Author Archives: Eileen Bjorkman

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Day 64: Chimay, Belgium

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Number of tie wraps: 50 (holding steady)

Countdown: 8419 miles down, 166 to go

Quote of the day: “The tour is only in French.”

We enjoyed a relaxing day in Chimay that included plenty of Belgian food, beer, chocolates, and local sights. For lunch, Luke and Karen ordered fondue, and dipping those pieces of toasted bread into the cheese proved to be harder than it looks. More than one piece of bread slipped off the fork and took a cheese bath before being rescued.

 

Luke demonstrates the proper way to eat fondue

Luke demonstrates the proper way to eat fondue

 

After lunch, several of us toured the Chateau de Chimay, a small castle that has played an outsized role in the history of Chimay, which we learned about in a 20-minute 3-D movie that depicted various scenes from the 1,000+ history of the castle. This castle is different from many “tourist castles” in that a royal family still lives in it — Princess Elisabeth, her son Prince Phillipe, and his wife Princess Francoise. Our innkeepers were guests at the royal wedding when it took place several years ago.

Luke demonstrates proper wear of the 3-D movie glasses

Luke demonstrates proper wear of the 3-D movie glasses

 

The castle houses the sort of elegant objects you would expect, but it also had an unusual art exhibit by Koen Vanmechelen as part of the Cosmopolitan Chicken project, which interbreeds chickens from around the world with the goal to produce a globally diverse chicken. I’m still not sure I understand the significance of that goal, but I think you’ll have to agree that the project has produced some interesting artwork, including the “chog” in the second picture below.

A ball of chickens

A ball of chickens

I'm not sure what to call this -- a chog?

I’m not sure what to call this — a chog?

 

After the tour, we ran back to the town square to catch a tram tour of Chimay and the nearby village of Virelles. After we bought our tickets and settled into our seats, the tram driver said, “The tour is only in French. Is this okay?” We figured we’d at least see some interesting sights, but we hadn’t counted on the tram taking off onto some dirt roads that bounced us around so much we thought we were back in Siberia. However, we did manage to pick up some of the flavor of the local culture.

The tram for our tour

The tram for our tour

One of the many sights we saw during the tram tour

One of the many sights we saw during the tram tour

 

After the tram tour, Karen and I picked up some chocolates from a local store (8 euros for 250 grams of chocolate that would have probably cost $40 in the US) and then met Simon, the other housecat at our bed and breakfast.

Buying a stash of Belgian chocolates -- you can't go wrong with these!

Buying a stash of Belgian chocolates — you can’t go wrong with these!

Simon, one of our roommates

Simon, one of our roommates

 

About 6:30 we ate some chocolates and then wandered back to the town square to take in a free folk music concert and try out some Troll beer.

Free folk music concert

Free folk music concert

Glass for Troll beer

Glass for Troll beer

 

We called it an early night after meeting another Chimay kitty and having a quick bite to eat at a local pub.

 

Yet another Chimay kitty

Yet another Chimay kitty

 

I’ll leave you with the view from my window of the church at night. Tomorrow we drive to Rheims, France, the location of the first-ever air race!

View from my room

View from my room

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 63: Cologne, Germany to Chimay, Belgium

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Number of tie wraps: 50 (holding steady)

Countdown: 8419 miles down, 166 to go

It was too foggy for a river cruise in Cologne, but before we left we took a short walking tour of the city center that included the magnificent cathedral, which is on the list of “Top Ten Things to See in Germany.” We all agreed that if we had seen this cathedral first, the others we’ve visited would have disappointed. This one was worth the wait, although the photos below don’t really do it justice.

 

Interior of the Cologne Cathedral

Interior of the Cologne Cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Example of stained glass window at Cologne Cathedral

Example of stained glass window at Cologne Cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

We hit the road about 11 a.m. after attaching our newly acquired Germany colors to the cars to show our football allegiances during Sunday’s World Cup final.

 

German flag on the Roadster

German flag on the Roadster (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

German colors on the Envoy

German colors on the Envoy (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

We didn’t have any major rain during the drive, but fog and mist limited our roadside sightseeing, and I didn’t even notice we had crossed into Belgium until my cell phone blipped a text message welcoming me to Bel Proximus. About 1 o’clock, we exited the highway and drove into the small town of Eupen. We weren’t sure why Eupen had been included on our itinerary, but we figured that once we arrived in town it would be obvious. Eupen was a pretty Belgian town, but not seeing any major tourist attractions, we stopped at a local eatery for some famous Belgian fries, which we kept warm by resting them on the Roadster hood. The people who sold us the fries couldn’t think of any reason why we might want to visit Eupen either!

 

Frites place in Eupen, Belgium

Frites place in Eupen, Belgium (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Savoring the frites

Savoring the frites (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

Refreshed with fries, we drove on to Chimay via a winding and picturesque country road.

 

The road to Chimay

The road to Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Sample of the scenery on the way to Chimay

Sample of the scenery on the way to Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

With only about 3,000 people, Chimay is the smallest town we’ve visited during our trip. We’re staying at a beautiful bed and breakfast, Le Petit Chapitre, that dates to the 18th century, comes complete with two cats, and is located on the town square within walking distance of everything we might need — pubs, restaurants, post office, laundromat, store with batteries and potato chips, a nice church and even a castle, which we plan to visit during our day off.

 

La Petite Chapitre Bed and Breakfast in Chimay

La Petite Chapitre Bed and Breakfast in Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Calico cat at Le Petit Chapitre

Calico cat at Le Petit Chapitre (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

Best of all, we discovered Chimay beer! The beer is brewed by Trappist Monks, and there are four kinds: red, white, blue, and gold. The gold is a special beer that the monks originally kept for themselves, but they now allow a handful of people, including Le Petit Chapitre, to sell very small quantities. Click here for more information about Chimay beer.

