Romantic Dining with Kids?

We were determined not to spend hours searching Antwerp for the perfect restaurant for dinner as we've done so many times in other cities. Our first night we lucked out when we happened upon a cellar restaurant in the hidden 16th century alley that we'd read about in our guide book. We loved the setting, atmosphere and the fact that not only was the lamb and salmon cooked over an open wood fire, but also the baked potato, bread, and apple for dessert. We also loved that we could sit at a separate table from the girls. (One of the big payoffs of being a mean mom is that the girls have good manners and are very independent. Of course, everything has its price -- in this case, extra slices of apple pie.) We liked it so much, we decided not to risk having a mediocre dinner the next night and climbed the stairs back down to the cellar for a second round.

Why Did the Tourists Cross the River?...

...In this case it wasn't to get to the other side, but rather to experience how to get to the other side. We couldn't resist crossing below the Scheldt River in a 1/3 mile long pedestrian tunnel built in 1933. The tunnel can be accessed from a large elevator or wooden escalators that descend 100 feet. On the other side, there was a view of historic Antwerp and a maritime playground which the girls really enjoyed.

Sightseeing in Antwerp...

There were plenty of interesting sites to see in Antwerp. We enjoyed visiting Rubenshuis, a beautiful villa where it's estimated that Rubens produced an incredible 2,500 paintings from 1610 to 1640 with the use of his team of artists. Having just finished reading an epic about cathedral building, it was very interesting to go into the gothic Cathedral of Our Lady which took from 1352 to 1521 to complete. The maritime museum was housed in the gatehouse of the Steen, a fortress built in 1225 and the oldest building remaining in Antwerp. Our biggest disappointment was that the girls weren't old enough to go on the underground tour, although we were happy to be allowed to have a sneak peek as shown above. Apparently when the city expanded beyond the old city walls, the moat was built over rather than filled in. It was discovered centuries later, cleaned out and is now a popular tourist attraction.

A Weekend in Antwerp...

After several months of wet, windy dreariness, we were so thrilled to see the sun that we decided to celebrate with a weekend away. Inspired by seeing a fantastic exhibit of Peter Paul Rubens in Den Haag, we chose to explore his hometown of Antwerp, Belgium, a 2-hour train ride away. Traveling spontaneously with a family of 4 means having to be willing to stay in an overpriced 2-star hotel, but luckily it was clean and close to the historic center of this city of 460,000 people. According to folklore, the city got its name from a legend involving a giant that charged a toll to cross the river. If you refused to pay, the giant severed one of your hands and tossed it into the river. Eventually, the giant was slain by a hero named Brabo, who cut off the giant's hand and threw it into the river as depicted in the above statue in front of the town hall built in 1564. Hence the Dutch name Antwerpen means hand-throwing.

Groceries on Wheels...

It took us a few times of hearing the bell rung to get up the nerve to explore what was in the strange big truck which visits our street twice a week. We were very surprised to find a complete grocery store on wheels selling a surprisingly large selection of breads, cookies, fruit, veggies, beer, milk and cheese. The grocer doesn't speak a word of English, but always offers the girls a smile and a sweet. The prices are higher than the traditional grocery store, but it sure has come in handy on some horribly rainy days. You might be surprised to hear that last week when I gave the girls money to buy some fruit, they came back with Brussels sprouts.

Yippee! Veronica Got Her "B"...

After just a few more lessons, Veronica got to take her test for her 2nd swimming diploma as part of a large group in mid-January. It was fun seeing what a big deal these tests are. She was thrilled that there was another big girl there; the other 34 kids were mostly 6- and 7-year-olds. As you can see, this exam started with her dressed in long pants and long-sleeved shirt. The test is basically an extended version of the last one, again stressing survival skills. There were scuba divers in the water taking photos of the 6-meter underwater swim through a hoop, but they missed getting one of her. Ashlynn continues to make progress, but it'll be awhile before she'll be ready for her first diploma test.

Happy Valentine's Day...

