Yesterday CB and I went on a pleasent daytrip to a little town in the Netherlands called Vlissingen. Vlissingen is located in an estuary of the Schelde river and is actually an island with the Schelde on one side and the North Sea on the other. You can get to Vlissingen in several ways, but the shortest route from Gent is on a toll road through an underwater tunnel, so that’s the way we went.
We woke up early and went first to the town hall to get our samenslevingscontract, a piece of paper that basically gives us each the rights that spouses have, only without the actually act of marriage being involved. We’ll most likely be changing the status of my identity card from student to domestic partner in a few more months as well, that way I won’t have to keep renewing my student status every year. Anyway, after we accomplished this, the trip to Vlissingen was a nice way to celebrate my passing Level 3 as well as our new status as a couple.
We arrived around 11:30 and walked through the shopping streets in the city center before heading to the coast area. There’s not a ton of beach there, just a rocky coast line with several dykes and piers, but it’s still beautiful scenery and very enjoyable to walk along the cemented hillside just outside the low walls that mark the edges of the coastal part of town. In the evening we found a nice Greek restaurant (one of the only places still open…the town dies as soon as the clock strikes 5 in a very eery Cinderella type way, like *poof* and a bustling seaside hamlet becomes a ghost town, bam carriage to pumpkin) and had a delicious dinner with complimentary shots of ouzo before heading back home for the night.
Cat on a cool tin roof
No, seriously, this was someone’s house…for really real
Houses through the rigging
Entry to the Arsenaal Pirate-themed Exhibit
More entrance (I want to start having kids just so I can have an excuse to see the rest of it)
Gouda, the one and only Dutch cheese…really, that’s the only cheese you can find in the Netherlands
Old fashioned candy store
Sugary pieces of love…mmmmm
A view of the North Sea
Us
During the trip we managed to find an adorable little ceramic gnome in an antique shop who became the star of several of the photos taken by CB. CB has been itching to document our travels via gnome, but could never find a gnome that he felt was quite right. Well, now that we did find one, look out world; CB began campaining for me to have a Gnome-themed travel blog page, to which I answered, “It’s your server too, you want a gnome blog? Go make one, you have my blessing.”
And that, dear following, is where you come in. CB has created his “Gnomeward Bound” blog (I promised I’d help too), whereupon you can view our travels through the eye of….oh, that’s right…we need a name for the gnome. So we’re leaving it up to you, lovely readers, to suggest names for the traveling gnome. Leave them here in the comments section. Feel free to leave more than one name and CB and I will choose a winner that will be anounced this Wednesday. Oh, and as added incentive, the winner gets a bar of Cote d’Or sent to their home directly from Gent (or Pittsburgh, since that will be waaaay cheaper if the winner is in the U.S. or Canada). Now go take a look at Gnomeward Bound!
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8:19 pm
Congrats on the new status! Isn’t that more common in Northern Europe these days than a traditional wedding/marriage, anyway? And congrats on the gnome. It sounds like a fun trip.
8:20 pm
You know, I think it’s really cool that there’s some sort of legal something or other that you can get to signify that you’re an actual couple. It’s so much better than how it is here, where you wake up one morning, realize you’ve been shacked up for 6 months and are suddenly common-law spouses.
Also, I’m now heading to the gnome blog.
8:54 pm
happy, George, Gnomee ( pronounced no me) Gomer, Homer, Jim, my girls want the candy bar bad!!!! We will post more as they think of them.
PS I got the last candy and they are so good!!!!
11:51 pm
Awesome! Moar candy please!
Sigfried, Roy !! Ha! Will add more if I can think of some.
Love the Gnome Blog!
12:57 am
Vere’s Valdo? or the Dutch derivative of Where’s Waldo?? *snicker*
LOVED the site and LOVED the gnome…actually…he looks a lot like Doc from Snow White…could call him Hackey (as in hackey sack since he’s going to kick around the world)..are you bringing him to the ‘Burgh???
Happy coupledom too (BIG smile)
1:42 am
Great pics and congrats on your new status.
3:19 am
congrats! I would pass on the candy and take the gouda!!! His name should be “Monty” gnome as in The Full Monty (they had gnomes too!)
12:43 pm
Emong
6:08 pm
Okay, I love travel pictures, so I am all for the gnome…and I love that french movie, Amalie with the traveling gnome…so…humm. How about:
Otis
Bob…that way you could say “For the love of Bob!”
Kiernan…?
Ralph
I can’t think of anything…but maybe I will be back!
Also, the house… is the black just one home and the red someone else’s? Do you think the owners would let you peek inside?
6:32 pm
Hehe, yeah the black is just one home back in the days of Dutch yore (translation: I dunno when, but a while back)people were taxed on the width of their house, so it is very common to see very skinny houses in older, more classis Dutch architecture. And it wouldn’t be too hard to take a peak as the Dutch tend to not do the whole curtains/privacy thing.
6:39 pm
Looks like you two had a great day!
Congratulations, you are now officially allowed to live together huh? And before? LOL!