Chronicles of the Low Countries, or Benelux, Beer and Bikes?

We just returned last night from our big summer trip(s) and are hopelessly behind on posts. So I will start with a recap of our most recent trip, then see if I am ambitious enough to work through the summer backlog.

My friend from college (and bridesmaid) Liz and her boyfriend Pete are visiting us from Vermont. We rented a car and drove up to The Netherlands and Belgium for a week. We entered the The Netherlands from the triple junction with Belgium and Germany, which coincidentally is the high point (vertically) of the whole country.

Highest point in the Netherlands: 327.5m.

We had a wonderful first day in the town of Delft. It is true that Dutch people are friendly and nice. We took a walking tour of the city's canals, and learned the history of its churches, famous painters (Vermeer) and its iconic blue and white pottery. We also had a canal boat tour and ate fried fish and mussels. Joe was brave enough to try the local specialty: pickled herring sandwich.

Old city gate in Delft

We stayed at a beach house in the Netherlands, which we jokingly called the retirement home. But it had a thatched roof and was close to some awesome beaches. We had a picnic one night, drinking Belgium beer as the tide went out and the sun went down.

Beach, beer and 1 MW installations on a North Sea dike.

Joe contemplates what the tide left behind.

It turns out that the Netherlands and northern Belgium have some commonalities: people speak Dutch and their towns have a lot of canals. We stopped in Ghent for lunch and Brugges overnight. Don't let Rick Steves tell you that Brugges is overrun with tourists and not worth a visit - we loved it!

Canal in Ghent.

Canal in Brugges.

After all our time in the lowlands, we had really worked up a thirst. So we headed south toward the border with France to find some breweries and abbeys. We saw a local hops festival advertised, so we spent some time drinking the family's microbrew and got to experience our first hops-picking contest.

Afterward we stumbled through Thuines, which although off the beaten path, was worth a visit. We got to climb up the bell tower and hear the bells rung and carillon played. I took a short video of the carillon because it was amazing. The town is backed up by terraced paths separating private gardens and vineyards, where we goofed around for awhile.

We ended our tour of Belgium with a visit the Abbaye D'Aulne, which was destroyed in the 18th century. I always find it amazing that something in such disrepair can be so beautiful. If you're a photographer, put it on your travel list!

Our trip was so full that in the end we did not ride bikes, but I certainly did covet a number of cute single speed Dutch bikes. Alas, not practical for where we live. We did, however, come home with a trunk full of Belgium beer!