I must admit, staycations have advantages: I can sleep in my own bed and stick to the routine I'm used to! The two museums on the list today are in Brussels and because we want to avoid the morning traffic jams, we take it easy in the morning and leave around half past nine. The… Continue reading Fossils and military history
Only one thing on the agenda today and it opens at ten, so we take our time with breakfast. This includes finishing the last chapters of my book, that's how much time we had! The weather predictions are encouraging, though we keep a sharp eye on the national news service to follow up the status… Continue reading Open Air Museum Bokrijk
Today we're on a schedule, but in true holiday style it's pretty loose and relaxed. Alarm is at seven, but the dawn peeping through the shades wakes us up sooner. Hotels are not allowed to serve food inside, only on terraces, and that's not very handy for breakfast this early in the year, so we… Continue reading Museums and masks
Up at 7! We're not doing much today, so no rush to leave early. We pack for two nights out - it's about the same thing as we would take for a week, except the underwear and pill count. We spend ten minutes searching the library for the next book in Arne's list: he's reading… Continue reading Wildlife spotting
Up at 7! If you've read some of my earlier travel posts, you'll notice that 7 is simply my natural hour to wake up. Apparently, this is a trend that persists even when holidaying at home. Anyway, despite the Belgian tradition of closing anything official on Monday (this includes monuments and museums), we managed yesterday… Continue reading (Medium) old history
The whole corona thing is taking way too long. Part of me wants to save up my days off for a time where I don't have to wear a mouth mask and can travel freely, but mostly I just want to take some time off to relax. I had scheduled this free week a few… Continue reading A corona holiday: staying local
We're sleeping in the loft of the shed and left the window open, so we wake up before six with the birds and the sun. It must have been a cold, clear night, because the grass outside is frosty instead of dewy and we have a great view of the change from black to blue… Continue reading and back home again
Alarm is at six thirty, but I wake up a bit earlier, courtesy of the cat. I've prepared my bags yesterday evening, so I can take it easy this morning. I have some water, take my meds, put in my lenses and generally hang around. I'm doing 16:8 intermittent fasting to help my IBS and… Continue reading to Racour by bike
This year is not like the ones before and it's no surprise that the end of year holidays must then be different as well. Here in Belgium the rules to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus have changed every month or two: the government imposing restrictions when the infection rate is too high and… Continue reading My corona-proof holiday season
Sheer corona boredom and a significant mass of leftover children's fabric led us to create these puzzle plaids.
Our last day here in the Ardennes.. Unfortunately that means extra work in the morning: pack everything, tidy the house and load the car. We drive off around ten with a full trunk, but are by now smart enough to keep the hiking stuff on the back seat, we'll need that soon! This morning we… Continue reading Squirrel!
The cell phone alarm starts ringing at seven and when it wakes me, I realize today is a day off and we don't actually have plans. So I stay in bed, reading a book. After Arne also opens his eyes about an hour later, we get up and discuss the entertainment options for the day… Continue reading 101 Waltzes and Polkas
When we get up this morning the sun is shining and there's not a cloud to see in the sky! We decide on a 15 km walk right on the border with Germany, once again from the 'Pleasure Walks' book/website. We drive through Eupen (listening to ancient Pure Music cd's - or rather the Spotify… Continue reading a beautiful day
We're getting used to having nothing to do but walk, cook and eat! We're going through the books and TV entertainment quickly, but luckily we came prepared with much to read and watch, so we're not worried that we'll get bored. After the usual morning routine (with some leftover chicken berberé for the sandwhiches today),… Continue reading not fens, bogs!
Today is predicted to be the rainiest day, so we decide during breakfast to do a woodsy walk in the hope that the trees will protect us a bit. We pick a walk from the flyer of the OstBelgien tourisme office, it's a bit further away - about half an hour by car - but… Continue reading Rainy..
elegant crack fix Up at eight, can you imagine! We sat in bed reading, cozily warm, for an entire hour before that. During a leisurely breakfast we negotiate which route to hike today, still with the eighties disco music list. It's supposed to remain dry until the late afternoon, so plenty of time to roam… Continue reading windy!
I wake up a few minutes before the alarm goes off at seven. This is a trick I only manage to pull off on holidays, so I suspect it has to do with active days and better sleep. It's pretty chilly in the house: there's no central heating and it takes a while for the… Continue reading settling in
Up at six, lots to do today! Arne wants to spend some quality time with his computer, so after breakfast I head over to my Mom to continue our sewing projects. We're making a fleece vest and the first job is to make a pattern. That's my Mom's specialty and not really something I can… Continue reading hop east
So this is a bit strange. Most of Western Europe is in some kind of lock down and here in Belgium only essential stores remain open. Cafés, restaurants, any stores except food, pharma, etc.: all closed. And Belgium is a 'red zone', so if you travel to another country you have to remain in quarantine,… Continue reading Corona holidays
No rush today, so yesterday evening I set the alarm at eight. It's a bit surprising when it goes off at seven instead, but as breakfast is only scheduled at eight thirty we kill it and sleep another hour. We spent half of dinner last night talking about the new COVID-19 counter measures: less social… Continue reading A significant navigational error
We have planned a short getaway: we have this Friday off work, will go for a walk or something and will sleep in the Voeren area of Belgium. Saturday more walking, something cultural or a movie, doesn't matter as long as it's relaxing! I have spent an hour or two in the evenings earlier this… Continue reading Mushroom Central
