This morning, Robert & Brigitte’s daughter and
son-in-law joined us for breakfast.
I had met their daughter when I was here in 2011.
They all speak perfect English, so it
is no problem communicating with everyone.
After breakfast Robert, Gail and I went to “FriedWald” a
small-forested area near Bad Munstereifel, where people buried their loved
one’s ashes that have been cremated.
My friend Peter, who lived in this area passed away in February 2014 and
is buried here.
Peter stayed in
Rhinebeck with Gail and I in 1979 when he was on a musical exchange
program.
I stayed with him and his
family in 1983, Gail and I stayed with him in Germany in 2007 and I stayed with
Peter in 2011.
We could not locate
the exact spot that Peter’s remains are located, but it was great just getting
to come to this forest to pay respects to Peter who unfortunately passed away
at the very young age of 67.
We
had a lot of fun together over the years and I will always remember him
fondly.
After our visit to the “FriedWald”
we went back to Robert’s home and Brigitte made us all a great lunch.
By 3 PM it was time to leave for
Brussels.
We all said our
farewells, which is always difficult after spending some good times with
friends.
Gail and I were on the
autobahn shortly and headed west toward Brussels.
Within 15 minutes on the autobahn, I was cruising at about
100 mph and it was unbelievable how many Porsches, Audis, BMWs and Mercedes
were flying by at speeds that had to exceed 140 mph.
On the way we passed through a small section of the
Netherlands and then we were in Belgium.
We went directly to our hotel in Brussels to drop off the luggage and
then we returned the rental car by 6:30 PM.
Since we had a rather large lunch today, Gail and I just
shared a chicken pita and snacked on some wonderful French Fries for
“dinner”.
Our hotel is in an
excellent location to many of the “famous” sites in Brussels.
We walked over to see the notorious
Manneken Pis statue.
He is usually
dressed in some interesting outfit, but at this late hour on Sunday, he was not
wearing any clothing.
After seeing
this naked little boy urinating into a basin, we went back to the hotel for
some sleep.
Our hotel has a great
location in Brussels, near the main train station and only a very short walk to
the Grand Place.
I stayed at the
same hotel when I was here in 2011 and chose it again due to its location.
 |
| Robert, Brigitte, me |
 |
| Manneken Pis |
This morning, Robert & Brigitte’s daughter and
son-in-law joined us for breakfast.
I had met their daughter when I was here in 2011. They all speak perfect English, so it
is no problem communicating with everyone. After breakfast Robert, Gail and I went to “FriedWald” a
small-forested area near Bad Munstereifel, where people buried their loved
one’s ashes that have been cremated.
My friend Peter, who lived in this area passed away in February 2014 and
is buried here. Peter stayed in
Rhinebeck with Gail and I in 1979 when he was on a musical exchange
program. I stayed with him and his
family in 1983, Gail and I stayed with him in Germany in 2007 and I stayed with
Peter in 2011. We could not locate
the exact spot that Peter’s remains are located, but it was great just getting
to come to this forest to pay respects to Peter who unfortunately passed away
at the very young age of 67. We
had a lot of fun together over the years and I will always remember him
fondly. After our visit to the “FriedWald”
we went back to Robert’s home and Brigitte made us all a great lunch. By 3 PM it was time to leave for
Brussels. We all said our
farewells, which is always difficult after spending some good times with
friends. Gail and I were on the
autobahn shortly and headed west toward Brussels. Within 15 minutes on the autobahn, I was cruising at about
100 mph and it was unbelievable how many Porsches, Audis, BMWs and Mercedes
were flying by at speeds that had to exceed 140 mph. On the way we passed through a small section of the
Netherlands and then we were in Belgium.
We went directly to our hotel in Brussels to drop off the luggage and
then we returned the rental car by 6:30 PM. Since we had a rather large lunch today, Gail and I just
shared a chicken pita and snacked on some wonderful French Fries for
“dinner”. Our hotel is in an
excellent location to many of the “famous” sites in Brussels. We walked over to see the notorious
Manneken Pis statue. He is usually
dressed in some interesting outfit, but at this late hour on Sunday, he was not
wearing any clothing. After seeing
this naked little boy urinating into a basin, we went back to the hotel for
some sleep. Our hotel has a great
location in Brussels, near the main train station and only a very short walk to
the Grand Place. I stayed at the
same hotel when I was here in 2011 and chose it again due to its location.
:-) Fun to read about these adventures. Locally there is a restaurant called Manneken Pis and I had no idea about the history behind it.
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