It probably isn't a surprise that I'm not much of a romantic and think Valentine's Day is basically another Hallmark holiday. Maybe that's why I couldn't resist sending y'all this free Boomerang postcard that I found at Bagels & Beans in Den Haag. Could you imagine your local bagel restaurant having this on a rack outside the restroom? In fact, this one is fairly tame; there was one postcard that I picked up for a friend that I'll be mailing in a plain brown envelope. Anyways, hope you're having a day full of love and bagels.

Dutch Food News...

* According to a recent article in Dutch News, as much as 1/3 of Dutch fast-food snacks such as frikandellen, kroketten and burgers may contain horse meat. Students at Wageningen University, which specializes in life sciences, analyzed 286 meat-based snacks and found horse in 32% of them.

* Apparently, Valencia isn't the only place into rabbits. Dutch animal rescue groups stopped giving away rabbits to people who phoned up in December looking to take over an unwanted pet since rabbit is a traditional Dutch Christmas delicacy.

Dutch Beer News...

* A Dutch pet shop owner has launched a non-alcoholic beer for dogs called "Kwispelbier," which means wagging tail. She worried her dog felt left out after they'd go hunting and she'd pop a cold one, so she found a brewery to make her own brew of beef extract and malt. As an extra bonus, it's safe for humans (although it costs 4 times more than a Heineken) -- mmm, over-priced beef-flavored beer.

* Freddy Heineken, the man who turned around Heineken brewery after taking over in 1941, didn’t like the stuff himself, according to a biography recently published. So what was the beer magnate’s favorite drink? A weak whiskey. Conveniently, his wife was from a Kentucky family of bourbon whiskey distillers.

Reflecting on Winter...

Every season around here seems to break new records thanks to global warming. This winter has been the warmest and wettest in history (although low 40's with a major windchill is hardly warm). We were thrilled to see our first snow this week although there was only enough to build the above snowmouse before the yard turned to mush. Some things I've learned this winter:

* Every bike ride is an adventure since you never know if you'll have a tailwind, headwind or knock-you-off-the-road wind.

* You never have to brush your hair because if it's not buried under a hat, it'll be completely windblown anyways.

* It's OK if you can't find your umbrella or your sunglasses. With all this wind, umbrellas are totally useless. And you won't need your sunglasses since the sun only comes out a few times a month.

* You'll come to appreciate freezing temperatures and snow. Having tears from the cold beats a face full of windy rain.

* Any guilt about spending the big bucks on Goretex won't last long. You'll be thankful for dry feet and upper body, and will eventually get used to having wet legs.

A Piece of History...

According to a plaque in our front yard, the home we're renting was bombed 62 years ago today. I recently visited one of my Dutch neighbors and she shared with me the above photo that she received from one of the original occupants who lived here during World War II. She said that the British were trying to slow down the Germans by collapsing the nearby train bridge and missed. Our unit is the one on the far left. While the damage appears to be just on the facade, sadly the freestanding home to the left of our building was destroyed killing 3 children.

A Little Kick's All it Took...

Ashlynn had been wondering for weeks when she'd finally lose her first tooth. She'd recently been having problems eating apples, but refused my offer to buy her baby food. As she and Veronica attempted to crawl into my bed early this morning for hugs, Ashlynn's mouth made contact with Veronica's foot (it was clearly an accident although Ashlynn still says Veronica kicked her) and her tooth fell out. Luckily she caught it and scrambled off the bed before dripping blood all over. Now she's having fun with her new straw hole. That'll teach her to try to wake me up.

Hungry for a Yummy Fried Snack?

The Dutch love fried food and, I confess, some of it is hard to resist. It's common to see stands selling paper cones over-
flowing with friets (fries) smothered in curry ketchup or mayo. At the market, we often lunch on loempias (Filipino egg rolls). During the Christmas season, kiosks are set up selling Belgian waffles and olie-
bollen, which are deep fried balls of dough rolled in powdered sugar that help warm us up on cold winter days. While I'm guilty of partaking in these unhealthy snacks, I'll definitely pass on the infamous Frikadel, which is popular in the train stations sold through heated automats. When I asked a Dutch hasher what was in them as he was preparing to shove one in his mouth, he said anything not good enough to be in sausage such as a combination of pork, beef, chicken, and horse brains and testicles. Doesn't that just make your mouth water?