509 very narrow stairs

it was like this the entire way up and the entire way down. most of the time there were two queues of people - some going up and others going down. sabina was on her way down at this point.

more from cologne

jack and dad on the river Rhein...
see the church waaaay in the background? that's the cathedral we climbed. we've since learned it was 509 steps to the top (and one giant leap down...)

we climbed the WHOLE thing!

went to Cologne today (Koeln, for the rest of you - and if i could figure out how to put an unlaut in w/ this keyboard, i'd spell it a third way). climbed all the way to the tippy top of the Cologne Cathedral. Jack says it smelled pretty stinky near the top (it did). very close walking up (just as close walking down). funny thing is, once we got back down to the square, the kids had TONS of energy (with the little promise of an ice cream), while the adults waited for the feeling in their legs to come back!

how many steps, you ask??? no, we didn't count them, but it was waaaay more than a hunnert...

but lots of pooh!

and i mean that in the nicest way... these little reminders (and bags) are ALL OVER the park. yet they're always full (of EMPTY pooh bags). one must ALWAYS watch where they walk in Brussels - perhaps even more so on the sidewalks than in the parks. eeeuuuwww...

great parks...

we've discovered many great spots around Parc de Woluwe - lots of places to climb. these rocks are probably the coolest we've found) we're in the middle of reading The Thief and the Beanstalk while we perch on the top (there's a sheer drop on the other side - makes the mommy quite nervous!)

europe in a day? sure!

it's MINI europe!
we can cover most of the biggies w/in a few hours and head home knowing we've seen everything on the "must-see" list. ahhhhhhh... with a touch of a blue button we can FEEL Mt. Vesuvius erupt (i think that was the favorite scaled model). after this little gem, all we really needed to make our trip complete was a mcdonald's...

if it's tuesday, it must be fish day

much like the beloved ice-cream man and the unmistakable "do your ears hang low" music at home, in Brussels we have the fish guy and some *almost* identifiable little diddy. he comes on tuesday afternoons. and no. we don't run screaming after the truck.

and how do we flush it?

the kids are fascinated by toilets. we have several pictures of toilets, both public and private. this is the one they chose to share. btw, you push the silver panel at the top...

snacks

we've found a ton of them! those crazy belgians have thought of everything, dontcha thin?

we're off!

leaving, on a jet plane. with tons of luggage. and don't forget, those violins are coming with!