Barney & Lauri's Burgundy & Beyond Adventure

This is a short post before we leave for a 3 week trip to Spain and Portugal on April 27.

It’s been hard not to write about the political situation in the US, and with the recent fallout of the current US administration with Europe, it has become personal for Lauri and me, so yes, here are a few mild mannered words that I do want to get off my chest:

We, our marriage, came about due to the good US – European relations, which our families on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as most Europeans and Americans since WWII, took for granted. In the early eighties I served my mandatory time in the German military service, manning an Air Force communication station side by side with American GIs. NATO was and is a good, successful alliance. As in every family, there were squabbles between the “New World” and the “Old World”, and yes, mistakes were made, yet for 80 years the mutual benefits and basic solidity of the US – European relationship was never in question. 

Now, with the current US administration’s undermining of NATO, the withdrawn support for Ukraine, the appeasing towards Russia, and the imposed and unpredictably yo-yoing aggressive tariffs that undermine our mutual trade and economies worldwide, we’ve all become aware that the foundations of the US – European relationship have cracked and become undone, and that is bewildering and painful to see! It feels like watching old parents, after a good, fruitful, long and happy marriage together, drifting incurably apart, and one can’t follow, nor understand, how or why it happened. 

The one-sided wrecking ball dismantling of this mutually fruitful relationship came about like an ad hoc, adolescent bullying decision, way too fast and out of total ignorance for history and the longterm geopolitical consequences involved. Eighty years worth of valuable trust and its capital squandered and the world order in shambles, for what? And, if the current US administration would be serious about trying to contain China, which arguably is the biggest threat to our freedom, self determination, and western civilization way of life, the US will need all the help it can get, by fostering diplomatic relations and maintaining and growing helpful alliances for this effort instead of alienating trusted friends – seems like Politics 101.

Back to our fortunately still happy European adventure:

At the end of February we visited Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Bruges. Forty seven years ago a couple of friends and I kayaked the Rhine river for 3 weeks from Basel Switzerland all the way down to Hoek van Holland at the North Sea. To get there, we kayaked straight through the busiest sea port of Europe and one of the busiest in the world, the port of Rotterdam. Looking back, it was a foolish, irresponsible adolescent stunt that was likely illegal, and I vividly recall how small and helpless we felt paddling between the big ocean going ships. Since then, I’ve been wanting to go back there, but this time by taking a regular, commercial Rotterdam harbor tour instead.

Fitting for February and the location, it was cold, rainy, and windy. The tour was enjoyable and the port itself felt less busy and chaotic, and more organized than from the perspective of sitting on the water in my little kayak some forty seven years ago.

Down below you see the original “Holland – America Line” building, the line that is nowadays known for its cruise ships docking in Seattle for their trips to Alaska.

From Rotterdam in Holland, we drove to Antwerp in Flanders/Belgium. The buildings, churches, and market squares have the typical Flemish charm that you also find in Bruges, Gent, Brussels, Leuven, etc. It dates back to the medieval 13 – 17th centuries, when these towns strived and found their wealth through overseas trade. It was the time of the Hanseatic League, the early free traders in Northern Europe.

And of course, Belgium, Flanders is the home of the world’s best French Fries. I have no idea why they are called French Fries, while everyone in Europe likely agrees that they should be called “Vlaamse Frietes” (Flemish fries). Served together, with a slap of the typical rich, eggy mayonnaise, they might not be the healthiest food, but they certainly are delicious:

More of Antwerp by night:

While Antwerp is a big modern Belgium sea port city with a beautiful historical downtown, the small town of Bruges is entirely Flemish cute with a lot of Grachten (canals) running through the town and connecting it to the close by North Sea. Naturally, this picturesque cuteness draws a lot of tourists. However, like in most European tourist towns, stay overnight, because by late afternoon/early evening the tourist buses have left, the true charm unfolds, and the city center can best be enjoyed with a digestive walk after a local meal. The 83 meter high, beautiful Belfort (Belfry) overshadows not only the Great Market square, but is also visible from pretty much everywhere in the city. The cyclists among the readers might recognize the Great Market Square and Belfry as the annual starting point of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) professional Spring Classic bicycle race:

And besides Belgium chocolates and other delicacies, there are of course the Vlaamse Frites!

It can hardly get more flemish cute than this:

Back in Dijon we had more visitors. Here my cousin Werner with wife Nathalie from Paris:

In Beaune, forty minutes south of Dijon, we tood a tour of the Moutarderie (mustard factory) of Edmond Fallot. The tour of this small, still family owned local mustard producer was excellent! We learned a lot about the details of the production process and the growing of mustard seeds, and of course walked away as big fans with several of their zingy and spicy mustards in our bag. Their website is also excellent and contains a lot of interesting information:

Along the line of food, with several bakeries within our Dijon apartment’s vicinity, I was recently wondering how many there are close by. Checking Google maps and my local knowledge, it turns out that there are 18 boulangeries within a 10 minute walking distance from our apartment, and the majority of them are small, family owned, one-outlet stores, having the actual bakery right next to the shop. We frequent about 5 of them regularly for different breads, pastries etc.

Here are impressions from some of the numerous bike rides with my riding group, including a 105 mile ride on a blue sky spring day in the Jura Mountains, with 8,700′ of elevation gain, the biggest and most enjoyable ride here so far.

Lauri and I also took another day trip into the Jura by car, to show her the sights I’d discovered with my riding group. Here are pictures of the Saline Royal d’Arc-et-Senans. This salt processing factory was planned and built by the famous French architect Claude Nicola LeDoux in the 18th century. This beautifully built complex is designed like a self contained village, complete with living quarters, common areas, an administrative building, and of course all the necessary salt processing buildings. Salt used to be more valuable back then, yet it is still amazing and contrary to our financial bottom line perspective, that the French king at the time decided to build such a beautiful, and obviously expensive facility for the seemingly simple task of boiling down brine into salt. The facility was constructed in this location due to the closeness of a large forested area with an ample wood supply near by that was needed for the boiling down of the brine, and it was easier to pipe the brine for 20 km from the salt mining town of Salins-les-Bains down to the newly constructed Saline Royal, versus having to transport the huge amounts of firewood up to the town of Salins-les-Bains.

Here some pictures of the salt mining town of Salina-les-Bains:

Moe impressions of the rural Jura. A great place for hiking, biking and exploring etc.

Yes, we do like the Jura!

My sister Mecky with husband Robert will visit us in a few days. That’s it for now, and until the end of May:

“Adios” and “Adeus”.