Beaver Scout Sleepover

When I heard about the weekend sleepover in November I didn’t even consider it.
It’s cold and as Maarten doesn’t mind to wear his pajama to school...
Not to mention his personal hygiene...

My folks didn’t support the idea of Maarten independency either.



But when we got reminder from the scout leader and learned that more than 50 children age 5-6 have already been enrolled I started considering it.
It was only then I actually asked Maarten.
He was overenthusiastic!

So I rushed to the nearby outdoor store to buy the obligatory military cot. Together with Maarten we packed his bag including Oušík the Monkey.


Friday night we dropped him off at the scout shed in Wetteren, half an hour drive from our home.






When I saw the steep stairs leading to the attic where they were supposed to sleep I fell speechless. I’m not a fan of staircases in general but this was rather a ladder than a staircase!



I wish they’d stay in a tent!


The first night, I admit, I didn’t get much sleep.
Nothing to do only hoping we will not get a phone call from the leaders. Otherwise, everything should be just fine.

But Saturday night, when I finally gained some confidence the dreaded phone call came.

Luckily the news wasn’t that bad.

As heavy rain continues the whole weekend the meadow surrounding the shed gets badly flooded and they have to break camp a little earlier.

Awww! That's a shame.
But, honestly, I can’t wait to pick him up!

PS: pic courtesy of De Havik

Good Friday

It will be nice if there are any animals in this meadow.

Like a mountain lion, huh?

Hmm, very funny.

Nevertheless, the Flemish countryside is full of surprises.
Who would expect to see camels in a farmyard just minutes from Ghent?!

Good Friday means a day off work for Rob. Well, this is only the theory since he won't stop doing business even while rambling through the countryside on such a beautiful day!


The well known medieval castle of Laarne was one of the highlights of our today's hike.
It wasn't actually for the first time we visited here. But this is something we only realized at the castle's main entrance.



This will probably happen more often in the future since there are only a few historical places in Belgium we haven't visited yet. But most of them really are worth visiting again.

The Ghent's Houtland should be the most wooded region of our province.
Also the origin of Laarne's name, the Germanic word 'hlaeri' reveals its landscape character, a wooded marshy land.

It stayed dry and the trail was mostly paved so our shoes didn't get muddy at all. Despite the cold and piercing wind you could smell the spring already.



Through some villages, woods, along several small duck ponds the trail led us to the castle of Runenborg, a really neat mansion nicely surrounded by woods and a lake.



It was such a pleasure to see all the farm animals and their babies at pasture on the green meadows. I know Maarten would love to see the sheep with romping lambs and the feeding newborn colt.




Our route partly followed 'Het Heksenpad', The Witches Path. This trail is based on the historical events of fall 1607, when four local women were burned at the stake for witchcraft. 'Het Heksenpad' leads along the residences and the legendary Sabbath and execution sites of these poor women.

Sounds interesting! Maybe something we should walk next time.