Zwalmbeek

Strangely enough, I thought I lost my gardening passion while living in California. The reason probably was the heat that I can’t cope with very well.
Well, even in California I did some container gardening but founding the ripe tomatoes half- eaten on the ground every morning was rather discouraging.

Comparing with Moravia, here in Belgium the spring has already started at least one month earlier.
The nice weather makes me want to go out and get busy in the garden again.
Wasn’t this weekend weather just perfect for gardening?
And the work is so much fun with my enthousiastic little helper!


Even though one get pretty tired after all those spring chores we had to take advantage of the beautiful weather and headed out for a walk.
Not far away is the valley of the Zwalm with its pretty Zwalmbeek river.



The path along the river seems to be a popular destination for an easy Sunday walk. Some men walk in suits and women even in high heels! There are actually many places to rest, eat and have a drink in one of the romantic taverns.
The countryside is quite idyllic and very peaceful, with the river on one side and the meadows and poplar groves on the other.


One of the picturesque places is the tavern called ‘Little Switzerland'. Someone who lived here once found this place with its small pond, sluice waterfall and surrounding hills so beautiful that he compared it to the Swiss landscape.
It's a very idyllic location indeed!
Not only the tavern but also the hilly area is nowadays known as ‘Little Switzerland’.

The nicely restored 'IJzerkotmolen' is another remarkable historical building along the river. And it is still possible to grind here.


Of course the rotating waterwheel and the loud sound of water made the biggest impression on our Maarten.
Or was it the painful earwig bite?!