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Friday, August 4

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While enjoying a relaxing morning at Hans and Anneke’s house, I asked if I could take a walk around the neighborhood. Hans said, “Of course. I will go with you.” Cerwin went as well.

Leaving Hans and Anneke’s house to begin our walk.

Cerwin and Hans

Hans decided to introduce us to their next-door neighbor.

We enjoyed meeting him and seeing his interesting property.

His daughter arrived shortly after us. She lives a few houses away.

I noticed lots of canaries and asked about them. He wanted to send a few home with us.

He pulled out a nest and showed me a baby that was just beginning to get its feathers.

There were also a few chickens and goats which we could see on occasion from Hans and Anneke’s back yard.

Hans and Anneke’s backyard is just around the corner on the right.

He keeps a nice orchard and garden.

He gave us a tomato which we ate a few days later with sandwiches.

I asked him about these tall beans.

They are a long bean that was not yet ready. They are taken from the shell something like peas and lima beans.

We had also seen these ducks from a distance – from Hans and Anneke’s back yard. I had never seen any like this. If I understand correctly, he just got them recently.

That was an interesting stop.

Then we moved on.

This used to be a farming community – maybe a hundred years ago – so there were several barns in the community. They were often quite close to the house.

At one point we headed on a path to an open field area.

The horses on this horse farm were behind the neighbor with goats and chickens and could also be seen now and then from Hans and Anneke’s backyard.

This statue of a cat on a roof takes you off guard, making you think it is a real cat.

You may have noticed that all properties are surrounded by a hedge, fence or wall.

I like this mailbox.

This cat kept an eye on us as we walked by but seemed unconcerned by our presence.

Back at Hans and Anneke’s place after a 50-minute walk.

Their mailbox

Lunch at the house (12:30 pm) before leaving for a walking tour of Brussels – with Sem, Kaat and their family. Sem and Kaat live in Brussels and know the area well enough to give us a tour of the city.

I will post about our interesting afternoon and evening in Brussels in the next post.