It's flat and it's wet.
There's a lot of farmland, dotted with small towns with their austere churches.
There's a lot of history here from the past hundred years. Lots of Great War cemeteries and battlefields.
I found a gunner pilbox in the middle of a town.
Everywhere we went, people asked us about the upcoming US election. The opinion all over Europe is very pro-Obama. One guy commented, "Everyone I meet from the states is voting for Obama. So who would vote for the other guy?". We could only conclude that the Other Guy's supporters just don't get out much.
We spent a night in Watou, where St. Berndardus is brewed. The brewery has a really cozy B&B attached to it if you don't mind the smell of malty hops invading your sleep.
Those tall post is where the hops are grown- they are all over this area and they call this the Hop Capital of Belgium. They had just had their hop-harvest, so the hop fields were a little bare.
Watou is right on the border of France, and the Mont du Cats is close by on a hillside, where the monks make cheese and beer. We took the pilgrimage up the hillside in pouring rain, giving the monastery a rather mysterious air to it.
Watou also had a fantastic little town square filled with good places to eat.
We had the best dinner of our trip at 't Hommelhof.
It was a fantastic find- they are making fresh, locally derived food in inventive ways, but not too fussy. I love places like this.
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