Lay over daze

When we planned this trip we realized that not being 30 anymore we would have to take our time. So we planned a layover day after every four days of walking. Today we laid over in Bergen op Zoom.

After attending to the washing of clothes and eating breakfast (the Dutch breakfast, which comes with the room is typically eggs, boiled or scrambled, rolls, cheese, meat, yogurt, fruit) we left our room festooned with drying clothes and walked toward the city center, which is about 10 minutes away.

We immediately noticed bright yellow flags criss crossing the streets and yellow signs announcing an event. And then we saw a group of boisterous people listening to accordian music with yellow neckerchiefs and tee shirts. They were a group of volunteers for the Roparun which had just passed through town. They explained that it was a team relay race between Paris and Rotterdam (500km) that is a fund raiser for cancer research. We had missed the runners on the last 99 km leg of the race, but the volunteers were a jolly bunch full of suggestions for what to do in the City.

We stopped in the main square, which was very quiet except for volunteers taking down flags, and had a coffee at an outdoor cafe. Then we walked the center of the city stopping at St. Gertrudiskerk, built originally in 1477. The churches here really tell the history of the country. This church began as a Catholic church but with the revolt against Spain followed closely by the reformation it was taken over by protestants, who removed the stained glass, art and statues and created an austere setting more suitable to their religious practise. Napolean overran Netherlands and destroyed the church. Finally the Catholic church took it over again, but a fire in the sixties destroyed the church. The City now owns the church and has turned it into a religieous museum of sorts, where ecumenical services take place several times a year. The next one to take place will be next weekend during the City Jazz Festival.

We learned all of this from the lady who was at the admissions desk. She gave us a tour as we were the only visitors, all the time apologizing for her poor English which was really quite good. She and Rhonda had an understanding when she pointed out a confessional and said, "I remember when I was a girl making up things to tell the priest, like I had stolen candy."

Back in the town square we sat in the sun and had a beer then went to see the palace a large brick building with corner towers, many windows, statues and embelished cornices and a large courtyard, where the annual antiquarian book sale was taking place. Across the street from the palace we lunched in a small square on beer, sandwiches and salad.

On the way back to our room we passed a waterfront park and heard a PA system, so we detoured and found that there was a kids horse race of sorts in progress. The contestants rode head to head over jumps and through a 180 degree turn, then dismounted and road bicycles, going through the course again using the spaces between the jumps as slalom gates. A big crowd was watching and eating and drinking in the beer garden that had been set up in the park.

Next to the horse/bicycling race was a dog racing track. It was a U shaped 100 meter track made up of termporary platic fencing like we use for protecting trees in construction projects. The "rabbit" was a ball of ribbon tied to a string that revolved around the track on pulleys. The dogs in the races were terriers. It was reminescent of U 6 soccer, with some dogs fast and sure, others chasing their brethern, some going the wrong way and some who needed their mistresses to run with them. The Dutch took the racing as a matter of coarse, reserving emotion, while the Americans cheered on the competitors.

Back at the hotel, which is very quiet this weekend, probably because most people went to the shore for their holiday, we sat in the dining room looking out at the wet lands, forest and sea through large windows flanking a 10' X 15' portrait of clint Eastwood in a duster, cheroot hanging rom the corner of his mouth, hand moving toward his six gun.

We had a great dinner, but for one mistake. We thought 13 euros for lobster dinner was such a good deal we could not pass it up. Unfortunately we had not noticed that the cost was 13 per 100grams and the lobsters weighed in at 500 grams. A costly mistake at the end of a great day.