Gent

Saturday morning we left the farm and headed to Gent for a day and a night. We've been here before briefly but it was crowded for a festival and we wanted to see it minus festival madness. It's really pretty with lots of medieval architecture and cobbled streets, similar to Bruges, but with a more subdued and calm vibe.

We saw the beautiful Sint-Baafs Cathedral which was built in the 1100s with a blend of Romanesque, high and late Gothic influence. High ceilings, large sculptures, lots of detailing and stained glass windows. The stained glass windows were explained as the "poor man's Bible," telling Bible stories to the poor and illerate. The cathedral holds one of the earliest-known oil paintings, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Completed in 1432, it was done with attention to minute details of beards and jewelry.

There was a short drizzle, which seemed to fit with the style of the town. We tried a Belgian waffle, walked through shops, and sat on benches watching Belgians on bikes and walking dogs.

Heading to Krakow, Poland this evening.

Jams and a Greenhouse

Paulo and mamma Rabbit

One of the babies

Jams!

Rita, Paulo, Hugo, Darryl

The farm's been great! So many lovely things. Rhubarbs, fennel, blackberries, rabbits, goats, and sheep... The meals are large and delicious, always accompanied with endless bottles of homemade organic wine and Belgian beers. Ping pong, chess, and foosball continue to bring out the competitive side in each of us. Bike rides into town and soccer, not to mention the weeding, digging, planting, & chopping, help us work off the pounds that have accumulated with each meal. Nights have been hangin out with the other WWOOFers or the French family.

Andrew and the guys finished the greenhouse today. A much celebrated accomplishment. Kristin had fun in the kitchen making loads of raspberry-rhubarb jams. Played with baby rabbits and kittens.

We have found in our travels, especially here, a general (strong) dislike of Americans. It is not much of a surprise. Preconceived ideas and stereotyping of individuals of a certain race or from a certain country is not constructive. Darryl said we've been discriminated against, and it's even made him uncomfortable. But we try to take it with a smile and not personally. We are trying to break down the general negative views they have of Americans.

We had the afternoon off so the four of us rode to town and got a few beers at the pub.

In Bruges

We had so much fun in Bruges.  It's a small medieval town of cobbled streets lined with window-fronted shops opening into plazas with outdoor eateries and bridges over canals.  No new buildings are allowed to be built in Bruges and lots of signs are in Latin.  Lots of people on foot, bikes, and motorcycles.  Horse drawn carriages and speed boats too.  Every other shop was a chocolaterie or tea shop.  Of course here were multiple shops selling Belgium lace.  And pubs.  Darrell joined us, and we had a great time getting to know him better.  We all rode bikes to the bus station in Malegem and took the bus Bruges.

We wandered without a plan stopping through to see Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, past street musicians playing accordians and harps, to Markt, the big open area to eat lunch and up 366 tightly winding stairs to the top of the Belfry, Bruges' most famous structure.  Of course we had to have some Belgium chocolate, so we stopped in a little choclatier, each buying one piece.  Toasting the chocolate we ate it huddled up in the store.  Moving on we found a great pub on a side street next to the Tolkien Diner and The Hobbit restaurant.  The pub was famous for it's selection of over 250 types of beers.  The menu was laid out according to region.  The pub was cozy and dimly lit with Strauss playing in the background.  The tables are small wooden squares spaced closely together.  The boys drank by region starting from west Flanders moving east. Kristin stuck to the fruit beers, a cherry flavored beer, then peach and blackberry.

We met some interesting people there.  Micello, an old Italian in Bruges on business with bad eyes and lots of stories.  He sells antique books, sometimes
Illegally, he let slip, and some from the 11th century.  Then we met two cousins, a girl from Georgia (the state) and a Belgian from Bruges.  We learned a lot about Belgian politics.  For such a small country and to have the capital of the European Union, Belgium has a lot of interesting political conflict.

Then we played around Bruges as he sun was setting.  Bruges is really pretty at night with latern-lit streets and restaurants with flickering candles seen outside and through front windows.

Fieldwork, Greenhouse, and Red Currents, and Chard

Yesterday a dark sky threatened rain all morning, and finally a sudden, though short-lived downpour soaked the linens on the line, Kristin getting soaked in the process. The sun came back out and things were dry before night. At 20 km from the coast, the farm doesn't get much rain. Before that Kristin helped Rita with various guesthouse upkeep (this will be a regular part of Kristin's morning duties), picked red currents, and prepared them for Rita's cooking, while Andrew worked in the fields and planted brussel sprouts and winter cabbages in the late afternoon. Spent the night chatting and having a drink with a friendly French family who are guests here. Needed occasional help from "google translate". Technology bringing Americans and Frenchies together in Belgium.

