When we arrived at the hostel in the woods, there were a couple of
people working the desk and about 50 kids outside playing. It was a regular
hostel but two separate groups of schoolkids, one about 8-9 year olds, the
other 12-13 year olds, were staying there, each with a couple of women
teachers there to supervise. We got a real nice room with a shower and a
huge window opening on to the woods, everything was on the ground floor. The
room was only $11. each per night. That night we had dinner at the hostel
with all the kids. $10. for soup, salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, homemade
bread, and beer. They have a well stocked bar with about eight varieties of
beer, and a couple of wines. The first night the kids just checked us out
quietly, not making eye contact. You couldn't believe how well behaved they
were, setting the tables, clearing dishes (their own), and quieting down
whenever the teacher would shush.

     After dinner Tony and Zeke got directions from the guy who worked at
the hostel to a couple of bars who had large selections of beer. Oh boy,
this is where it's great to be in Belgium. On our way out that evening we
saw a couple of people putting on a falconry demonstration for the kids, so
we stayed and watched it too.

     The bar that was nearby was closed so we had to head down the road
about seven km. the opposite direction from Genk to a larger town, maybe a
small city called Hasselt. After driving around the inner ring for a while
we had to stop for gas, Diesel fuel actually. The only place we saw was
unmanned. It was a self serve. After consulting with some locals who didn't
speak English very well we figured it out. You had to put your money in one
machine, then go pump your fuel at the pump. We got enough to get us around
for the night, this was the first time we had to get fuel.

     After some wandering we found the bar we were looking for. After some
more wandering we found a parking spot, near another skull painted on a
wall. The place was the 't Hemelrijk on a dead end street, in the downtown
area of Hasselt. There was lots of stores and shops around, most of them
closed.

We went in, found a place at the bar, and found the bartender spoke very
good English, we were set. A ten year old Saison, uncorked, had to be
disposed of as it was no good anymore, but it was worth a try. A peach
lambic was killer with the aroma of fresh peaches. A Leffe Tripple Blond was
very light, without the fullness you would expect from a tripple, but with
the high alcohol content. Saint Bernardus 8 was good and round like a nice
dubble. The last we had was Het Kapittel Watou Abbey Ale, 9% Alcohol by
volume, which came in a big bottle that we all split.

     It was nice talking to the bartender, he was very informative about the
beer and things in general. Tony had bought his "Michael Jackson's Great
Beers of Belgium" book and the bartender got a kick out of it and also that
we were in Belgium on a beer tour.

     On the way home we took the wrong road and wound up in Genk and had to
double back 7km. to the hostel. When we got there a couple of the teachers
were at the hostel bar. It was another self serve, kind of like a bar in
someone's basement deal with a stocked fridge. We joined them, the
conversation was kind of light though as they mostly just spoke Dutch. We
had a few beers, keeping track of what we drank, so we could pay for them
the next day. Trusting these Flemish. I brought out my case of tapes and we
listened to some "Live" for a while. I tried to use the phone to do an ET
but the operator couldn't hear me for some reason. Then I crashed.

Next time - Genk Market, Bokrik

Pictures - the road to Bokrik, our hostel is about a mile and a half down
that road to the right, and Birdman


 
 

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