Michael's European Vacation 1997

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Michael's 1997 European Vacation Page 6 (Under construction)

Adventures with Michele and Martino in Holland (Needs to be added)

October 17th, 1997: Reunion with my Dutch friends from TheoTijsen grade-school:

	<---Heerlen, NL Reunion! When I was in the third grade, my family moved to Holland for three years. While I was there I attended a Dutch school and made several friends. These are photos from our reunion. It was great to be back in my town, with my great friends. I'm also very thankful to my friends for having taken care of me for the extended time that I was back visiting Holland. As yet, I have not had a chance to repay the favor...
	<---Claudia, My Grade-School Sweetheart! This is Claudia, my sweetheart from grade school in Holland. It was great to see her once again, she was just as I had remembered her, though I hardly even recognized her at first! Talk about bringing back memories!

October 24th: Belgium Bike Tour!
What would Europe be without a quick 600 Kilometer bike tour through Holland, Germany, and Belgium?

Day 1: October 24th 1997: Heerlen----> Simpleveld----> Achen----> La Calamine Kelmis----> Battice----> Verviers.
I departed around 12:00 from Heerlen, and took slow paths and trails for the first half of the day. I stopped at a bakery in Simpleveld and ate an entire "apricose flam" (apricot pie) which made me a bit sick, but was well worth it. The ride wasn’t too scenic and there didn't appear to be any youth hostels in Northern Belgium. I stayed in Verviers for 1000F and 80F to lock my bike. The weather was ok, but not great.

Day 2: Verviers----> Pepinster----> Nessonvaux----> Aywaille----> Remouchamps----> Trois Ponts----> Vielsalm----> Lierneux----> Arbrefontain.
I traveled a very scenic route via Aywaille and Trois Ponts to Vielsalm. I couldn't find any place to stay, and my travel book said there was a youth hostel in the small village of Arbrefontaine. It was getting dark and I exhausted my every last ounce of energy to get to the town of maybe 100 people out in the middle of nowhere. I asked the people there if it was a youth hostel and they informed me it was not. We tried and couldn’t find an alternate place, so they took me in and fed me. This turned out to be a youth recreation camp, and was led by several very cool "Responsables". Later that night, we split into teams and played a hide-and-seek game where there were four groups of children who would attempt to hide in the forest and countryside. We would then search with 4X4 trucks to find them. I was teamed with Thierry in a Land Rover with a diff-lock. Later that night we drank and ate, making the next morning difficult. Though cloudy for the most part, this was truly a great day.

Day 3: Arbrefontain----> Lavaux----> Petit Sart----> Baraque de Fraiture----> Houffalize----> Bastogne.
I departed around 12:00 after waiting to take this group picture. I took a very inefficient route to highway 89, and later saw the people from the camp drive by as I was resting. I tried to find a youth hostel but only received misinformation from tourist centers. From Baraque de Fraiture, I decided to take the direct route to Bastogne instead of going through La Roche en Ardenne. In Bastogne I had a great pita dinner but was forced to pay 1400F for a not-too-great hotel. My dad would have loved this place due to its culture and history. The weather was extremely nice.

Day 4: Bastogne----> Houffalize----> La Roche en Ardenne----> Hotten----> Grandhan----> Barvaux----> Hamoir----> Filot.
I decided to take a strenuous but scenic tour along the Ourthe River. La Roche en Ardenne was very nice, and this is where I ate lunch. I continued on to Hamoir, and found a place to stay in Filot at the top of a hill. My debit card ceased to function for some reason, requiring me to make several calls to my bank in the US before it would work again. Luckily, the people in Filot allowed me to stay on the promise that I would pay them once I worked out the problem with my card. They also made dinner and breakfast for me, and we watched Pulp Fiction in French. They also allowed me to use their computer to check and send e-mail, and to update update my stock portfolio. In addition, they took pity on my ridiculous map, and gave me a good one that would allow me to navigate in style. I really liked this family, and to me they lived the perfect life-style. I decided I would stay two nights, which together with two dinners and an excellent beer cost me a very reasonable 2645BF. They are contactable and have a nice virtual tour of the house available online at Le Presbytere de Filot!

