Sadly, our visit with my mom and Mike has come to an end. We had a really great 12 days together. The time is never long enough, but we are thankful for the time we have together. Here's a little recap of some of the fun we had while they were here.
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| On Monday morning, we attempted to go to Beersel Castle here in Belgium. Of course, we arrived, and it was under construction and closed. Knowing we were pretty close, we opted to hit the Neuhaus Chocolate Outlet and Gaasbeek Castle. I should have just planned that to begin with. It was a much better idea! |
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| This place is heavenly! There are samples all over the outlet. That smile says, "I hit the jackpot!" You can eat as much as you like. I recommend you bring something to drink. :) |
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| Easter time is Belgium just gives us an excuse to eat a ridiculous amount of chocolate. |
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| This is the "Lucky Corner" where you can sample A LOT of different kinds of chocolate that you can buy in bulk sizes. Just what I need.... |
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| She really wanted this giant egg, but I don't think it would fit in her carry on. ;) |
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| We then hopped over to Gaasbeek Castle. It didn't open until the following week, but it sure was pretty with the snow. |
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| After our visit to Gaasbeek, we attended a birthday lunch for my friend Cori. The Thai food was delicious, and the company was terrific. Mom and Mike were subject to two birthday lunches. We celebrated my friend Mackenzie's birthday on Tuesday. Mike opted to stay back at the house for the second one, so Mom and I went. We had a great time with all the girls, and afterwards we stopped for waffles next to Manneken Pis. Sorry Mike. Tuesday night we celebrated Thomas's birthday...see last post. :) |
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| On Wednesday, we headed to Monschau, Germany. We underestimated how cold it was and found the sun to be deceiving. Hats, gloves, and scarves were the purchases for the day. |
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| Monschau is the perfect little German town just over the Belgium/Germany border. It's a fun place to take guests...as you've seen in previous posts. |
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| It was another successful day of touring! |
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| Thursday took us to Tielt, Belgium. We intended to make it to Tielt on their last visit and ran out of time. This is the town my family left to come to the United States. We were hoping we might see a familiar name that day. We had no idea what would be in store for us. One of the first names we saw was my grandma's maiden name. Turns out it is also the current mayor's last name. |
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| Tielt was a very cute town! Nice and clean with friendly people. |
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| We visited a church and wondered if my mom's grandparents had attended here?? |
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| Verstraete....a common Belgian name in Moline, IL. Just one of the many names we saw of friends and relatives. It was really surreal! |
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| We decided to stop in the tourist information office, told the employee our little story of my mom's grandparents, and she suggested we visit the archives, but we had better hurry because they were only open for about another half hour. Ironically, the girl who helped us was the granddaughter of a DeRammelaere. Go figure! :) |
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| Initially, things were not looking promising at the archives, but this young man went above and beyond! He was able to find my grandma's father in the archives...Maurice DeRammelaere. |
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This is the date my grandma's uncle died in Moline, IL.
I really can't describe how this felt. My mom said her whole life just felt complete. Belgium has always been a part of our lives from the food I ate growing up to the Belgian Social Club we belong to....it was just the most awesome feeling to have the proof there in front of us. The young man encouraged my mom to send him more names when he had more time to do some research. She left that day with a copy of her grandpa's birth certificate and her great grandparent's marriage certificate! Far more than she ever expected! |
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| What a terrific day in Tielt! |
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| Saturday was the first official day of spring break, and we were finally able to enjoy some fun with the kids. So, off to Cologne, Germany we went. |
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| The Dom Cathedral is something to behold. It is just massive! |
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| We enjoyed a very chilly walk around the city. |
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| Posing along the Rhine River. |
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| Checking out the lock bridge. |
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| Someone is on Instagram now, so she is always taking pictures. :) |
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| We saw the name Thomas everywhere! |
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| Steel drums on a freezing cold day in Germany??...Ya Man! |
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That's Thomas in the black coat...give you a little perspective on how huge this cathedral really is (and this is just part of the side!)
For Easter, we went to our church and then headed to Amsterdam. More on that in the next post! Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Wendy |
