Farewell to Friendship Force of the Belgium Coast

Dancing with the Belgians at our Farewell Luncheon

We received quite a "send off" for our last day here in Oostende.  The day began with a tour of the city complete with views of the North Sea, sand castles and pretty boats.  Next was the almost 5-hour "good bye" luncheon at the Charles Lindberg Restaurant.  The meal had many courses - champagne, wine, 

1st Course - croquettes!

appetizers, croquettes, salads, steaks with choice of many sauces, ice cream sundaes, coffee.   We sang, danced (there was a keyboard player), and thanked our hosts for a great time.

Our wonderful host, Flo

Some observations about Belgium:

-They pay 52% of their wages for taxes with no complaints!  They are socialistic in their views and think that society should take care of the poor. 
• -They have great healthcare and the UK even sends some of its overflow here because of the excellent quality hospitals.
• -Like the rest of Europe  they have an efficient rail system which many use- it is very economical
• -They are not very religious.  Although they are Catholic, not many attend church except on major holydays e.g., Christmas or when their children receive Communion or Confirmation
• -They have many immigrants into the country
• -They have 2 dramatically different cultures - the Flemish in the North and the Wallanoons in the South (French) but they get along with 4 different government organizations - the French of Brussels, the Flemish, the Germans (miniscule) and the Wallanoons.

  

  The beautiful Belgian coast

-While they have monarchs (King Phillip and Queen Matilda), they are not as concerned about them as the UK.  Their government is a complicated democracy.  If you do not vote, a policeman comes to the door and you are fined. At one point they had no government for 22 months, but they just went on functioning.  They try to compromise.

-Their history is one of turmoil with invasions from the French, Germans, the Austrians, the Dutch and Spanish.  They became their own small country in the 1800s.

We enjoyed visiting with our hosts, Roger and Flo, and learning all about this interesting country!

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Visiting Flanders Fields on Memorial Day Weekend

 

Flanders Fields
 

Today is our "free" day and since it is Memorial Day weekend, we asked Flo, our host to take us to see Flanders Fields.  On the way, we stopped by one of Flo's friends who have a nice place in the country with fish ponds and chickens. We had coffee and talked sailing with Mark, one of Roger's sailing partners.    The town of Ypres is about 30 miles from where we are staying, in the seaside town of Oostende.  Flo dropped us off at the Menin Gate, an impressive monument to those victims of WWI.  We had a picnic lunch atop a

Liverpool Scottish Cross

 berm that runs along a canal.  There was a moving exhibit with panels pleading for peace in the world.  We also visited Hooge Crater where Welch miners fighting for the crown dug underground mines to detonate German artillery.  This action created a huge crater in the landscape.  We read signposts about it and viewed old shells and remnants of the war.  Today is a gorgeous sunny day.

Peace Exhibit - very moving!



Menin Gate commemorating lives lost in WWI

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A day in Brussels

The famous Mannekin Pis statue

Off we went with our Belgian Friendship Force Friends to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and also the seat of the EU and headquarters of NATO.  Immediately we noticed that most people here speak French while the area we are staying in speaks Flemish (very much like Dutch).  Our guide pointed out the Grand Palace.  King Phillip and Queen Matilda were out for the day so unfortunately we couldn't meet them !  The Mannekin-Pis (peeing boy statue) had the biggest crowds.  Every day they dress the boy in a different costume and today's fashion statement seemed to be an outfit in the colors of the Belgian flag.

The chocolate shops were everywhere and we enjoyed the free samples  We checked out a few lace shops. These days the lace made by the Belgians is rarer and very expensive.  We were told that lots of lace is imported from poorer countries.  There were comic strips characters painted on some of the buildings.  Belgium has produced some of the world's most popular comic characters, including Tintin and the Smurfs. 

Group picture in Brussels - warmer sunny day!

We had a lovely lunch of traditional Belgium pork sausage on a bed of smashed potatoes containing veggies.  The town was very crowded because its the start of a 3-day weekend, Pentecost.  Even though the country is Catholic, most of the young people attend church only on significant Church holydays or for Baptism or Confirmation.  We found this true of Germany also.  The Belgians are proud to host the EU and that peace has endured for the most part since the end of WWII.  



Chocolate shops everywhere



Lace shop displaying its wares

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Bruges

Bruges' lovely canals

Bruges is known as the "Venice of the North" and when we walked into the town this morning, it did remind me of Venice with its beautiful canals, cafes, Bell Tower and cobbled streets.  Swans were swimming everywhere on one part of the canal while the chocolate shops were doing a booming tourist business.  Our guide hit the top spots - the beautiful Church of Our Lady where we enjoyed viewing Michelangelo's sculpture, Madonna and Child.  The Begijnhof, a women's Benedictine retreat was interesting with its tree houses that were built for reflection.  The group had a wonderful lunch and many of us enjoyed strolling around window shopping and people watching. 

