Belgium, part 2

As I said in the previous post, we were in Belgium for a swim meet, and the meet was in Antwerp.  The meet was long distance champs, and the 3 events the kids competed in were the 800 free, the 400 IM and the 1500 free.  The first two were on Saturday and the last was on Sunday.  The pool was a 50 meter pool and there were a lot of kids swimming so our entire day was at the pool.  So other than the pool, this is what we saw of Antwerp.......

Yup, the train station!  We did get out to eat mussels one night, because I guess other than chocolate and fries, the thing to eat in Belgium is mussels, and they were delicious!

Now for the pool shots.  I couldn't really get any good swim shots because I was in the bleachers and it was an indoor pool.  The pool was across the street from the hotel, so the team met in the lobby and walked over together.

Here are the kids getting in the zone, or just trying to wake up before heading over to the pool.

The meet was a NATO meet and included DODDs schools as well as international schools across Europe.  So we had the US flag, the NATO flag and the Belgian flag.

Above the flag there were these really strange murals that, if you looked at them long enough, you could figure out they depicted swim strokes.  I am pretty sure my artistic abilities come from my Belgian side!

All the kids gathering for warm-ups

Getting in the zone, again.  For some reason, my kids were both really impressed with this picture.  I guess one good one out of 500+ isn't bad =)

Team meeting, getting everyone pumped up and ready for the long day ahead!

The kids both bought themselves tech suits for this meet.  Sam is in the middle with her kneeskin.  The suits are ridiculously expensive.  I told them if they made a national level meet in the US I would buy one, but I wasn't going to for this meet.  

Pleased after her swim.

Tommy stretching out for his 800.  The suit he has on took him about 20 minutes to put it on, at least the first time.  After the swim, he was so excited to tell us how much lighter his legs felt.  I guess they do make a difference.

Tommy gave his all for this swim and was rewarded with a fist pump from the coach

Still feeling the joy and pain from his 800.

This is how we spent most of our days, sitting in the stands waiting!

Tommy took 3rd place for his 800 free swim

After a long morning of 800s, getting warmed up for the 400 IM

Tommy is not a fan of the IM, and he really didn't want to swim it.  Here he is convincing his coach that his strong 800 free put a strain on his bad shoulder so he should really not swim the 400 IM so he can give his all to the 1500 free the next day.  You can see the disappointment on Tommy's face as he realizes that the coach is going to allow him to scratch.

Here is Sam prepping for her 400 IM.

Mike and Tommy (with his head down) late in the afternoon.  Swim meets are exciting for about 30 second intervals when your kids are swimming.  Even the long events don't really get exciting until the end.

Review of her swim with the coach.

On to day 2.  Tommy, having rested his shoulder and kept it safe from the 400 IM, had a great swim in the 1500 free.  I love how the kids shake hands and congratulate the each other after a swim.

That expression is one of amazement and pain!

The few left waiting around for the awards ceremony.  If I remember correctly, Tommy got 2nd place for his 1500 free.  It was a great meet for both kids and even though it was a long 2 days, it was fun.

On a side note, back at the hotel one night, I did something that made Sam mad.  So, to punish me she locked herself in the bathroom.  When her friends came by to get her, she tried to get out only to find the door would not open (can you say karma).  So Mike went downstairs to tell the guy at the front desk.  He came up and tried the door, like he would have the magic touch.  Then he stood there staring at the door with his finger on his temple trying to figure out how to get her out.  The door opened in, and the hinges were on the inside, so you couldn't exactly take the door off the hinges. I guess on the weekends in Belgium, the maintenance people don't work.  So the guy at the front desk got the bartender to come up and help him out.  I am not kidding when I say it took about a half hour for them to break the door and get her out.  It was hilarious!  Then we had to spend the next 2 nights with a bathroom door that didn't really close, and had a towel stuffed into the hole where the doorknob once was. 

That is all for Antwerp.  Next up, Brussels!

