Visiting the Rhine? Take a Bike.

Two days on the Rhine were somehow how too much and not enough time for me. On one hand the area we visited between Koblenz and Bacharach is absolutely gorgeous and has villages that are the definition of quaint (in a good way). On the other, we discovered that we can’t stand driving vacations anymore.

Unfortunately I’ve been trying to type this blog post for two days now, but despite the trip’s obvious charms and my desire to camp/bike in the area, I can’t come up with something appropriately poetic. Instead, here are my Do & Don’t takeaway impressions from the trip.

Don’t drive! That means you Americans. Yes you might get their faster (if you can navigate the roads) and a car may seem like a sensible way to get around (beware narrow “two way” streets and pedestrians), but there are very few bridges over the river and most of the towns and roads are not made for automobiles. Some still have their medieval walls. Spare yourself the headache and use the train to get to your destination. There’s a line running down both sides of the river.

Do seek out English language tours, if you want to visit some of the many many castles built along the river (we saw at least 14 between Kolbenz and Bacharach alone). In the region we visited, most castles only offer tours in German, unless an English bus tour comes through. We saw one castle and it was interesting but not being able to understand the guide makes tours much less engaging. If you’re really into castles, a bus tour might be the way to go actually.

Do try the wine. Dan doesn’t like wine but he was all over the sweet Reislings they make.

Do try the Peach Brandy as well; it’s a lesser known product of the region and very rich.

Don’t buy too much junk. The quaint villages are full of tourist traps. Keep your purchases to a minimum and try only to buy things you can’t get anywhere else.

Do some biking. The area we were in was easier to bike than Maastricht, fun, and it didn’t take long to cover a significant stretch of land. I’m inspired to spend a lot more time in the Rhine region biking. The towns will be very accessible although the castles are mostly too high up the steep mountains to bike to. You can approach most of the public castles by hiking or taking a special bus.

Do try a boat ride, but unless you really, really love cruising Don’t make this the main focus of your time. We took a three hour ride and I fell asleep (ok, so the wine might have had something to do with it). I can’t imagine how boring a week long cruise on the river would be. At least by bike or train or (shutter) car, you can stop whenever you want.

Camping? You could. We saw lots of campers along the river. Most even had TV dishes and are located near the towns.

Do take lots of photos. You know you want to.

Have you been to the Rhine (any part of it)? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.

A Visit from the Potters

My parents visited back in August so it is only fair that Dan’s parents, Sue & Gary, came to the Netherlands for a two week vacation of their own. Last week they arrived in Amsterdam and then took the train down here to Maastricht to join us for Preuvenemint and the (now regular) visit to a marl cave. We visited Zonneburg, the one we’ve been to three times now, and the tour was good as always. We did have the same tour guide so we learned that the tours don’t really change from visit to visit. Even the delivery of his jokes were the same.

After a short introduction to Maastricht, we rented a car and spent a couple of days in Germany biking, driving, and cruising on the Rhine River. Next we went back up to Amsterdam for a few days to see some museums and generally do the tourist thing. We rounded out our travel with a trip to Delft where we caught a weekend street fair and visited the Royal Delft factory.

Sue & Gary have another week to go in Europe which they are splitting between the Netherlands and Belgium. I hope they enjoy themselves.

Unlike in the past, I’m planning on talking about this trip in several articles over the next couple of weeks. Of course we’ll also have the podcast this weekend so stay tuned.

A Comics Pilgrimage to Brussels

In celebration of our 5th year anniversary, Dan & I decided to make a special, comics-themed, trip to Brussels, Belgium. This year Belgium is having a series of comics related events, many of which are located in Brussels, but we didn’t expect to see as much as we did. It turns out that Brussels is something of a European comics mecca. They call comics the 9th Art here. Finally some recognition.

We visited a comics museum, a special exhibit on the Grote Markt, discovered about half of the comic murals, and visited a couple of the many comic shops that dot the city. The city was fun and interesting, but somewhat confusing to get around in and the public transportation map was the most complex one I’ve ever seen.

