First Visitor

So November is flying by.  I guess that means we are having fun?   A few weekends ago we had our first visitor! My brother Andy came through Belgium on his way to India for work.  He was only here for about 48 hours but it was a great visit.  Luckily his main goals were to drink Belgian beers and eat some frites, both easily accessible in these parts.  We picked him up Saturday morning and started the weekend by heading to Mons to show him a little bit of where we live.  We did a little shopping for Sylvia and soon found a lunch spot before heading back to Soignies to finish the afternoon of Belgian beer tasting.  It was great for Rob and I to get out and explore our town.  We finished the evening with skyping with Sylvia and Stephanie before hitting the sack.  On Sunday we woke up and went the Soignies market and stocked up on fresh veggies, eggs, and chocolates. Note, when ordering a kilo of spinach, be prepared to feed about 20 people...lesson learned.  Andy made breakfast and then we headed to the Chimay Brewery about an hour away.  It was so much much fun.  We ate at the restaurant, and by eat I mean we tried the Chimay cheeses paired with the Chimay beers.  Both were amazing.  We headed home and made dinner with our fresh produce and again went to bed early like a bunch of old folks.  Andy left early Monday morning and Rob and I enjoyed two more days of the weekend since he had a 4-day.  On Monday we hung out at the house and on Tuesday I met with some friends from french class and went to Mons for lunch and shopping.  We ate at Boude de bleu (I think the site is messed up, or maybe its my computer, can't tell).  So, good, so so good. Putting it on the "take visitors there" list for sure.

  I don't have too many pictures from Andy's visit that don't include beer...ooops.

Chimay Cheeses and Beer

Chimay Grand Reserve

Enghien Noel Beer- Enghien is only a few minutes from us

Duval and Andy

Brasserie de Silly Beer

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! We will be feasting with friends that we have made here.  I am currently making homemade applesauce and dutch apple pie.  Our house has never smelled so good.  Oh and I started decorating for Christmas...don't judge. 

Garmisch, Germany

We got back from Garmisch about 10 days ago and I think I'm still recovering.  We kept referencing our week as "spring break" for adults, and we weren't that far off.  

As a practicing dentist you must complete at least 30 hours of continuing education each year to keep your license.  Fifty-six years ago the US Army started holding a week of continuing education in Garmisch, Germany for all military dentists stationed in Europe and this year was no different.  So Rob and the other dentists went to classes from 8-4 each day while the spouses got to play.  I met some awesome girls and got some much needed girl time over coffee and apple strudel. 

Our drive was about 8 hours and the last 2 hours were in the snow.  It was one of the most beautiful drives ever!  Garmisch is a ski town so they are no stranger to snow but I was still fascinated. 

Road to Garmisch

Road to Garmisch

My days were filled with shopping, sightseeing and eating delicious food.  Our nights were filled with planned dinners, monastery tours, karaoke and more delicious food.  

Benediktinerabtei Ettal Monastery and Brewery

The Ettal Monastery has been brewing beer for 400 years, so they must be doing something right.  They also  have a distillery, produce herbal teas and are active in local agriculture.  

Benediktinerabtei Ettal

Benediktinerabtei Ettal

Monastery monk who made our tasting experience one we will never forget 

Benediktinerabtei Ettal

Linderhof Palace

This palace was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria although he died before it was completed.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but you can go here and take a virtual tour of the inside which was incredible.

Linderhof Palace

Linderhof Park

Linderhof Park

Swarovski Kristallwelten

After visiting the palace we crossed the border to Austria and went to the Swarovski headquarters and museum.  It was pretty interesting and a little weird but the jewelry to purchase at the end was beautiful.  

Museum is inside the fountain

Swarovski chandelier

Bavarian Night

Toward the end of the week the conference sponsored a traditional Bavarian night complete with Bavarian food, drink, dancing and of course dress.  It was a super fun night we were excited to wear our new lederhosens and drindls. 

Bavarian Hall

Aren't we awesome?

Your Belgian dentists hard at work

After a long week of fun we drove half way home to Ramstein Air Force Base for the night.  We ate some mediocre American food and I went shopping while Rob watched Sports Center.  Both getting our American fixes.  

One of the best things about Garmisch is that we got to meet a lot of people that are stationed in Europe. We are planning to meet  up with them soon to do some traveling.   I can't wait to get back to Germany hopefully sooner than later.