Albert and I recently took an excellent trip to Spa, Belgium. The impetus for the weekend was to attend the
EUU spring retreat, but we decided to go down a day early to enjoy the full relaxation that Spa has to offer. As the birthplace of Spa water, not to mention the word "spa," it is truly a place you can get used to spending time in.
Fortunately, the weather was great... because to get to Spa from Amsterdam requires about 4-5 hours and 4-5 trains. But, with the sun shining and no deadlines to meet, we moseyed our way down, stopping along the way for waffles and beer. Yum! Above you see me enjoying the sun in our last stop before Spa, Pepinster.
Above you see a delicious kind of Belgian beer, made with peaches. It's a bit sweet for normal drinking, but it's perfect for sitting out on a terrace in the sun and watching the people pass by. As we learned in the Belgian Beer workshop at the EUU retreat, it really is made with peaches, and ferments using "wild" yeast - whichever yeast happen to drift by as the beer is being prepared. Sounds gross... tastes great!
On the other hand, the water in Spa.... not so much. There was a reason they called it medicinal water, and not "delicious and fresh" water. At least that's true of the spring in the center of town, where the water was so heavy with minerals that it was almost impossible to drink. Think rotting egg mixed with copper, and you'll be close. The good news is, it only cost 20 cents to sample this rare treat.
I really wanted to try this water, from another spring that we happened upon while wandering the hills of Spa, but there was a sign next to it that said it was not suitable for drinking. I'm not sure I believe it, but I decided not to risk it. It still looked and sounded beautiful though, like most of Spa.
We also took a nice stroll through the graveyard that was next to where we were staying. The grave above is my favorite one - it looks just like a random, weathered stone that someone found and propped up. This was in contrast to most of the others, that were much more regular and predictable.
On the way back one day, we saw this super cool old Bentley. Now, what makes Spa really great? The spa itself of course! On Thursday night, after traveling through the Netherlands and Belgium, we paid our 15 euros for three hours in the spa. They have huge pools both indoors and out, and also saunas, Turkish steam rooms, hot tubs, cold tubs, foot soak tubs... basically, anything you can do with water, they do. And it was *great*. The perfect way to start off a long weekend!
Fortunately, the weather was great... because to get to Spa from Amsterdam requires about 4-5 hours and 4-5 trains. But, with the sun shining and no deadlines to meet, we moseyed our way down, stopping along the way for waffles and beer. Yum! Above you see me enjoying the sun in our last stop before Spa, Pepinster.
Above you see a delicious kind of Belgian beer, made with peaches. It's a bit sweet for normal drinking, but it's perfect for sitting out on a terrace in the sun and watching the people pass by. As we learned in the Belgian Beer workshop at the EUU retreat, it really is made with peaches, and ferments using "wild" yeast - whichever yeast happen to drift by as the beer is being prepared. Sounds gross... tastes great!
On the other hand, the water in Spa.... not so much. There was a reason they called it medicinal water, and not "delicious and fresh" water. At least that's true of the spring in the center of town, where the water was so heavy with minerals that it was almost impossible to drink. Think rotting egg mixed with copper, and you'll be close. The good news is, it only cost 20 cents to sample this rare treat.
I really wanted to try this water, from another spring that we happened upon while wandering the hills of Spa, but there was a sign next to it that said it was not suitable for drinking. I'm not sure I believe it, but I decided not to risk it. It still looked and sounded beautiful though, like most of Spa.
We also took a nice stroll through the graveyard that was next to where we were staying. The grave above is my favorite one - it looks just like a random, weathered stone that someone found and propped up. This was in contrast to most of the others, that were much more regular and predictable.
On the way back one day, we saw this super cool old Bentley. Now, what makes Spa really great? The spa itself of course! On Thursday night, after traveling through the Netherlands and Belgium, we paid our 15 euros for three hours in the spa. They have huge pools both indoors and out, and also saunas, Turkish steam rooms, hot tubs, cold tubs, foot soak tubs... basically, anything you can do with water, they do. And it was *great*. The perfect way to start off a long weekend!