Besides what has become the usual, today Kristin peeled potatoes, while Andrew planted cauliflower and broccoli in the greenhouse & helped construct the greenhouse roofing. It's about halfway done now. Together we prepared huge leafy green chards for dinner. We took some mint from the yard and made Moroccan mint tea (sans excessive sugar). The men played Risk (Dutch version) at night.

We don't have work on the weekends, which means we have a little weekend excursion planned. We are going to Brugges early tomorrow morning, will probably come back on the last bus, and go back on Sunday to save paying for a place to sleep. It's about a 15 minute ride.

some pics

trying to feed the rabbits...
he's holding a bucket of our...poo & pee. going to dump it somewhere. thanks for doing the dirty work hub!

red currents.

in the fields...

paulo & darrell. plus a very large zucchini.

and a post to follow.

Compost and Peas

For those that don't know, being a WWOOFer basically involves some type of set up where you volunteer to work for people, and they give you a place to sleep and feed you. The usual minimum length time is 2 weeks. For us, specifically, we work 5-6 hours a day, 5 days a week, sleep in a caravan, are on our own for breakfast and dinner (using their kitchen and food, often leftovers from the guest meals), eat lunch prepared for us and eaten together with all WWOOFers, Hugo, Rita, and their college-aged son. Drinks are free...beers, wine, coffee, tea, juices, etc. The limit is 2 beers per day (which means 4 for Andrew since Kristin doesn't like beer). There is a raspberry beer here that is sweet enough to enjoy, but not for everyday.

So a normal day goes something like this:

7:30 - 8:00 - wake up
8:00 - 9:00 - breakfast
9:00 - find out from Hugo and Rita what our job will be for the day
11:30 - everyone has coffee, tea, and cookies under the tree
12:00- back to work
1:30 - lunch, all together outside (or in the greenhouse of raining)
2:30 - back to work til finished
14:00 - 14:30 - relax
8:00 - clear and clean guests dinner (alternating days with Darrell
and Paulo)
8:30 - dinner

Today Kristin helped Rita in the house because some guests were leaving and new ones coming. Then after tea she picked some peas and prepared them for Rita to cook for dinner. Andrew spent most of the day using compost to prepare the old potato plot from yesterday for planting. We were on dinner clean-up duty tonight. Rita brought us the house wines to drink during cleanup.

Potatoes

Wilgenhof. That's the name of the farmhouse in Maldegem if you want to google it. We slept amazing last night. Yesterday was a bit awkward trying to understand instructions and work expectations from Rita and Hugo, but today we feel more comfortable with the routine and our role. It seems best to just go for it, and they will tell you when you are doing something wrong. Rita is very frank, which is nice because you know what she's thinking. After breakfast at 9:00, we all pulled some green beans. Then Kristin helped Rita clear and clean the table when the guests had finished eating while Andrew helped clear some nettles. Together we dug up potatoes until coffee and tea break with Rita, Hugo, Darrell, and Paulo. Potato digging is hard work, but it is so satisfying to be able to see progress and to work with your hands. Some cattle roamed behind the orchard by the garden. The garden is full of so many different berries, vegetables, and vines. Trying to learn much as possible. Today we learned that Hugo grows tobacco plants in the greenhouse to keep the flies away from the plants.

After we finished with the potatoes, we all ate lunch together, which Paulo prepared with lots of freshly picked vegetables. The zucchinis are about 18 inches long and 5 inches in diameter. Hugo and his friend make their own organic wine, which we learned a little about. Lunch was in the shade of a tree, and Hugo brought out a few of his rose and white bottles of wine.

After lunch at 1:30, we helped Paulo chop carrots, zucchini, green beans, fennel, and celery for dinner. The kitchen has lots of large pots, a 6-burner stove, and a big oven, making it seem professional.

Andrew and Hugo wheeled the potato yield away, which apparently wasn't much this season due to a late winter frost. Darrell spent the day working on the roofing to the greenhouse where the caravan is.

Hugo's friend who helps on Tuesdays made us an afternoon dessert called Sabayon. We think it originated in Italy. He used egg yolks, sugar, wine and port to make the sauce and put it over ice cream. Delicious.

Then we took the bikes to explore the town and neighboring farms. One farm had kangaroos and deer. Took a shower and are about to eat dinner. Our bodies are exhausted, in a good way.

our caravan in a greenhouse...home for a couple weeks.

trying to make friends with this cutie kitten

we found a heart potato.

we have posted a handful of pictures from the beginning of the trip on flickr.com under 2 different accounts. to find go to flickr.com. then put kstein2010 or andrewbs2010 in the search box. it wont find us. so then click on people above the search box. retype kstein2010 or andrewbs2010. shoud work. there is probably a better way. the accounts have different pics.