Marijke.


A few gals from my September 2005 DTS- Inge, Michelle and Mariska.  


my dear friend Jos, how many cappucinos did I have that day? I am not sure, but I was super jittery :)

revisiting Heidebeek

Sept 2002- July 2003 I was blessed to be able to do a Bible school though YWAM (SBS). On my trip to the Netherlands, I went back for a visit.



Nine years since I was first here. I love this place.



 This bike was so awesome, it made biking a breeze.



My view from my room while I was at Heidebeek for 4 days. It was so incredibly peaceful.

 Oh, Licht in Duuster, (housing) so many, many memories.



 Chickens at Heidebeek  :D


Stairs up to the view of the heatherfields.




I was looking forward to resting on the bench... but it was too muddy to get close.

 Heather.



Fietspad, my first dutch word = bikepath.... the country is covered with them.




 I was "glowing" after a long bike ride. So happy to be in Holland again.