 |
| All of us with Mama |
We arrived late Wednesday night
after a trying day of traveling to a warm, home-cooked meal by Sophie’s “Mama.”
(Back in the day, Sophie’s mother studied abroad in Belgium during high school
and Marieke was her host mom. Since then everyone’s affectionately called her
Mama. She was so gracious as to host us for a week while we traveled around the
little country.) We scarfed down the delicious spaghetti then had one of the
best night’s sleep.
 |
| Antwerp train station |
For our week in Belgium, we made it
a point to explore a different city every day. With only short train rides, we
made it to Gent, Antwerp, Brussels, and Bruges.
I had breakfasts of Belgium beer and waffles and lunches of world famous
frites and Belgium chocolate. We saw Manneken Pis, the red light district, the
Museum of Modern Art, the Delirium Lounge Café, and an old castle that is home
to Gent’s torture museum. I watched world famous Belgian lace being hand made,
and we took a canal tour through the old town of Gent. All the Belgian cities
had a wonderful relaxed feel and beautiful architecture. It was amazing to be
able to explore so much of what this country had to offer in such a short
amount of time (something a bit more difficult to do in such a huge country
like the US.)
 |
| Manneken Pis street art |
 |
| Sophie reppin' that Belgian lyf |
This trip was busy and exhausting.
I enjoyed the train rides and amazing food, but my favorite part of Belgium, by
far, was being able to come home to a home cooked meal by Mama. Mama is a widow
and her kids have long grown up and moved off to start families of their own,
so she’s been on her own for years now. She enjoyed having her house filled
with us kids as much as we appreciated spending time with her, listening to her
stories of growing up in Belgium in the 1940s and 50s while feasting on delicious
traditional meals like brats with spinach mash. Her generosity, cooking, quirky
personality, and stories are what made this trip.
 |
| The satisfied look after our first official Belgian waffle |
