Antwerp

We took a side trip to Antwerp and the Belgium coast. Antwerp was much closer than we thought (only a 45 minute drive). Here's some of the best pics:

Cathedral in the center of town - even though we've seen several around Europe this one was still impressive.

Jack at the famous statue of Brabo throwing the giants hand. Legend has it that Antigoon was a giant that was charging high tariffs on all river traffic. Brabo fought him and cut off his hand.

Close up of one of the sea monsters

Castle near the river - we saw this ivy on several buildings, very striking in the fall colors

Taking the very long pedestrian tunnel under the river

Some great views of the city from across the river

Boys on a large hand statue (maybe it's Antigoons hand?)

Jack and Jesse cutting loose in Antwerp

After a rainy night in Antwerp we made the short drive to the coast. Our first stop was the Atlantic sea wall museum. These were the remains of fortifications used as a shore battery in WWI and then rebuilt and reused as part of the sea wall defenses against invasion in WWII. The great thing about this site is that they've tried to recreate the scenes of soldiers and weapons used at the location.

Jack and Jesse looking out for enemy aircraft

The kids loved all the tunnels and trenches you can explore

One of the several examples of uniforms and weapons (Jesse talked about the machine guns for the rest of the day).

After exploring the defenses we drove up the coast to De Haan, a very nice seaside resort.

Boys at the beach

On the way home we stopped by Bruges. I also took the drive through the country to practice driving the stick shift. All went well till we hit the city and I stalled a couple times at street lights. By the end of the drive I had it pretty well figured out but it's still not completely natural yet.

The tower at Bruges. My mom and I made it to the top (366 steps)

Some views of Bruges from the top of the towerMarkers at the top of the tower showing the direction and distance to towns. This one shows Den Haan where we stayed at the coast.

It was a fun trip and everything is so close we will probably return next spring.

More Visitors and Halloween

My mother, Jane, and my Aunt, Mamie, arrived on October 23rd just in time to join us for the bus ride to Iepers the next day with the students. Mamie is 89 so we weren't sure if she would be up for sight seeing after flying over the day before, but she was up early and ready to go. We split up the boys, so Jack came with us and Jesse stayed in Leuven with Nana and Papa. It's a lot easier on the trip without having to break up any fights between the boys.

Jane and Mamie at Sanctuary Woods

Jack leading some students into a tunnel at Sanctuary Woods

Jack and Jane in Iepers

The next day we all went out to breakfast for some Belgium waffles and showed my mom and Mamie around Leuven. On Monday we drove Mamie to airport so she could fly to Frankfurt to visit her granddaughter. After a little more sightseeing around Leuven, Bill and Marilyn also flew home the next day.

Jane and Bill at the Abbey Park near our house in Leuven

On Wednesday the students had a Halloween party. The American students felt bad that Jack and Jesse were going to miss the trick or treat fun back in the states so they set up one at the dorm. The boys dressed as Superman and Spiderman. The students were really generous and the boys came back with a lot of loot.

Jack 'Bring it on'

I would have shown Jesse in a fighting pose also - but this is the only picture where he stands still long enough to get a clear shot. All the rest are a blur of fists and feet.

All tired out after getting the big haul.