Another summer benefit, the Brussels International is offering a really good deal. When you reserve your hotel via their website, you get a voucher that you can turn in for a 24 hour Brussels Card. While the voucher technically says you only get one card, we were given two at the tourist office. The card gets you into a number of museums for free, gives you included public transportation for two days, and a bunch of coupons (none of which what expiration dates).

Willy Vandersteen Special Exhibit

Tucked next to the tourism office on the opulent Grote Markt, a special exhibit of original pages by Willy Vandersteen is on display until September 27th. Vandersteen, a Belgian artist, is known for his Suske & Wiske series and this exhibit was dedicated mostly to images from his 8 “Blue Books”. The art was fun to look at, but since this was our first encounter with the work, we didn’t have much context to appreciate it.

Belgian Centre of Comic Strip Art

The central museum of our trip, the Comic Strip Center lived up to its reputation as on of the best comics museums in Europe and provided a great introduction to many European artists and writers we’d never encountered before in the spandex-clad American comics market. Sure, we knew Tintin, Asterix, and the Smurfs, but placing those comics in the full context of their peers was exciting. The museum also discussed the changes in comic creation and focus in the 1970s and 80s, and the story telling focus almost never strayed to superheros. Of course there were many beautifully inked and hand-painted pages too. While most of the displays were only in French & Dutch, the museum does provide a free book with English translations that made the museum very accessible.

We were a little disappointed that the museum did not address modern comics creation (such as digital methods) or webcomics. I expect that will come in time. The only comics they were selling in English were Tintin, which frankly I’ve read, so you probably won’t want to buy comics at the Center unless you can read French.

Brussels Comics 2009 Series

In honor of their celebration of the 9th Art this summer, Brussels has had several comic murals created throughout the central ring of the city. I found a map of the mural locations online and we set out with the intent to photograph them all. We found about half (and some of the areas were a bit sketchy) but it was a unique way to see the city. Before we left the city we discovered a book called De Strip in de Stad (Comics in the City) which is a more detailed guide to these murals and more murals and statues throughout Brussels. We’ll use it on a future trip to finish photographing the murals.

Expect to see more about these murals. In the mean time you can see my photos here.

Food in Brussels

A break from our comics pilgrimage, we had a lot of good food in Brussels. The best was the traditional Mussels & Fries at an old fashioned looking restaurant with a very modern name, H20. For a snack while mural hunting, we bought escargot from a street vendor. They were spicy and tender. We also bought some Godiva chocolate to bring home for much less than we could get it in the USA.

Sunday
It rained on Sunday, keeping us away from the murals, so we took in some more traditional forms of culture instead. First we visited the extensive Museum & Archaeology site of the Coudenberg Palace. Located underneath the modern day Palace Royale, Coudenberg was one of the main residences of Charles the Fifth. The site was preserved after a devastating fire by new construction. Construction techniques of the day required that the new palace be built on a flat surface. Since Coudenburg was on an incline, a lot of the lower part of the structure was preserved.

Following a little archaeology (and the 45 minute wait in line) we visited the brand new Magritte Museum. Magritte was a well-known surrealist artist and the museum is dedicated mostly to his paintings but also included a few statues and films. I was a little disappointed that this new museum did not include much English language signage (newer museums usually do these days). It was worth seeing but not deeply informative and I don’t know anything about surrealism.

The Comic Strip House
After a late lunch (pizza), but before we left, we investigated the Comic Strip House, a museum and comic shop near the Central Station in Brussels. We decided to save the museum for another day, but we did take some time to browse the store (mostly in French) and this is where we found De Strips in de Stad. I believe that this book will be a great tool when we go back to finish photographing the murals.

Comics to Read
We came away from this trip with a few comics we’d like to find in English (or Dutch in a pinch).
- Lanfeust of Troy & its accompanying series: This is a long running French series that simply looks beautiful. They are “manga-izing” it for the new generation of comics readers which I think is really sad.
- Blacksad: A noir anthropomorphic comic published by a French company (but created by a Spanish artist). The art is simply beautiful.
- Suske & Wiske: A Belgian comic contemporary to Tintin. I’m just curious and think if we picked this up in Dutch it could help us with reading comprehension.
- XX* Ciel: I’ve only seen the mural for this comic, but the art style appeals to me.
- Odilon Verjus: Another one we discovered from a mural. Frankly, I want to know what would bring a monk and a woman with a pet cheetah together in the same image.

