BELGIUM

Tuesday, April 30,2024 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Last week Thursday we drove to Dulles Airport to fly to Brussels, Belgium, to start our European vacation. I plan to post my thoughts and add sketches all along the way.

Wednesday I rented a car to make the drive, a car I’d never driven before. I found this sitting next to me. Took me an embarrassing long time to figure out how to use it.

Friday morning we landed in Brussels and went to the Marriott Marquis Grand Place hotel, where Mary had reserved a room for us. Nice hotel, with great service! Then we took a walk. Guess where (when in Brussels . . . )

Saturday we took a train to Ghent so I could revisit the famous Ghent Altar Piece. While we  were there I remembered they had a unique way of serving french fries — with beef stew.

Sunday we visited the charming and beautiful city of Bruges. In a quiet canal off the beaten track we saw, floating on top of the water next to two mallards, a pair of oversize Three Musketeer boots! I think they’re made of bronze; we found out they are part of a city-wide arts festival.

After a leisurely day in Brussels, we took the train here to Amsterdam, where we will meet up with a Tauck river cruise. In the afternoon I went to the Van Gogh Museum, and tomorrow I’ll visit the Rijksmuseum—what a treat!