Castles, Outings and Precious Time

Groot Bijgaardin Castle, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium

An American friend once wrote me that when the family moved back to the States after an extended stay in Europe, the children would ask on Saturday mornings, “What castle are we going to visit today?”   Unfortunately they were more likely to be going to soccer practice followed by the mall.

Bouillon - Medieval Castle in Bouillon, Luxembourg, Belgium.  Think how much fun it would be for kids to climb around this castle.

In fact there are hundreds of castles, historical monuments and museums to visit in Belgium. And of course, France, Germany and The Netherlands are just a hop, skip and jump away.  Many expat families used the weekends to travel afar or to visit local historical sites.

One chilly Sunday we went into Brussels to the Grande Place to view the Marché aux Oiseaux (the Bird Market).  The children were fascinated by all the exotic birds and we ended up buying a bright, yellow canary.

Little Christopher, Kristin, me, Charles and Marie-Juliette

Marie-Juliette has our new, feathered friend in the white box.

We stopped for les gaufres (Belgian waffles) and hot chocolate.

Absolument Délicieuses 

Then we proceeded to view the Mannekin Pis.  This famous statue of a chubby, little boy peeing in a fountain is a well-known tourist attraction.  The bronze statue was installed in 1618.  The little fellow has a prodigious wardrobe of costumes presented to him from countries all around the world.

Famous Mannekin Pis

We enjoyed picnics and outings to various sites.

Cute kids with big smiles.

One Saturday we were invited to join a local, Belgian community group of parents and kids for a day of games.  We spent the afternoon playing a version of Capture the Flag which included children and adults.  Running, hiding and sneaking around trees; it was superbly exciting.

Marie-Juliette and Kristin lined up for a ball game.

Charles and Chris playing King of the Log.

What of these memories; your memories and mine?

Tempus fugit: Time flies.  But I prefer the actual quote: fugit inreparabile tempus : “it escapes, irretrievable time”.  We cannot capture and hold the swiftly moving drama of our lives. Our souls can momentarily grasp a misty, fluid memory and feel the warmth of that moment. Then it escapes, like a teasing, woodland nymph and we fall back to the hard reality of the day.