Thoughts are like photos. Some are random. Here’s some of my random thoughts and photos from The Netherlands and Brussels.
1. Halte means stop in Dutch. I do not excel in learning new languages. It takes a very long time and many repetitions for a word to register in my long-term memory. Due to the many trams and trains we rode throughout Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hauge I actually picked up the word Halte. That’s it. Ask my travel partner Nicole if you want more words translated. She’s a whiz.
2. No one is overweight in The Netherlands or in Belgium. This is despite the fact that everywhere you turn you can smell and purchase cheese, chocolate and various pancakes and waffles. This is due to two main reasons. First, everyone walks everywhere. Second. Its freezing. You burn a lot of calories in attempting to stay warm in twenty-five degree weather when the wind chill is six. SIX?!? Also, the public bathrooms only have cold water in the sinks. I created a new diet based on this trip. Eat whatever you want. Walk Everywhere. Stand in your freezer with a fan blowing cold water on you for several hours a day. You’ll drop off the weight.
3. Cathedrals are gorgeous. I knew this already before this trip. I just wanted to show you a picture of Saint Michael’s in Brussels.
4. Little boy peeing should not be famous art. We followed the map and worked our way through an amazing restaurant district before we found La Mannequin Pis. It’s very small. Quite anticlimactic.
5. Waffles are better in Belgium. It might be the toppings. You know how when you get off the plane in Hawaii you notice the smell of flowers immediately? Brussels is like that, only you smell waffles…and chocolate. The entire city. No kidding.
6. Large piles of chocolate are gorgeous. We went to the chocolate museum. A cute little man in the bakery gave us a personal demonstration of how to make hand dipped chocolates. He kept saying “Here is the next step so you know how when you get home”. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that last time I tried anything with chocolate in the kitchen I burned it and almost burned down my house in the process. He said the most important step is the temperature. Clearly!
7. I really like maps. I may not be able to pick up new languages but I can read maps. I recognized this is a skill most 5th graders have acquired but I still liked the maps enough that I took pictures of them.
8. Travel is a joy. Travel with friends is double the joy. Thanks for letting me tag along.
Mindy's Blog 