Even before the Abbey Cyser experiment I’ve been intrigued with the idea of a bragot/bracket/bragawd/bragaut [1] – a mead with a beer base. Over the weekend, I tried a bottle of Brasserie Lefebvre’s Babãr. Amazing and balanced. The honey had a presence, the ale had a presence. And despite their distinctive flavors – neither overpowered […]
I’m trying to find the online version of an article in Today’s PiPress. This is really hard. Searching for the author’s name doesn’t work. Copying the headline from the PDF version of the front page and pasting it into search doesn’t work. Found it. I Googled for the headline, the only result – Chuck’s posting […]
Somewhere near a window in Beersel Castle.
Here are a few things I thought I’d share with you on traveling internationally with toddlers. Backpacks are better than strollers.It’s far easier to get through airports, old European cities, and tour castles with Little C strapped to my back than in a terrain-sensitive stroller. As ill-fitting as our current Kelty is, I couldn’t imagine […]
We’re back in Minneapolis. Probably the least eventful trans-Atlantic journey I’ve ever taken. A couple minor hiccups leaving BRU, but nothing that slowed us down. In fact, despite sitting on the tarmac in the rain for 45 minutes on departure and 20 minutes on arrival while the jet-way wouldn’t connect, then going through customs and […]
Visiting Belgium and not enjoying a big pot of mussels just isn’t worth the jet lag. So, last night, Jen and I walked down the street from our hosts’ house for dinner at Friture René a small, traditional, steak, mussels, and fries place. Yes, that’s all they serve: steak and mussels. Maybe 5 or 6 […]
Our amazing and wonderful hosts took us on a roadtrip on Saturday to a couple castles just outside of Brussels Beersel – a Brusselian defensive castle from 1310. Visitors can fully explore it and on this day, the place was all ours. From the ground floor through the tight, steep, worn stone stairwell to the […]
Yesterday, we celebrated St. Nicolas Day. Five kids (15 months to 7 yrs) loaded up on chocolate, gingerbread, and taai-taai while awaiting the odd, rumbling noises (well-time washing machine) indicating Sinterklaas and his mischievous helpers, the Zwarte Piet, left presents somewhere in the house. Instead of chocolate, Cooper finished off the carrot we left for […]
Interesting conversation last evening about the price of iPods specifically, and ecommerce differences in general between the States and Belgium. Check this: 80 Gig iPod: $350 or €399 With the current exchange rate, that makes the European price tag: $529 Dang. For that price, it’d be worth flying to the States and loading up a […]
The first breath of air as I stepped off the plane brought a big smile to my face. The air here is a little mustier. A little earthier. A little more natural. The increased intensity of the smell are one of my favorite things about Belgium (and the Netherlands and Germany). The onions chopped for […]