BELGIUM 2016: Leuven's Market Square

I know, I know.  Just when you thought I'd finished it, here it is again.  But seriously, did you notice that I showed everything except Leuven itself????  So, of course I need to end that early December trip with the one city we went to see:  Leuven.

It was the main market square we wanted to see because of the 3 landmarks facing each other: 

St.Peter's Church, the Town Hall, and The Fourth/Tafelrond Hotel.

Where to start?  It was our first day and we wanted to see it all!

Though it was Sunday, we grabbed the church first, not knowing when it would close that afternoon.

St. Peter's Church is a Gothic church from the 15th century.

Notice the golden bell ringer near the top!

As large churches go, this one was light and elegant on a sunny day.

There were the statues, of course, but not inordinately so for a Roman Catholic church.

I was more taken by the placements throughout of votive candles for prayers...

...and was particularly moved by this alcove.

The oak pulpit was transferred to this church from the abbey in Ninove, 68 km away.

You know I'm going to say it:  I wonder what Preacher Dad would think of it!

It so happens that after touring the church, we immediately crossed the square to see the Town Hall,

and discovered we could catch a tour of it in 5 minutes, which we did.

We don't normally take such tours because we're both inclined to wander off on our own,

knowing we can get the added information from the internet, right?

However, the only way to see inside this town hall is to take the tour.

So we decided to do it.

Like the church, this Town Hall is Gothic and built at the same time, in the 15th century.

Upon entering, this is what you see.

And then, wandering throughout, we saw all the "usual suspects" of town halls.
So much history, all related to Leuven itself.

But what I most wanted to see was the wedding chamber.

In Belgium, as in the Netherlands, marriage is made official at the town hall, in the wedding room.

Can you imagine sitting around that table for your marriage ceremony!

On that note, it was time for our main meal of the day, somewhere on the square.

When we finished eating and walked back outside, it was a fairyland.

Remember that this was the end of November, getting ready for the Christmas holiday.

The Town Hall and The Fourth/Tafelrond Hotel took on new personas all lit up,

the Town Hall being the greatest spectacle of all, changing every few seconds.

But the church across the square stood stalwart against time and change,

ready to ring its bell on the hours as they passed us by.

It made a good impression on us at the start of our Sunday - Friday mini vacation.

One last post coming up, God willing and the creek don't rise, is another Leuven landmark:
 the University Library.

TRIER, Germany: Part 2

So, to carry on from my last post, here's what we saw the rest of our day in Germany's oldest city, Trier.

Besides the Porta Nigra and the Kaiserthermen Roman baths, it was the Dom, Trier's Church of Our Lady cathedral, where we spent our most time.  It is Germany's oldest cathedral, from the early 4th century, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.

Before we saw it up close and personal, we saw it from afar all day long.

 Later, when we stood in front of it, we couldn't get it all in one frame!  It's HUGE.

And as you'd guess, there's a lot going on all around it, no matter where you are.

Like a wedding, for example, when we passed by in the trolley car!

Inside, of course, is something else.

The nave, towards the altar, shows the Baroque chapel above,

supposedly holding the Seamless Robe of Jesus, from shortly before his crucifixion.
See all the people waiting in line to peek in!

Like all the other tourists, we climbed up behind the altar to the chapel but weren't allowed to go in.

We used the opportunity to look back to the opposite end of the nave, to the west-end choir.

Back down on the main floor, we were able to view the choir's Baroque 1196 stucco-work in the vault.

How many times have I told you that the museums we go to in Europe are these cathedrals!
What more could you possibly need?

It's true!  We're always short of eyes.

We briefly went outside the main nave to the cloisters, to get a different vantage point.

But it was this boy with his mom inside the nave who stole my heart that day!

I thought of grandson Nicholas, now 13, lighting a candle for someone...maybe for me?

 The rest of the day we wandered around and saw more churches, of course...

St. Paulus Church (left), St. Irminen Monastery (top-right), the New Synagogue from 1957 (bottom-center), and the former Clarisse convent of St. Mary Magdalene (bottom-right).
Just glimpses.

And since I'm on the subject, niches everywhere in Roman Catholic country....

...sacred and secular.

And gable stones...

...and other fun stuff.

Impressions.  Impressions.  Impressions.

...even if I do show an image more than once in 2 different collages.  HA!
It's true:  I often don't know if I'm coming or going.  :)

By now it was time to go back to the car, but first, we wanted to see the Moselle river
with its Römerbrücke Roman bridge from the 2nd century AD--Germany's oldest bridge.
The bridge itself, of course, is much newer but the pillars beneath are O.L.D.
Nearby, a railing along the river bank sported a few love padlocks...something I now "collect."

 And then walking a bit further down the river, we found one of 2 old treadwheel cranes
for loading and unloading river cargo, this one from 1413.
Doesn't it remind you of a windmill, kinda sorta?



And as we say in Dutch, Dat was het.  That was it.  Trier.

We got in our car and drove into Luxembourg for the rest of our trip...

Good-bye, Trier.  Hello Luxembourg!

And now the Luxembourg Trip is done!  In case you missed the other posts (in order of posting but not in order of when we saw them on our trip), nine posts altogether from our 4 days, including this one :

Eschfeld, Germany: the St. Luzia Parish Church
Clervaux, Luxembourg: the Church and the CastleBELGIUM: Bastogne and La Roche-en-ardenne
The Luxembourg-Trip Picnics
LUXEMBOURG: Echternach
Germany and Luxembourg Border Skirmish
Luxembourg City
TRIER, Germany: Part 1

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

As an FYI, Astrid and I fly to America on Saturday for our annual trip to see family and friends.  (Now you know why I wanted to finish this Luxembourg trip!)  We'll be gone for almost 3 weeks, back on October 23rd.  And if I'm lucky,  I may even post something before we return, but if not...you'll know why!

She-Who-Begins-Her-Sunset-Years

YUP! Donica celebrated her BIG 5-0 last month while we were in Europe. So we waited till this past Saturday, when we were back in Atlanta, to celebrate with her family and my kids.

It was my gift to her and the family to order the whole meal and cake so that no one would have to do anything. And it was wonderful.

The twin nephews came down from Tennessee with the family and helped devour the BBQ from Shane's Rib Shack. You don't get much better BBQ than that: pulled pork and chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, potato salad, slaw and baked beans. Oh yes, and unsweetened tea. Welcome to the South!

Believe it or not, Donica barely got both candles blown out in one breath! Maybe she shouldn't have made such a big wish?

But little Joey confirmed her carrot-cake choice, with cream-cheese frosting, of course. Exactly what a diabetic wants and needs. But who's asking! She can have anything she wants for her BIG 5-0!

It was family time for everyone who could come.

Including my son Mark...

...and daughter Amy, who (along with Dennis still in LA) gave Donica a fabulous pop-art, Andy-Warhol-style photo collage of wedding pics. A keepsake to last forever!

Can you believe that I had the foresight to keep MY BIG 5-0 banner from 13 years ago (before I knew Donica!) and used it for HER birthday. And everybody signed it! I think that's cool! I'm so glad I thought of it! :)

The party started at 2p at cousin Theresa's house on Swan Lake. It's such a great place for reunioning because there's so much to do...besides talking....



...and fishing...let alone eating!

Then Uncle Joe took some of us for a pontoon boat ride around the lake, like he always loves to do, so I got in some photography time, much to my delight.

The geese skipped all over the lake, in celebration...

...and the dragonflies hung on for dear life. Time is just too brief, you know.

It wasn't just another birthday. This one will change her forever because NOW she is a legitimate AARP card-holder! HA! Congratulations, Donica!! Here's the photo album of your day!