Beautiful Belgium

Another German holiday gave us the chance to leave the country!  We went next door to Belgium for the Ascension Day holiday week-end.  You might be thinking, wow, they travel a lot.  We do!  Living abroad has been an amazing experience so far.  Along with this experience we have good, bad, and unexpected emotions that can strike any of us at any given time.  So, it is fun to look forward to the adventure of getting away and seeing as much of Europe as we can in the two short years we are here.

When we first got to Belgium I was tongue tied.  I heard that people speak German, French, and Dutch in all different areas of Belgium.  I found myself combining German and French.  I laughed after I heard myself say to someone, "Excusez-moi, bitte".  Which means "excuse me, please" in French and German.  Oops!  After a while I realized most everyone spoke English.

Brugge
We started off the day with a River cruise

What a great spot for a nap!

We also took a walk through the city and peaked inside a few churches.  As we wandered through the first church we noticed a small group of people waiting in line for something that was guarded by religious officials.  We went up to take a look and found out it was a vial said to contain a few drops of blood and water washed from the body of Christ by Joseph of Arimathea.  I read some tourist info that said this was held in a different church across town.  So we asked someone why it was here.  It just so happens that there was an Ascension Day parade in Brugge that day for the very purpose of carrying the Holy Blood from this church to its home church.  In the picture below is the vial on the table.

We also stopped in this church to light a candle in honor of Mark's mother!

It was so much fun stumbling upon this amazing parade.  This parade displayed all the familiar stories in the Bible and the life of Christ.  It also showed the legendary story of how the Holy Blood came to Brugge.  Who knows if this is truly the blood off the body of Jesus, but it sure was fun to witness, wonder, and appreciate this tradition in Brugge.

If you want to examine this legend further, feel free to visit:
http://www.in-bruges.co.uk/procession-of-the-holy-blood-in-bruges/procession-of-the-holy-blood-in-bruges.html
or
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/belgium/bruges-basilica-of-holy-blood



Brussels
Brugge and Ghent reminded us of the Netherlands because of the canals and small towns, but Brussels reminded us of Paris with the French restaurants, the huge city, and the architecture.

Mannekin Pis

Popular statue of a boy relieving himself!  Its claim to fame was founded in the 12th century when the son of a duke was caught urinating against a tree in the midst of battle and was a symbol of military courage.  Kind of strange how much attention this landmark gets! 

 Grand Place

Atomium

Ghent

We stayed at a lovely hotel in this town which happened to have a nice outdoor heated pool.  Ghent is located halfway between Brussels and Brugge.  The weather wasn't to warm for swimming, but the kids went swimming regardless.

Ghent was much like Brugge with a Bell tower, canals, churches, and beautiful old buildings.

 Below is the view from the Castle of the Counts from the 12th century...

 Another cool view from the Bell tower looking at a church...

We indulged in Belgium chocolate and (many) waffles!  

There were many lace stores.  This was a beautiful store window display.

Ghent at night.

Getting Direction

I am lucky to have a car.  Some ex-pat wives do not have a car.  I am also lucky I live in the age of navigation systems.  I do drive almost everyday, but it is mostly to familiar places.  The first few weeks I was living here, I got lost, a lot.  One time my navigation brought me to a two track field and my car stalled in a foot of water with no where to turn around.  I now have a heightened level of anxiety when driving to unknown places.

I have gained much more confidence since then.  But, Saturday, my navigation brought me onto a highway and then re-routed me a mile further because the whole highway was shut down.  It took me an hour, after getting somewhat lost, to get to the destination that should have taken 10 minutes.  The navigation was not very helpful in getting me through all the confusing german construction areas and detours!  Sunday, was better.  We found our way to Jack's basketball tournament with good roads and a smooth navigation.  Better yet, I was able to follow a friend most of the way home.

While following my friend, I remembered something I heard in a Bible Study a few years ago.  My leader said that navigation systems are much like the Holy Spirit.  If we try to get to a destination without it, we can get lost or never find our destination.  Hold on I thought.  That CANNOT apply to navigation systems and german roads.  The navigation system might seem more like a good friend or doctor trying to help, but can't in every circumstance.  My new analogy for the Holy Spirit and driving is that the Holy Spirit is more like the van I followed all the way home.  If I took my eyes off the van in front of me, I could get lost or cars could cut in front of me!  (And, that can surely happen here in Germany.  People don't just cut in front of you in the store, they cut in front of you with cars too, even at the car wash!)  It was so much easier keeping my eyes on the path in front of me when all I had to do is follow the huge VW van to lead me home.  Isn't that true?  We just have to follow the Holy Spirit's leading and keep our eyes fixed on the straight and narrow path.    If we lose a little focus, we can lose our direction.  If we go our own way, who knows where will end up?

Do you agree?  Let me know your thoughts...

Proverbs 3:5-6

Tiger and Turtle Mountain

The weather warmed up nicely over the week-end!  It was in the 70's and we were loving it.

We didn't travel far this week-end.  Actually, just around the corner and down the street to Tiger and Turtle Mountain.  What?  We were not visiting a historical site?  We were enjoying modern art instead.

It is a giant sculpture made out of steel and zinc.  It looks like a roller coaster, but once you get up close, you realize it has steps inside for climbing.  The reason for the name "Tiger and Turtle Mountain" is because it looks fast like a Tiger, like a roller coaster.  But, it is actually slow like a Turtle because you have to climb it instead.  The link between Tiger and Turtle Mountain and Duisburg is that the recreational park it sits on was once a place where zinc was produced and the city of Duisburg is home to a major steel manufacturing company.

The sculpture sits high on a hill so you can enjoy the view at the top!

We hope to come back at night sometime because the mountain is lined with lights and looks great in the dark.