Day 5: Filot----> My----> Bomal----> Erezee----> Manhay----> Arbrefontain----> Werbomant----> Filot.
It was beautiful but very cold. I was told it was -6 degrees Celsius in the morning, and there was patchy frost and frozen puddles the whole day. With a light load, I descended from Filot to Bomal and then followed the valley along the Aisne to Manhay. I stopped by Arbrefontain to say hello, but only the cook was there. I then returned via the Lienne River Valley to Werbomant and Filot. The scenery and terrain was great; I took nice pictures this day and consumed unsafe quantities of Belgium doubles and tripels... How do you like the picture of my bike in flight? I also climbed on the rocks you see in the distance, which were next to a nice stream...

Day 6: Filot----> N86 Aywaille----> La Reid----> Spa----> Theux----> Pepinster----> Liege----> Embourg.
The weather was perfect once again though still very cold. I ate a great breakfast and headed North to Spa via N86 to Aywaille. I then took a back-road that climbed and descended into Spa. It was nice to see Anne again. She is going to Mexico in about a week for a nine-month stay. She gave me the full tour of the town and promised to write. I planned ahead and called in a reservation at a great looking bed and breakfast. I headed along Theux and the Vesore river, liege and Embourg. It got dark, and I got so badly lost it was pathetic! I ended up riding right past the place, and up a pseudo-mountain pass before figuring out my mistake. Once I found it however, the house was extremely nice and inexpensive at 650 franks per night. 86 Avenue du Park, Embourg, Belgium, 4053. (043-659890 “Dembre”) I made a Salmon salad that night and consumed some Belgium beer. I also bought some champagne, but was too tired to drink it until the next morning.

Day 7: Embourg----> Liege----> Maastricht----> Bunde----> Meersen----> Nuth----> Hoensbroek----> Heerlen.
I headed North along the Maas after figuring out that once again I had gotten lost, this time in Liege. This leg wasn't too exciting until just before Holland. I did stop at a nice church somewhere along the way to finish off what little Champagne I had left, and lighten the load by consuming one more Belgium tripple. Approaching Maastricht was very nice, afterwards I went a slightly northern route that involved some climbing, but gave me a nice view from the high-plains of Holland. I saw the Hoensbroek Castle, and climbed a hill for a full view of Heerlen and the surroundings. It was a great end to a great mountain bike trip!

There are several weeks missing here, which I'll update once I get a chance...

Hanging with Friends in Antequera, Spain!
November 16th: This is Antequera, an incredible mountain in southern Spain! This is an amazing maze of rock, and truly a one of a kind place. My sister had come to Spain to visit briefly, and we met up with a Aurora, a Spanish girl I had met while staying with the Giger family in Switzerland.

Nov.23 Back in Paris with Alex and Cyril, and reunited with my laptop! Alex, Cyril, and I went via RER to Versailles. I used my Eurail pass both directions on the RER and plan to do the same traveling to the airport on Tuesday. Versailles was great, though it was very foggy and cold. I was extremely impressed by the grandeur of the area, and that it was freely open to the public, offering nice parks and walking areas as well as an artificial lake.

In the train station an annoying punk began harassing me, and Alex jumped to my defense immediately, which greatly impressed me. I've found Alex freely takes on the roll of protector in many cases, and I think this is a wonderful thing, especially considering she'll be teaching, and incidentally protecting her children. I think this can also be a difficult burden for her to bear, especially in cases where one cannot protect someone around you as well as one would like...

After returning to Alex and Cyril's home in Paris, we had her famous pumpkin vegetable soup, for which I have now become famous as well. She also fried apples with banana bits and made a really great dessert. As usual, it was an excellent meal!

Over the next few days I walked around Paris a few more times, just taking time to reflect on my journey. When the day came to return, I packed up my things and headed back to the US. I was surprised how good it felt to finally be going home, to be back in my own country, to not have to constantly choose a different language before muttering each phrase, to not have to ask friends for constant help and assistance, and to not be dependent on others without having the means to return the favor. I also thought about all the people who had helped make my trip possible, all the numerous rides I had accepted from strangers, all the risks I had taken without consequence, and all the wonderful stories I had heard while traveling with people I barely knew. It was a great journey, but it was great coming home as well.

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