Meanwhile in Holland...

On the same day that we headed to Champlon, Belgium, Veronica competed in the Urban Photo Race in The Hague. She didn’t win, but took some very cool black and white photos. This is a funky tram tunnel...

…someone taking photos of the gate into the Binnenhof (parliament)...

…a police officer waiting for the anti-coronovirus protest to reach his intersection...

…another officer closer to the protesters...

…the peaceful protesters...

…under the Scheveningen pier...

…surfers at the beach...

…and lovers and kiteboarders at the beach. 

That evening she slept in a fort in our living room. She may be 24, but that doesn’t mean she likes sleeping alone in a three-storey house. 

 

Special BMPH3 Weekend...

The following morning, we helped load up the car for the drive to Champlon in the Ardennes. We were honored to have been invited to this special BMPH3 hash weekend that was designed to take place of the cancelled Christmas party. Our small group of 31 hashers had this entire very nice hostel to ourselves; there wasn’t even any staff on site, which is very unusual. Most couples got their own rooms in order to keep some social distancing. 

After unloading the car, we hopped back in the car to drive to the run start. Normally I would have done the runner’s trail, but due to the warning of thick mud, I opted to wear my hiking boots and stick with the walkers. The trail was fairly basic, but along the way we saw a few nice things: a lovely little chapel...

…this beautiful view...

…and some cows.

The walkers arrived first to the beer stop, where I enjoyed a beer with a cute wolf on the label.

Not surprising that Opee arrived holding hands with other runners...

…nor that we couldn’t help but to hug our hash friends (thankfully everyone was vaccinated and Omicron hadn’t reared its ugly head yet, so it didn’t turn into a super spreader event).

Opee was thrilled to DJ his first physical dance party after hosting several virtual ones. Unfortunately, this is the only photo I could find of DJ Opee as the rest of my photos from the weekend seem to have disappeared. Of course, we danced until the wee hours. After breakfast on Sunday morning, we cleaned up the hostel, packed up the car and headed back to Brussels. We then dropped our bags off at the end of the hash and headed to the start. Opee had accidentally left his mask behind at the end point, so couldn’t take the tram with us to the start. Ironically, we made an error and he beat us by over 30 minutes, allowing him to stay with the pack. Yark, Rumple and I opted to walk the route, which was mostly through a lovely park in Brussels that I’d never been to before. We eventually caught up with the group just before the first drink stop, which featured wine from the Medoc region of France. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for dinner as we only had time for a beer at the end before needing to set off for the train station, making for an abrupt ending to another fun weekend with BMPH3.

We had to change trains in Antwerp, which gave me the chance to catch a few photos of that interesting station. 

 

Back to Brussels...

In early September, we took the train down to Brussels for the first time since December 2019. 

We dropped off our stuff at Julie and Alan’s and then set off to meet up for dinner with Delora, who wouldn’t be joining us in the Ardennes for the weekend. Along the way we spotted this beautiful canal...

…and these interesting signs on the street.

I know I’ve posted versions of all of these before, but chances are these are a tad different. Saw this cool sculpture on our way to dinner.

After dinner we went to the Grand Place...

…and visited Manneken Pis.

 

More August...

Veronica and I won this puzzle as part of a Mother’s Day contest on our favorite puzzle designer’s Facebook page after we submitted a photo of our Mother-Daughter project from the previous summer.

Sadly Veronica wasn’t around to help me and this was as far as I managed to get before giving up since I still refused to look at the box. 

Carlin made it her mission to finish it while she was staying with us. She had the patience to painstakingly match each piece to the cover photo and was all smiles when it was done. Later, we learned that this 500-piece puzzle had been updated to the Expert level.

You know we must have been desperate to have poo bags sitting on our kitchen counter. 

Of course, we washed the contents very thoroughly and made sure to carry proper containers on future dog walks so we didn’t have to resort to using more poo bags to collect blackberries.

While admiring flowers in front of a local church, a woman came by and encouraged us to take some. She said that a retired fellow in the neighborhood made the planters from recycled bits. He didn’t want any money, merely to spread some happiness.

That day we took this purple vase for cut flowers and a few days later took a purple container for live plants similar to this blue one. 

We regularly walked past this yard while walking Kati. Throughout the summer, more and more ceramic pieces were added until it was truly a gallery. 

Elsewhere, we spotted this gnome on a walk in Wassenaar...

…and this pony refusing a drink at Vlietland (as you know....you can lead a horse to water....).

We ended the month with hosting Steve for a few nights during his post-Eurohash tour which included a relaxing trip around Leiden on Bootjuh. 

 

Holy Swingers...

Of course, Jimmy didn’t hesitate to go on the swing with the incredibly long ropes hanging down from the very high ceiling. 

I was a bit hesitant since I gave up regular playground swings many years ago as they make me nauseous. However, Jimmy convinced me that I had to try it...

…and I was very glad I did. 

It was so much fun, that I even took more than one turn on it. 
 

The Pieterskerk...

It was fun seeing the imposing Pieterskerk transformed into a welcoming and warm living space for a public exhibition as it is usually only open for private events. 

There was a variety of sitting areas set up ranging from tables to hammocks to couches. 

It even had a lovely bar set up.

We chose this spot to grab a drink and some snacks. 

I especially enjoyed drinking Judas, a Belgian beer, in the former church. 

We really liked the exhibition The Lost City, showing very old photos of Leiden side-by-side with modern ones taken from the exact same angles. In fact, we enjoyed the entire atmosphere so much that we returned the following evening with Jim. 

Jimmy was happy to see a large format camera on display much like the one he left behind in North Carolina.

It was interesting to see how the corner of the church dedicated to the Pilgrims that lived in Leiden had been greatly improved since my last visit.

On our way back to the train station, we spotted some paddleboards with creative lighting.