MOSTLY BELGIUM TRIVIA

                           GOOD TO KNOW

                                         

From the last page in my diary on this recent trip I noted:

Belgium:

v  Cannot tip on credit card, must leave tip in cash.

v  Do not beckon anyone with index finger, use whole hand. 

v  Seat self in restaurant, there is no one to seat you.

v  A polder is reclaimed land.

v  Flat towers are almost exclusively seen on polders.

v  All cities/villages have a Grote Markt (Big square) and bell towers.

v  French fries are routine with all meals. Can also buy fries from street venders.

v  Belgium white asparagus is available two months a year.

v  Scarves are very popular with both men and women.

v  Clean cities.

v  Some smokers

v  Very few cell phone users on street.

v  Bruges Horses—clip clop—owned by seven horse families, 13 carriages total.

v  Canal boats and traffic in Bruges owned and controlled by five canal families.

v  Chocolatiers everywhere.

v  Gorgeous lace. Expensive as handmade and very labor intensive.

v  Nothing but cobble stones—streets, walkways, everywhere—wear good shoes.

v  Cyclists have right of way and just as soon run you down.

v  Traffic is fast.

v  Flemish architecture.

v  Good roads, narrow smooth, cars are small.

v  4000 beers in Belgium.

v  No billboards---wonderful.

v  Rainbows seen twice

v  Wild flowers colorful and in bloom for all of visit.

v  Bell towers have clocks on all four sides.

v  Lots of river traffic!

Holland:

v  Windmill blades turn counterclockwise.

v  Dutch auctions start high and prices drop in value.

v  Dutch are friendly and have a great sense of humor.

v  Hand operated draw bridges common in small villages.

v  Never saw any fast food signs/restaurants, would be found only in large cities.

v  No mountains and any hills are manmade.

v  Graffiti in large cities: Rotterdam, Amsterdam

ROSKILDE, DENMARK

                              A 20-YEAR PUZZLE COMPLETED

In Roskilde, Denmark we visited the Viking museum. A thousand years ago the Queen ordered ships sunk to block the entrance to the fjord. Five Viking ships were filled with rocks and sunk. In 1962 money was raised to excavate the sunken ships. 100,000 pieces of five ships, one a long boat, were dug out of the silt and mud. The silt was literally rolled back on itself. After careful measurement of each piece it was carefully removed to a pool of water. The boards were soaked for a year in a glyocol solution. As the water was removed from the wood cells it was replaced with the glyocol solution which kept the boards from crumbling. Eventually the jig saw puzzles were put together. After 20 years of painstaking work the reconstructed ships were placed in the museum. Patience truly is a virtue!

            We watched an excellent movie in English explaining the whole process. The first timbers for the museum were laid in 1968.      

            It was interesting to learn how much stronger cleaved wood is than sawed wood. It is thinner and can be bent more easily. It is not only a lot less brittle it is also a lot stronger.

Roskilde Cathedral

An English speaking guide was waiting for us at the Cathedral. We learned the Cathedral encompasses seven architectural styles and students come from all over to study them. The 800-year-old church was first built in 970 and was a wooden structure, but wood  burns and rots. Two limestone buildings followed, and in 1175 the present Romanesque brick structure was started and was finally finished in Gothic design. The large church measures 84 meters long with a ceiling 23 meters high.

          Fancy wrought iron grille work, in the form of gates to the many chapels, is throughout the church. One iron worker always signed his work with a hammer and key somewhere in the design and at the bottom of each piece he wrote his name.

            The 1650 organ was restored in 1991 at a cost of 4 million krona. The carved oak altar is gilded with gold and holds a 1589 bible. The oldest chapel in this church dates back to 1464 and is a monument to Kings Fredrik IV and Christian III.

Royal Tomb

            Frescos cover the walls. One of the chapels has 3D paintings covering its walls. The pillars and statues look so real! It really is a fantastic piece of art.  In yet another chapel King Christian (there are many Fredriks and Christians in Danish history) and Louise’s tombs are the length of the wall they are placed against. Elaborate carvings cover the tombs and larger than life marble statues, sculpted by the same man who carved the Little Mermaid, stand at the end of the tombs. This cathedral is a museum in itself and was more than worth our time.

            The guide ended the hour by saying, “This cathedral holds the tombs of 170 people and is the burial place of 20 kings and 17 queens. As you have seen, each of the seven chapels is done in a different architectural style. King Christian IV was known as the builder king. He had 23 children by 4 wives.”

            Traveling one sees many churches, this was one of the memorable ones.