I'll get to him in a minute...Jo Myns (pseudonym for Johan Van der Mynsbrugge)....
But first, after our day's visit to the Christmas market in the limestone caves of Valkenburg, in east-southern Netherlands at the end of November (remember?), we drove 5 km west to our B&B in Berg en Terblijt...10 km east of Maastricht, if you know the area.
Astrid is the one who does the research for our B&B or hotel locations and loves it. So do I, for us both.
De Geulhemermolen in Berg en Terblijt is a great example of what she finds and was a total charm.
We love these places...especially for their breakfast the morning after.
Someone had great fun decorating the place.
Afterwards, in daylight, we loved exploring the grounds behind the hotel/B&B
...before heading on our way for the day.
As we left our B&B, we saw the cave dwellings in the same kind of limestone caves as from Valkenburg.
Can you imagine living there!
And then we were on our way to Lanaken, Belgium, 5 km west of Maastricht.
Don't you love these names and how everything is so close together!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
(to be continued)
Can you imagine living there!
And then we were on our way to Lanaken, Belgium, 5 km west of Maastricht.
Don't you love these names and how everything is so close together!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
In Lanaken, Belgium, at the La Butte aux Bois hotel, is/was a fantastical "exhibition" of the nude sculptures of Jo Myns, a Flemish/Belgium artist. We had heard about him and seen his work via a blogger friend, Tom Wilson, on our Shutterchance blog. Tom is a retired professor who lives in Sheffield, England.
After seeing the series of 8 images Tom showed us on his blog, both Astrid and I earmarked the place for any time we might be in the area. Bingo! This was our chance and, lucky for us, the exhibition was still there.
La Butte aux Bois is a bit out of our league (4-star hotel), but they graciously allowed us
to roam their lawns, in spite of the fact we weren't their overnight guests.
We told them how their reputation preceded them!
What a delightful place...even at the end of November.
Now, where to start!
At the beginning with the first lady we saw...
...to this sun-worshipper, which you can buy for €595 ($810).
How can you resist these 2 ladies balleting on the lawn...
...or these 2 ladies stopping their bikes to catch a quick chat!
Nearby, another lady balances herself with her invisible pole.
All this while 2 other ladies play tug-of-war with Astrid...
...and the only man of the entire lot.
See how Astrid gives them all scale...just a bit smaller than life-sized.
Before leaving I went to the reception desk to ask if by chance there were any sculptures inside?
Aren't you glad I asked...even if the large one by the pool is the same as the previous sun-worshipper.
EUREKA and thanks to Tom: we found them all!
And this was only the morning, before continuing on with the rest of our day....
