Round The World in BCOS on SQ, 6K, DG, BD, LX and UA

[Paint Horse]

Not to highjack the thread, but what happened to Mr. nickbot? Does anyone know? Did I miss something?

[HUGE AL]

...I did come down with severe nickbotitis and my doctor advised me to get a lot of rest...

CLASSIC!

[DeltaFlyingProf]

Onward to Orval!

Orval is an Cistercian monastery that produces arguably one of the most unique beers in the world!

The following picture is from wikipedia:


Legend has it -quoting wikipedia- that the abbey was founded by the widowed Mathilda of Tuscany. When she was visiting the site, when she lost her wedding ring in a spring, to her great distress. After praying for the return of the ring, a trout appeared on the surface of the water with the ring in its mouth. She exclaimed "Truly this place is a Val d'Or", from which the name "Orval" is derived, and in gratitude made available the funds for the foundation of the monastery here. The abbey arms show the trout and ring. The spring still supplies water to the monastery and its brewery.

Here is a picture of the coat of arms that I found here



It can also be seen on the bottle in a variation.

So, we arrived at the abbey.



And proceeded through the courtyard to get inside the walls.



Inside there are ruins of the old abbey which was destroyed by the French and then the new abbey. The tree dates back to the old abbey and behind it is the new church.



The church is Notre Dame d'Orval.



Walking through the ruins, you can imagine how the old church was.



And finally, on your way out, have a look at what is for some the most sacred part of the Abbey! The brewery!



It can be visited but was not open the day we went.

The monks produce only one beer, or so most people believe. It has a unique bitterness and it bubbles like Champagne! It should only be served in a glass from the Abbey and I will get a picture of the glass and bubbles in a few days for all of you to appreciate the Belgian equivalent of Krug!

As I said earlier, most people believe the monks produce only one beer, but in fact they produce a second one for their own consumption and that of their guests. It is served with every lunch and dinner in the halls of the abbey. Luckily, there is a small café not far from the abbey where they have it and I had the privilege of trying it for the first time.

On the next installment: Pictures of the beer!

[DeltaFlyingProf]

My apologies to cawhite, SQ LPP, and Paint Horse! The only excuse I have is that I did come down with severe nickbotitis and my doctor advised me to get a lot of rest...

Now, let's get on.

[Paint Horse]

I hope he has not come down the nickbot syndrome.

Did Mr. nickbot ever finish his trip report, by the way?

[SQ LPP]

Paging DFP to the SQT courtesy phone... Any more updates?

I second that. Been too long for no updates!

[cawhite]

Paging DFP to the SQT courtesy phone... Any more updates?

[DeltaFlyingProf]

I was reminded by a post in an other thread that I forgot to update the route map to this step of the trip. We now have:

[phaleesy]

The Belgians do love their water features!

[DeltaFlyingProf]

Visit to the Ardennes

After a long hiatus, I am back at writing this TR.

The day after the visit to Maastricht, we had decided to go visit the Abbey of Orval, where undoubtedly one of the most unique beers in the world is made by monks. So we got on the road despite the weather not being too good...



Our trip would take us to the Ardennes, a part of Belgium which is the least densely populated and has good game meat. It is also known for the "Bataille des Ardennes" (French language name) also known as the "Battle of the bulge" in English. This is the last German offensive of the Second World War where tens of thousand of men died.
The battle was fought in harsh winter conditions and thus maybe the snow that was surrounding us was appropriate.

As a result of the war, there are many memorials and cemeteries left over. One of the main one is the Mardasson near the city of Bastogne.

The Mardasson is a monument built by Belgians right after the war to honor the memory of the 76,890 Americans who were killed or wounded during the battle. It has the shape of a large five branch star:



On the top, the names of the state from which soldiers came.



And inside the circle, an account of the battle is written.

Last year, a new statue was erected near the monument.



After this, we went to have lunch in the town of Bastogne, at the center of which there is another reminder of the battle.



There is also a more recent and humoristic water fountain to be found:



Brussels has the Manekenpis, Bastogne could not be left behind too much...

[Allegro25]

Heyz!

I used to live in Maastricht, i studied at the UM! Great that you like the Southern Netherlands! As a tip don't forget to eat vlaai - pastry and visit the Chateau Neercanne and the castle ruines and caves of Valkenburg. there is also an American War cemetary in Margaten!

It is nowadays a Dutch trend to re-use old buildings and stuff. It keeps character in atown instead of all concrete!

Hope you enjoy you visit in NL!

[DeltaFlyingProf]

Very interesting modifications they've made to those churches. Those Dutch... ya know???

Yeah those Dutch
On the next installment, we'll stick to the religious theme, but Belgian style, visiting a monastery with inebriating potential!

[cawhite]

What a nice surprise for your family!

Very interesting modifications they've made to those churches. Those Dutch... ya know??? I'm glad you lucked out with your BD equipment and the J-class seats.

[DeltaFlyingProf]

The Church of the Holy Sleep!

Another interesting building in Maastricht is the Church of the Holy Sleep. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary church.



Except that the entrance gives up that it is a bit special...



And indeed inside, you will discover it is now a hotel with a nice loby.



Which boasts a restaurant with funky lights of changing color where you can have some Holy Bread.



Of course, the restaurant in the church must have some sacred wine collection!



And should you feel you need to enter a religious trance, then you might need to have a few more intoxicating drinks at the bar.



The bedrooms are in the rectory building attached to the church and we did not visit them. but it would be nice to have someone post some reviews of the hotel!

[DeltaFlyingProf]

Ah. I must say my BD experience is very limited. I have flown EDI-LHR in C on them once and it was indeed the same Y seats as other European carriers. But given the seat I was given on this, I thought maybe those cramped seats were maybe only for intra UK flights.
Thanks for correcting me, though the news is not good I guess...
But I will consider ourselves lucky!