Pumpkins and pints

A little bit of research and I found a pumpkin patch...sort of. A pumpkin festival anyway. And it was just the dose of autumn we needed. 

As with everything in Belgium, a variety of beers were on offer. As well as some interesting pumpkin frites...double fried as all proper Belgian frites are. 

A beautiful blue sky, fall leaves and lots of fall vegetables made for a great day. And a shortcut through a field yielded a harvest of overlooked potatoes too.

Car free capers

Once a year, Brussels closes all roads to motorised traffic. Yes, there are exceptions. Buses, taxis, and those who apply for special permission can still drive but mostly it’s a day for bikes. 

Today was that day. I took the kids on our bikes to explore. Bikiothe big traffic circles, sharing the road with horses on the grand avenue, it was a special day. 

Here fishy, fishy.

Today we went fishing. Granted it was a trout farm but still not what we were expecting. 

 The fish farm itself was typical. Ponds on stocked fish, sorted by size. Ok. No problem. Then we noticed it at the pond across from us. 

A guy on a tractor came by to restock the pond. But at the same time he was handing out fish to the guys who had been there fishing. Freebie fish! 

Then he came to our pond. While stocking, he would drop a few fish in the ground for the kids to scoop up. Strange. That aside, we did catch a few ourselves. Peter had the catch of the day.... reeling in a minnow with his rod. 

Back at it

Today was back in school. A Friday. But hey, who wouldn’t like a one day school week? 

Calvin starts secondary in year seven. The highlight seems to be his locker...and laptop. 

Emily is starting year 5. Her first day seemed fine but reuniting with friends was most important. 

Sammy starts year 3. For him too, friends were top of the list.

I guess we won’t really know until they do a full week. Time will tell. 

The pen(cil) is mightier

Our final stop was in Nuremberg. After the apartment we initially booked didn't pan out, we booked a family room at the youth hostel...right beside the castle. This ended up being a great choice. We took a little walk around the city, exploring the picturesque canal views from the many bridges. 

Then it was off to the Staedtler store for some art pencils and a new (Staedtler Blue) fountain pen. Nuremberg is famous for its graphite mines and tradition of pencil making. 

And as we pulled into home, the odometer clicked over, and we wrapped up our incredible summer road trip. And amazingly, everyone says they would do it again. 

Everything is AWESOME

Our next stop was the "big surprise". Over the whole trip we told them we had a surprise planned but wouldn't tell them what. Not even as we drove there. Once we turned off the highway, the excitement exploded from the back seat.

First order of business: breakfast and planning. 

The kids all agreed Lego driving school was up first. It took some practice, but they all earned their licenses. 

Over the next two days there was negotiation, splitting up and maximizing their time in the park. 

When the time finally came for shopping, I convinced the kids to buy bulk Lego and create their own kit. They decided to pool thier resources and design one creation. The piece were selected and for the rest of the trip, the back seat was a planning room with the kids eager to get home and start building...together. 

Peter and I challenged each other to make minifigures of us: Peter made mine and I made his. 

The hills are alive

Next stop: Austria. After another long drive we stopped at a lake outside Salzburg for a swim. The kids appreciated the fresh, cool water and had a blast jumping off the dock. 

The next day we took in more Austrian nature, hiking the Kaprun gorge. The boardwalk took us up the gorge along beautiful waterfalls and rainbows to glacial lake (reservoir) at the top. 

The lake at the top was crystal clear and impossibly beautiful. After walking the perimetre we kicked off our shoes and dipped our toes into the frigid glacial runoff feeding the lake.

We stayed on a dairy farm and the kids enjoyed the wide open spaces to play. 

Our next adventure took us into Salzburg to take a cooking class. We learned to make authentic apple strudel. It was easy and fun (and yummy).