Weekend in the Low Country

Things have begun to shut down for the summer holidays. Many shops are closed, the day care centers are closed, most businesses are closed and Europeans go on holiday in earnest. My class at the gym had five people on Monday, down from the usual twenty. So we finished up July with a weekend visit to the low countries and joined Jed and Helga who took the boys to visit her parents in Belgium.

Marcelle, our au pair, went home for a two week vacation. For the first week, Esther, the previous au pair, came from the Netherlands to fill in. Then there were no options but to get out of Dodge ourselves as Steve and I are not up to the task of full time day care. Helga and Esther drove the nine hour trip to Ghent with the boys on Saturday. Jed stayed at work through Tuesday evening then took a flight to Brussels on Wednesday. We flew out the next day and with coordinated precision we met up in the Vanthournout backyard on Thursday afternoon. Jed put on a splendid barbecue for dinner. It was very hot and the kids only needed a hose with running water to amuse themselves. It has been several years since we saw Arseen and Hilda so it was delightful to reconnect especially since the kids were there to translate for the older generation.

Canal in the Netherlands

Friday it was decided that we would drive to the Netherlands for lunch. Helga's family has a favorite restaurant where mussels are the specialty. I am still not used to the idea that one can drive for forty five minutes and be in a different country with, if not a totally different language, then at least a different culture. We headed for a town called Phillippe on a canal that leads to the ocean. There are many restaurants here and each one serves mussels with frites (not called French fries here). We gorged ourselves on these two delicacies and the local beer of course. After lunch we walked along the peaceful tree lined canal where Tern hitched a ride in the stroller and caught 40 winks.

Mussel Bench in Phillippe

Friday evening we watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Arseen and Hilda's living room. It was a BBC broadcast and the commentators were very restrained. It was quite different from the enthusiastic American style of reporting. The show began at 10 PM and we made it until midnight to see the parade of nations up to the letter "G". We have not been able to see any more as we do not have a TV and have not found the games on the Internet. It is the first Olympics I've missed in decades.

A very pleasant part of our trip was a bed and breakfast called  't Eiernest. We stayed there before when we were in Belgium six years ago. It is run by Wim and Elke Lambrechts-DeBontridder. They had two little boys then, Jan Henrik and Zeger. Now the boys are half grown and are joined by an adorable three year old sister, Marjoke, who was never disturbed that we did not understand what she said to us. She just chattered happily even if we did not respond. All the kids are friendly, helpful and well mannered. The whole family made our stay very enjoyable. If you ever find yourself in Belgium near Ghent, look for the gorgeous, quiet village of Sint-Martens-Lartem. It is a great place for bicycling (absolutely flat) with a lovely B&B. 

Ghent City Hall
where Jed & Helga got married

Saturday three generations of Kaplan's went into Ghent to mingle with the crowds, buy supplies not easy to find in Switzerland and have lunch. We stopped in a tiny, plain cafe where the only decoration on the walls was a framed portrait of President Kennedy. I guess we have never again been as popular as we were in the sixties.

Helga and Tern playing in Ghent

Ghent is a beautiful, historic town that seems to be accommodating the 21st century very well. Saturday evening we joined up with the senior Vanthournouts at a typical Belgian restaurant. By typical I mean, a lovely white tableclothed, white beamed, whitewashed, antique low ceilinged room with fabulous food and good service. Our relaxed dinner took four hours. Luckily, Jed & Helga brought along the electronic babysitter, aka the iPad so the boys could watch Thomas the Train videos. (There might be a big space before the next text. I am having trouble with the layout.)

Jed, Arseen, Steve at Klokkeput Restaurant

Antwerp Train Station

After Sunday morning farewells, we headed to Antwerp before catching our flight back to Geneva. We happened on a many blocks long farmers. crafts, household items, outdoor market. You could buy a Vegematic here, remember those? as well as live birds and rabbits, to eat or for pets, clothing, shoes, tools, and food. We wandered into the beautiful train station and there was the Starbucks. Some things are the same no matter where you are on Earth.

Chocolate Fish on display at shop in Antwerp