We walked to a tavern across the street from our B&B to sample the red, white and blue beers and after dinner we raided our mini-bars to check out the gold. The beer was some of the best we have ever tasted in one of the best settings we can imagine, so our hats are off to Mir for setting us up here!

 

Red Chimay

Red Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Gold Chimay

Gold Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

After a day of errands and relaxation in Chimay, we’ll head to Rheims on Saturday, a short drive of 124 km, and then it’s on to Paris!

 

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Days 61-62: Berlin to Hanover to Cologne

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Number of tie wraps: 50 (one added since last post)

Countdown: 8251 miles down, 334 to go

Sorry to miss the post last night – I didn’t have an Internet connection and the World Cup took precedence anyway! Before I forget, I wanted to post a picture I missed from the other day that shows Leo with his friends Siegfried and Inge Niedek. Siegfried and Inge were the ones who alerted us to Heidi Hetzer’s circumnavigation of the globe, which I blogged about two days ago.

Leo with German friends Siegfried and Inge Niedek at our hotel in Berlin

Leo with German friends Siegfried and Inge Niedek at our hotel in Berlin (Leo Jannsens photo)

Today we had two bright spots in our rainy drive to Cologne — an auto museum and a castle. The Automobil-Museum is near the city of Dormund, and it displays a rotating set of cars from a collection owned by the von Graeve family, along with automobile-related items, such as those shown in the picture below. The sign for Veedol oil reminded me of the “Miss Veedol,” the first airplane to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean, a feat accomplished by Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon in 1931.

Display at the auto museum in Dortmund

Display at the auto museum in Dortmund (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

The museum also has a bar with an interesting beer tap made from an old Jaguar engine.

Jaguar engine beer tap

Jaguar engine beer tap (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

While we were having pizzas for lunch at the Pizzaria in the museum, Barbara van Graeve stopped by to say hello and to tell us about the Mille Miglia, an annual 1000-mile car rally that takes place in Italy. There is a restaurant at the museum named after the rally, and the restaurant interior is a replica of the square in the town of Brescia where the race begins.

Mille Mignia Restaurant with Barbara von Graeve and her Italian chef

Mille Mignia Restaurant with Barbara von Graeve and her Italian chef (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Luke had never seen a castle before, so after leaving the auto museum, we drove to the Schloss Burg for a quick tour and pictures from the top of the tower.

Schloss Burg, outside the town of Solingen

Schloss Burg, outside the town of Solingen (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

It's a long way down from the top of the tower!

It’s a long way down from the top of the tower! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

View of the valley from the top of the tower

View of the valley from the top of the tower (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We arrived in Cologne about 5 p.m., in plenty of time for a nice Italian dinner. I have a beautiful view of the cathedral in the center of town from my hotel window.

View from my hotel room in Cologne

View from my hotel room in Cologne (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tuesday (yesterday) we had an easy drive to Hanover, although John added another tie wrap to the Roadster after the door latch on the driver’s side broke. This brings the tie wrap total to 50, or one tie wrap for approximately every 160 miles driven.

Tie wrap #50!

Tie wrap #50! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

A few hundred feet before our hotel in Hanover, Luke and John spotted a “Pit Stop” auto service chain right down the road, so they took the Roadster to get the tires balanced. Karen and I took the U-Bahn into the town center and began a walking tour, but we were soon distracted by a free jazz concert (small glass of white wine included) at the Market Church. The concert was scheduled to begin at 10 p.m., but the organizers had “pre-poned” it to 9 p.m. because they knew that at 10 everyone in Germany would be watching the World Cup. We listened to two very talented 23-year-old pianists play duets for a half-dozen songs, including “That Old Devil Moon” and several improvisations. One of the pianists was Toms Mikals, from Latvia, and the other was Lennart Smidt, a Hanover native.

 

Inside of Market Church where the jazz concert was held

Inside of Market Church where the jazz concert was held (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After the concert, we found a nearby bar to watch the World Cup semi-final game between Germany and Brazil. Germany was ahead 1-0 when we arrived, but within a few minutes, Germany had scored three more goals and the atmosphere in the bar went from excitement to an almost disbelief that the game could be going so well.

 

One of many places for watching the World Cup semi-final game last night

One of many places for watching the World Cup semi-final game last night (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

At halftime, with the score 5-0, we walked back toward the U-Bahn, figuring we would finish watching the game at our hotel. As we passed a bar near the Market Church where the concert was held, we spotted the two young pianists and went over to tell them how much we enjoyed their playing. Lennart Smidt’s fatherwas also there, and it turns out that he plays the organ for the Market Church and has also played a concert in Seattle. Small world!

When we arrived at the train station, electronic signs indicated that trains were running, but the station was devoid of people, creating an eerie contrast to the supercharged crowds just a few feet above us. We had just missed a train on the line we needed, and the next one wouldn’t arrive for 30 minutes, so we decided that was a sign for us to stay in town, and we found a rocking Irish Pub and settled in to watch Germany finish trouncing Brazil with a final score of 7-0. We’re planning to pick up some German flags or t-shirts to watch the final game in Paris in Sunday. Go Germany!

Tomorrow we drive 271 km to Chimay, Belgium, where we’ll enjoy chocolates and beer until Saturday. From there, we push into France and arrive on Sunday in Paris — the World Auto Tour Leg 1 final destination.