This trip was so rich, you can expect to see more from me about it. In pariicuarly I hope to create a slideshow and maybe a map of the murals to share with you the experience. Click here for photos of our Brussels visit.

Visit of the Mallons: Week Two (Arnhem)

Weekend two with the Mallons came with some wet weather, but we weren’t going to let that stop us. On Friday Dan & I met up with my parents in Arnhem with plans to bike in the Hoge Veluwe National Park and check out anything else we could.

As I mentioned before, my parents have now officially seen more of the Netherlands than I have. Prior to visiting Arnhem with us, they took a driving/biking tour for three days out of Rotterdam that took them along the western coast. It was a private tour & then came back with some great stories.

I went up to Arnhem before Dan (he had to work). It was the first time I’d taken the train alone and I had a few switches to make. It was reasonably easy, but I forgot to bring along my itinerary so didn’t quite hit the best route. Quick Tip: Write down your switches or do as I did and use a smart-phone app if you have one.

Arnhem is a nice looking city, kind of modern because of the damage it took during World War II, with some nice churches, proximity to several attractions, and tons of restaurants. My mother read somewhere that Arnhem is one of the best places in the Netherlands to go for international cuisine. We took advantage of this and had both Cuban and Japanese food during our stay.

Friday Afternoon
Friday I had some time with just my parents, so we visited the Eusebius Church. Since it was partially destroyed during the War, it has been restored; including a glass elevator that takes you to the top of the Gothic-style tower. At the top the view of the city is great and there are a variety of signs to show what you are looking at as well as information about the disastrous Battle at Arnhem (Operation Market Garden).

The Eusebius Church from below is interesting as well. Within the sanctuary is the largest pipe organ I’ve ever seen and one of the original church bells. Even further below (down steep steps) is a crypt containing human remains. The path is mostly original stone; not much has been changed so the space feels very old. It was creepy, but interesting to climb below the surface and take in all levels of this church.

After the Church we visited the Historische Kelders (Historical Cellars) of Arnhem. Fairly inexpensive to visit and new, this attraction allows you to walk through 40 cellars from the 13th-15th centuries. They were linked together in the early 2000s to create a tourist attraction. The cellars were neat to look at and it would be fun to have an event down there (they do catering and parties), but there is a lot they could do to make this attraction more interesting. In particular, I would have like to know exactly the usage and age of each cellar as well as a map underground to orient the location. More information on how wine cellars operated would be interesting as well since there were lots of mysterious, blocked off passages and staircases.

Dinner that night was tapas at Barrio Habana, a Cuban restaurant with an deliberate urban decay feel. Down right tasty; it was the first time I’ve eaten tapas. Its a huge restaurant with four floors, a dance floor, and distressed leather furniture in the front.

Dan joined us late that evening at the Best Western (I know but frankly it was nearly as cheap as a hostel and much nicer).

Saturday

Saturday we took the bus out to Hoge Veluwe National Park and borrowed some of their 1700 free white bikes to check out the park. I was most impressed with the variety of the landscape as we biked along the trails. There are at least two different kinds of forests, a grassland, a “wasteland” (or Barrens as my Dad called it), and sand dunes. The variety and gently rolling path made for a pleasant bike ride. We even found ripe wild blueberries along the path.

At one end of the National Park is the Kröller-Müller Museum, built when the park was created for the wife of the pair. It is a moderately sized art museum with a varied collection of art and a large statue garden. Photography without flash is permitted, so I had the chance to take pictures of some of my favorites. I can’t really do the museum justice, so I hope you’ll just check out some of the photos I took as a taste.

One of the statues I liked is the one pictured above. Its a huge fiberglass structure and walking on it give the illusion of being on another planet. I found it interesting, but it was too disorienting for some and we didn’t stay long. Also, it was very hot and bright on top of it because the tree could not provide enough cover.

That evening we went to a Japanese restaurant intending to have sushi, but ended up a Hibachi grill instead. Mom had a sprite because she was too nice to correct the waitress when there was confusion over her drink order. Afterward, Dan & I went back out to the Cuban restaurant for a couple of drinks.

