Photos: Sonny  Valenzuela, Bettina Rivera and Eddie Flores
June 14 – June 21, 2010


Of the 19 brothers, sisters, cousins and friends who went on an exhilarating Italian trip of a lifetime, seven of us --- Ito and Kate, Sonny, Annie, Bettina, Danny and I --- flew to the Netherlands for yet another adventure.  Eddie and Chidia left for Amsterdam early the day before to ensure that we had everything we needed for our Germany-Belgium-France-Netherlands road trip.

Germany

After a few hours of sleep and a brief stop at the car rental agency for a replacement of the van that had defective air-conditioning, we were on our way to Germany.  We had a brief stop at Cologne to show Kate, Ito, Annie and Bettina the city’s renowned landmark near the Rhein (Rhine) river, the Cologne Cathedral.  This majestic Gothic structure with towering spires houses the Shrine of the Three Kings, which is believed to hold the relics of the Magi, whose bones and clothes where discovered when the shrine opened in 1864.

From Cologne, we continued to drive along the Rhine to reach Andernach, one of Germany’s oldest towns founded by the Romans over 2,000 years ago.  Near Andernach is Lacher See, a large blue crater lake that was formed by an eruption10,000 years ago.  To reach the lake from the parking lot, we strolled along a path through a lush meadow where horses roamed and grazed.  The serene rustic surroundings belied the existence of a potentially active volcano.  Near the lake is the Benedictine monastery of Maria Laach with a beautiful and exceptionally well preserved 11^th century Romanesque abbey church.

From Andernach, we drove to Cochem by the Mosel River.  We had been there a few times, but we were certain that Kate, Ito, Annie and Bettina would appreciate the breathtaking storybook scenery of hilltop castles, terraces of verdant vineyards blanketing steep hills, swans on the river, arch bridges, neat rows of houses and inns decorated with colorful flowers.

Once again, we stayed at Das Moselhaus, owned and run by Peter Baier and his Filipina wife Mercy.  We love staying at the Moselhaus where Mercy always serves a hearty German breakfast and treats us with typical and genuine Philippine hospitality.

The back door of Mercy’s breakfast room opens to a small street leading to shops and restaurants at the Cochem Zentrum.  It also leads to a steep street to the Reichsburg castle.  As we have done in the past, we climbed up the hill to Reichsburg in the early morning before breakfast. The view of the Mosel River from the castle was simply breath-taking!  Kate, who had just a few months earlier undergone a cardiac procedure, proudly made it to the top, and made sure she had the photos to document the feat.

A short drive after breakfast took us to Burg Thurant, another fascinating castle atop a hill along the Mosel.  Castles, such as Burg Katz, Burg Maus and Burg Rheinfels are as familiar a sight along the Mosel and the Rhine Rivers as are steep-sloped mountain vineyards. 

We crossed the Rhine River on a ferry at Sankt Goar to reach the east side of the river.   The legendary rock of Loreley is just across the Rhine from Sankt Goar. Strong currents and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents in the area, thus spawning the legend of the siren Lorelei who distracted men with her singing, causing their boats to crash on the rocks. 

A bit farther south is Rüdesheim am Rhein.  Gliding in Seilbahnen (cable cars) in Rüdesheim am Rhein, we enjoyed a panoramic view above rolling hills of vineyards by the river.  The cable cars carried us to the Niederwald Monument for more spectacular views of the wine producing region.

Our stay in the Mosel Valley was capped with a dinner of Schnitzel followed by the usual evening of karaoke in Mercy’s breakfast room where Danny sang as Ito demonstrated his exercise routine of handling a big watermelon. 

On the way back to Eddie and Chidia’s house in IJsselstein, we drove to Trier, to see the ancient city and reminisce about our first trip there 10 years ago.  Trier, which was founded around 16 BC, is said to be the oldest city in Germany.  Porta Nigra, a beautifully preserved Roman city gate, is the most prominent landmark in Trier.

Belgium-Brussels

Our next stop was Brussels, Belgium.  Although we had the GPS to guide us, we looked to the spires of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene to confirm that we were on the right track.  Because of the late hour we had very little time to take photos on the steps of the church before rushing to the Grand Place.  One just has to position himself in the center of the square and turn slowly in order to take in the intoxicating beauty of the architecture.  Before we could get comfortable, Sonny rushed us off to see and rub the Golden Statue (Ben Heine) for good luck.  A stone’s throw away is the Manneken Pis, a small bronze statue of a boy urinating into the fountain’s basin.  When we were kids, we were told stories of a little boy who saved the city by peeing on a bomb thereby diffusing it.  Apparently several legends have evolved around this famous statue.   