Swans on the waterways

Belgium has 120 different varieties of beer and over 580 brands - more than any other countries.  It's interesting that each beer is served in its own particular glass that has been designed exactly for it.  Since we were in the city of beer connoisseurs, some of us decided to participate in beer tasting at one of the local breweries.  The variety

100's of beers

is endless - there is even coconut beer! 

Michelango masterpiece

Bruges name comes from the Viking word for wharf.  Right from the start, Bruges was a trading center and in the 14th century became the most important cloth market in northern Europe.  It declined in the 16th century because its harbor silted up.  Then, in the 19th century, a new port, Zeebrugge, brought vitality back to the city and today tourism helps it prosper.  It is uniquely well-preserved and fun to wonder around. 

Would you believe chocolate owls

With our host, Roger Longhorn

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Visiting Belgium Coast Friendship Force

Ghent's water front

We left Cologne on the 11 AM train and even though there is a train strike, the German Railway decided to run its "international" destination trains.  So, off we went and arrived in Oostende, a beautiful Belgian port city on the North Sea.  Since it was dinner time, the club had a lovely pot luck for us all at the home of their president, Marie Paule Blonde.  I tried a cherry beer that

President, Marie Paule

tasted more like soda than beer with a little zing - very good.  Beer is their national drink and even the ladies indulge liberally.  Our host, Roger Longhorn, took us to his home and set us up in a nice bedroom with a private bath.  He's an American from Iowa married to Flo, who is a resident of the UK.  They've lived in Europe almost 39 years in different countries (UK, Luxembourg, and of course, Belgium). 

Today we had a wonderful time touring the medieval city of Ghent.  It became wealthy from the textile and grain trades and for a time, was one of the biggest cities in Europe.  During this prosperous time, it erected ornate houses and grand churches. 

Joanne with Renate demonstrating Ghent candy noses

Eventually, its fortunes fell, but today it is a thriving city and is home to Belgium's biggest university.  One of the club's members, Arlette, is a professional tour guide.  She took us on a fantastic walking tour and covered the highlights - The Church of St Nicholas, the Belfy (with a dragon rather than a cross on top!), and a renown altar piece, Van Eychk's Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (circa 1432).  The day finished with a guided boat tour along the city's canals and sampling a Belgian waffle. 

Belgian waffle with ice cream

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A brief stop in Cologne

The Beautiful Gothic Cologne Cathedral

Early on Monday we parted Schwerin station for a 6-hour train trip to Cologne, Germany. The group thought that this would be an ideal on-the-way stop for a few days before we started our next exchange in Belgium.  Cologne has the distinction of being the most bombed city in WWII - it was bombed in retaliation for Germany's bombing of London.  It is amazing to look at the pictures posted near the cathedral and realize the rebuilding that has taken place to put it all back together.  Yesterday we took a pleasant boat ride on the Rhine River and today we booked an English guided tour of the old city and the cathedral. 

The cathedral is huge and reminded me of St Patrick's in New York City - only much larger!  It's construction began in 1248 and was finally finished in 1880.  We toured the Museum Ludwig next door.  It features Picasso works and art that was saved from the Nazi's control.  We rented headsets and that helped us a bit in understanding some of the more non-traditional works! 

Tomorrow we are headed to Belgium,  but we heard today that the rail strike is back on!  Hopefully, our train will be able to get through.  Never a dull moment!

We order pig knuckle for dinner with mashed potatoes



Dennis in his unique hat

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Farewell to Schwerin

 

Schwerin Water Tower circa 1889

Today is Sunday and our last day with the Schwerin Friendship Force Club.  It began with a lovely breakfast and listening to outdoor jazz.  Later, we went out for Greek food - very good in Germany!  Our host, Elke, made a special black forest cake (pictured below) for the Good Bye dinner at the top of the town water tower.  It was the first time they've gotten permission to use it and it is a very unique place to meet.  The views of the town were awesome!

I thanked their club and gave them a donation from our club and then we all participated in a "Florida" show.  A translator helped them understand all the facts we had about Florida, e.g., "F" if for the Fountain of Youth that Desoto was looking for when the Spanish discovered it.  You get the idea!

All the club members made awesome homemade desserts.  Following that, there was a barbeque with grilled pork chop steaks, all kinds of salads, liberal wine and beer and more special puddings with sauces.  We will need to diet when we get home!



Elke's delicious home-made Black Forest Cake - YUM

There was a sun shower and suddenly a gorgeous rainbow appeared.  We are sad to leave these wonderful people.  Tomorrow we travel about 6 hours to Cologne for a few days on our own, then we will start our next Friendship Force Exchange in Belgium. 


A Rainbow Ending for our Farewell Party - just beautiful!

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