Sunday
Sundays are always a little tricky for tourists because fewer things are open. So despite the drizzle, we decided to visit the Burgers’ Zoo. Dan & I frequent visit zoos; they’re one of our favorite attractions and we like to see the different habitats each place creates for its animals. We went early to avoid the crowds and hoping to catch the animals while they were still active.

We were met at the door by the sound of braying penguins (who knew penguins could bray) and headed to the back of the park so we could work our way forward. We thought that there was a safari ride but only found a path. I think what makes the Burgers’ Zoo different from other ones are its distinct habitats designed to show visitors the environments that different species live in. There are Safari, Desert, Bush, Rimba, Mangrove, and Ocean habitats.

The most impressive was the Ocean habitat. It was designed to make you feel like you were walking to the bottom of the ocean from the shore. At the bottom is a fiberglass tunnel in which the fish, sharks, and rays can swim all around you. It was both amazing and disorienting; the fish seemed to be floating through the air above my head.

We wrapped out our visit with an early dinner and then Dan & I went home while my parents prepared for their last few days in the Netherlands.

We’ll hopefully be podcasting all about our adventures with the Mallons soon. In the mean time, here are my photos from Arnhem. Enjoy!

Visit of the Mallons: Week One

This past weekend Dan & I hosted my parents for their first visit to Maastricht. They are spending over two weeks visiting the Netherlands which means they are will see much of the country before I get the chance. Prior to her visit, my mother told me that she wanted to see how we live in our adopted city and to go biking. Since the weather cooperated (mostly), we were able to do both.

Friday Evening
My parents arrived Friday afternoon and, after dropping off their bags at our apartment, we walked down to the Vrijhof to take in the sights and eat dinner. We actually ended up around the corner at C’est Le Vie which is located down a narrow street on a tiny “square” around a statue. Based on my experience, the restaurant has the “typical” foods you can get in Maastricht at a nice restaurant and we sat outside to enjoy the sun and drink Dutch beers. I had Maastricht-style rabbit. Very tasty.

At home, we introduced my parents to our little flat, which Mom claims is better than anything I’ve rented yet. (She’s probably right) We pointed out where we liked to eat out when we didn’t want to cook and Mom even went grocery shopping with me the next day when we needed to pick up a few things. The next two days I cooked dinner for everyone at home, including chicken sate and slavinken.

Saturday
On Saturday, it wasn’t too hot so we rented bikes and took the bike trails to Valkensburg. This gave us the chance to see a little of Limburg and introduce my folks to another town in the area.

Valkensburg is an attractive town, if kind of touristy looking. The narrow walking streets were packed with restaurants and shops in old buildings and it was very colorful. After a quick lunch of broodje (another one of those “Dutch” things I wanted to share), we hiked up to the Castle Ruins that tower over the town.

The castle was originally built in 1115 from wood, but the final form of the castle was built from marl. From the castle itself, you can see the edges of old quarries in the hillside in Valkenburg. Destroyed in 1672, the ruins have been partially restored to allow people access to a variety of rooms and levels. The view was excellent and I took some good pictures there.

Afterward we stopped at a cafe to sample the Leeuw Beer because their brewery is located in Valkenburg. Can’t say it was my favorite Dutch beer. We biked through the Stadspark so my parents could see the statues and animals there.

Sunday
Sunday morning we biked out to the Maastricht University Medical Campus so my parents could see where Dan works. Then we swung through the Centre Ceramique to see the outside of the library and lunch at Cafe Zuid. We also took a stop by the Helpoort.

No one can come visit Dan & I without having to see the marl caves at St. Pieter mountain with us. Since July 5th was the first day of the English-language tours at Zonneburg, we biked out to catch the tour at 1:50 pm. We’ve done this tour before (and loved it), so we were pleased that the guide lead us in a different direction and had different stories to tell. The cool, 10 C temperature inside the caves made up for the hot weekend a little.

After we returned the rental bikes, we had a drink on the Vrifhof and walked home via the Markt square.

Of course by Monday my folks were off on the next leg of their journey. Next week, I’ll write about visiting Arnhem and the Nationaal Park Veluwezoom. Weather permitting of course.

See more pictures from Zonneberg & Valkenburg on my Flickr page.

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