Belgium, part 1

So it has taken some time to get this post up, but I was dealing with issues with blogger and photos.  I had reached my limit for storage unless I re-sized the images.  Since I am far from a computer expert, it took a little time to figure out how to quickly re-size hundreds of pictures at one time.  Thankfully, Tommy took a great computer class last year and he had a great idea.  So I tried it out today, and it appears to have worked.  Thanks Tommy!

For Thanksgiving, we traveled to Belgium for the long distance swimming championship.  Both kids were competing and were very excited.  I was excited, too, because this was our first trip out of Italy and because I have always wanted to go to Belgium to see where my ancestors came from.  Flying in, the topography looked very much like the Rochester area, probably more like it did 100 years ago as far as open farm space, but I could see why the area would have appealed to my great-grandfather.  Tommy's first observation from the plane was that it looked like a big Oak Hill.  There were a lot of houses in the tudor style, like Oak Hill, so I could see what he was saying.  We flew into Brussels and had decided not to rent a car but to take advantage of their trains and trams.  So we headed straight to the train station attached to the airport.  It was so nice to see signs in English and to have everyone be able to understand us, because while most people spoke Dutch or French, they pretty much all were fluent in English.

After a train and then a tram ride and a short walk, we arrived at our hotel in Antwerp.  I wasn't expecting much, because I heard European hotels are not like those in the US and are very small.  We had a room with 2 twin beds and then had 2 additional beds brought in, so I thought we would really be squished for the time we were in Antwerp!  However, I was nicely surprised, and the room was quite big and the extra beds were so much nicer than the cots we get at home!

We flew in on Thanksgiving, and the hotel was nice enough to put together a buffet feast for our team.  Most of us were in the same hotel, but those who were not still joined us for dinner

This is our turkey dinner.  It was turkey in red sauce.  Not traditional, but not bad.  I don't think I will try making it at home, but it was ok.

Here is a picture of all the swimmers who were at champs.

Tommy with his first plate of food

This is my Thanksgiving dinner.  There was fish, turkey, croquettes, chicory, corn, rolls, salad, etc.

Then came the desserts!  Yum, Belgian chocolate!

Friday we headed to Bruges. Sam rode in with friends, Tommy didn't want to go so he stayed at the hotel, where one of the coaches was, and Mike and I headed to the train station (above photo is Antwerp train station) 

We opted to skip the bus once we got to Bruges and walk to the center of town where we were going to meet up with the other Swordfish families.  And I am so glad we did.  We would have missed so much of the charm of the city.  It was really like being in Epcot if there was Belgium in Epcot =)  Narrow, cobblestone roads and charming old buildings.  It was beautiful and peaceful.

Once we reached the center of town, there were a lot of different stores.  I would love to have had time, and luggage space, to do some shopping!  On just about every street, there was some sort of chocolate shop!

This is one of the beautiful buildings in town.  I told Mike I was sure this was my ancestral home, but he didn't agree.  I think he claims there was a sign that said it was a school, or something like that ;)

The Christmas markets were going strong in Bruges, that is what the little huts are in the center of the picture.   You can kind of get the feel of how picturesque this little town is from the colorful buildings in the background.

There were canals everywhere and tour boats running.

We had planned to meet up with the others at this place called the Beer Wall.  It took some time, but we found it.

It was chilly and damp out, but they had nice tables with fires outside to keep you warm.

One of the streets away from the center of town.  We decided to explore a little away from the real touristy area.

This is the original gate to the city.

This is what I was looking for.  I would have preferred to see it surrounded by tulips, but it was still cool to see the old windmills in town.

This is our first order of Belgian Fries.  In Belgium, they like their fries with mayonnaise  it was pretty good!  I like those Belgians!

Just another chocolate shop in town, with a chocolate fountain!

The kids had both wanted to get hats from Belgium, so I picked them up at the Christmas market.  Tommy has now decided that it is his goal to get a hat from each country we visit!

That is it for Bruges.  We spent some time in Antwerp and in Brussels as well, but those will be separate posts, hence the title "Belgium, part 1". And now that I know how to re-size my photos, it shouldn't take nearly as long to get the posts up!