While the ladies were purchasing chocolates from the world-famous Leonidas, Sonny struck a very animated conversation with a student from Spain who was equally frustrated at not having been able to get strawberry waffles.  For a while there, we thought they were long lost friends.  It turned out that on top of not getting his favorite waffles, the Spanish student was animatedly venting pent up frustration over Spain’s shocking loss earlier that day to Switzerland in their opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  We can imagine how ecstatic that young Spaniard must have been, like many of his countrymen, when the Spanish team later won the 2010 FIFA World Cup championship.

We decided that we just had to have a dinner of mussels in Brussels, just as we did 10 years ago.  It was amusing to haggle with the waiters who competed among each other in their aggressive quest to entice and convince us to eat in their restaurants near the Grand Place.  Even Annie and Bettina could not believe that they finished a bowlful each of this wonderful dish.  Then it was time to go back to IJsselstein for Sonny to finish packing his bags.

France

Early the next morning, we were off again to bring Sonny to Schiphol Airport and continue our tour to Paris and Bruges.   With the re-routing and the traffic, we reached the home of our host in Paris, Malou Pangilinan late in the afternoon.  Malou, together with her three beautiful girls, not only opened their home (and their pantry) to us, she also showed us Paris by night. 

It was the night of the 2010 FIFA World Cup match between France and Mexico.  Eddie dropped us off at the Trocadero, where we inched our way though a throng of enthusiasts to get to the Eiffel Tower.  A giant screen was set up near the tower so that the public, mostly students, could watch the game.  With almost everyone glued to the game there was no queue to go up the tower.  The view of Paris by night was simply breath-taking!   As we made our way back to the van, the crowds had dispersed, leaving behind a trail of beer cans and litter.  We found out later that France had lost to Mexico 0-2. 

While Eddie and Chidia stayed in the van, Malou brought the rest of us to see the Arc de Triomphe, built to honor those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars.    Beneath the Arc is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  We walked down to the middle of Avenue des Champs-Élysées to get a better photo of the arch.  By the time we got home, Eddie’s cough was bad and he was so dead tired he forgot he was not in the comfort of his own room, stripped to his underwear and buried himself in the sheets, much to Chidia’s embarrassment. 

The next morning, we discovered that it was difficult to find underground parking in Paris with a van that needed a 2 meter clearance.  When we finally found one, the parking meter only accepted tickets that could be bought at a tobacco store.  Having to look for one delayed us for another 30 minutes; figuring out how to use the card another 5 minutes. 

From the parking lot, we crossed the River Seine, and made our way to the Notre Dame cathedral, another classic example of gothic architecture.  We went around the Cathedral so that Bettina could get a first hand view of the famous flying buttresses she only saw in architecture textbooks.

Belgium-Brugge

Our next stop was Bruges or Brugge, which is also sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North.  Perhaps because the sky was overcast, there were no boats plying the canal that afternoon.  Most of the shops had already closed, but that did not stop Bettina from taking shots of the scenery and the display windows that showed exquisite Belgian lace on baby clothes.  Our Chinese dinner was a welcome treat after weeks of Italian cuisine. 

In our eagerness to get to the market square, we forgot to take note of the street where we parked.  All we had was a photo of the church Eddie took, which to our surprise, not many of the locals recognized.  You’d think we would have learned from our Venetian experience; I guess old habits die hard.  We must have spent over an hour getting to where we parked, but as Eddie continued to insist throughout our adventure, we were moving in the right direction.  This gave rise to yet another expression – a Brugitic experience, which means getting lost without admitting to be lost.

Netherlands

It was past midnight when we got back to IJsselstein, and with  still  a few days left before heading back home, we  took the opportunity to make side trips to the beautiful and scenic cities and towns of the Netherlands; visit to the cheese market of Alkmaar, a canal tour of Amsterdam, Madurodam in The Hague and the windmills of Stompwijk, and the streetless town of Giethorn

Till next MNTravelogue…. Valley of Kings….. perhaps!!

 

 

 

 

 

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