Marji and John in Belgium

On the morning of August 4, we went to Brussels National Airport to pick up Marji and John, whom - after a cruise on the Rhine from Basel (Switserland) to Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and a 3 days-stay at Bruges afterwards - we invited to spend some days at our home.

After a cup of strong coffee we left home for a walk on the Sunday-market at the Brussels South station and a visit  of the flea market at the "Vossenplein".

On Monday the 5th, we visited Namur, followed the river Meuse to the abbey of Maredsous (where we tasted the cheese and the beer) and we ended our visit in Dinant.

On August 6 we drove to Beerlegem and Munkzwalm (2 villages of Zwalm), back to the roots of the grandfather of Marji. At noon we were in Oudenaarde, our hometown, where we visited the church of St Walburga and the MOU in the gothic-style town hall. On our way back to Brussels we passed by the houses of my 2 sisters in Melden and drove through the "Artist Village" of Kwaremont.

The day after we stayed in Brussels and we visited in the morning the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History. It was so interesting for all of us that we stayed there at noon, had a light lunch in the aviation department and continued our visit afterwards. Then we went to the center of Brussels. After a walk in the Gallery of the King and the Gallery of the Queen (with a lot of sweet specialities) we sat down to have a beer in "A la Mort Subite".  Later on we said hello to "Manneken Pis" and we enjoyed very much a "Golden" in the "Chaloupe d'Or" on the famous Market Place.

On Thursday August 8 we wanted to show our cottage in Bredene to our relatives. Due to a terrible accident on the motorway E40 we had to queu for more than 2 hours and we ended up in Sluis in the Netherlands!  It was already late in the afternoon when we arrived at our little house in Bredene. We ended our day at the Belgian coast by a walk along the bunkers on the Eastern shore of Ostend.

Aug. 5: the river Meuse

Aug. 5: Maredsous Abbey

Aug. 5: Dinant

Aug. 6: Cemetery Beerlegem

Aug. 6: Church Munkzwalm

Aug. 6: In the MOU

Aug. 7: Military History

Aug. 7: Aviation Department

Aug. 7: Manneken Pis

Aug. 7: A "Golden" 

Aug. 8: A closed motorway

Aug. 8: Eastern shore Ostend

 Please click on the images for a larger view!