Nations united

One weekend every year, all NATO nations and partner nations pull together to put on a bazaar. Nations sell goods from their homelands and serve food (and drink!) in their national cuisine. 

Being on the board this year gave me a behind the scenes experience (and access to pre-sales) 

It’s a favourite time of year and kicks off holiday season. More than shopping, it’s the ultimate cultural experience. 

We will remember them

This past month had been very busy. All of the regular school activities filled the schedule leading up to a special visit from grandpa. 

Today marked Remembrance Day (Armistice Day here). We attended a ceremony at Brussels cemetery, one of the many commonwealth war cemeteries nearby. 

In the weeks leading up to today we were privileged to visit two very important sites for the Canadian war effort. 

Essex Farm Cemetery is the place where John McCrae wrote the famous poem “In Flanders’ Fields”. There, Emily collected wild flowers to lay on the memorial while Calvin walked the rows of grave markers. This cemetery is the resting place of the youngest soldier killed in the war. 

And we also made the trip to the Vimy memorial. A stunning monument to the Canadian effort in the Great War. Solemn and noble. The preserved battlefield and underground tunnels spoke of the drawn out battle. No man’s land showed how close the two lines were. Today the fields are tended by sheep, so as not to explode any remaining munitions. 

Loo laughs

I’ve been meaning to post about this for a while. The toilet paper here is one of the things I love. It’s so bizarre and yet makes you smile. 

It’s getting hot in here

Yesterday I went to a glass workshop with a friend. Working with 1100 degree furnaces and shaping glass. So much fun. Can’t wait to see the final product when we go back to pick it up ... after cooling in the 500 degree fridge! 

Pumpkins away

We trekked our to the small town of Kasterlee for a unique event. 

Home made catapults and trebuchets launching pumpkins as far as they can. It was rainy and muddy and very much an experience. 

 We rescued a few pumpkins and then enjoyed a spontaneous thanksgiving dinner with friends 

So much to be thankful for! 

Fairytale village

A little over an hour from Brussels is a little German  town. Monschau. 

We toured around for the day with friends, exploring the quaint houses and random festival. 

Flute

Emily has decided that she wants to play flute. She seems to have a real passion for it, playing for everyone who will listen. She even thinks she hears flute in pop songs (Taylor Swift's Look What You Made me do - for example) 

One can only hope her enthusiasm continues.