After leaving Westvleteren, we headed southeast, toward Saison country.
We were going to a town with another hostel to crash for the night. I forget
which town it was, Tournai I think, because we didn't stay there. When we
arrived we located the hostel but when we tried to check in they told us
that a busload of British tourists had just taken all the beds. With no
other hostel in town or on the route we had planned, we searched for a cheap
hotel. No luck there either, I'm afraid. So after an hour searching the
locale for cheap accommodations we said "Screw it" and drove to the next big
town, small city, whatever, which was Mons.

     It took a while to get to Mons but upon arriving we went to the first
hotel we saw. They were very expensive but they provided us with a map
showing the hotels in town grouped by price range. Wow, what a concept! A
hotel actually helping travelers find the accommodations they want, not
trying to take advantage of them. This would go over great in America,
right? So we followed the map to a cheap hotel about a couple of miles (ok,
a few kilometers) away passing the town square which was mobbed with kids
(ok, young adults) hanging out. Like Tony and Zeke's tongues seeing all the
young chicks ( yea, yea, women). We drove up a hill, found the hotel, got a
decent rate (about $24. each), and checked in. They said we could park on
the street at night (it was getting dark by now) but we would have to move
the car in the morning. So we brought in our bags and relaxed a bit before
Tony and Zeke ventured out to the jungle of flesh. Not in that market
myself, I stayed home, relaxed and for the first time abroad, watched TV.

     On our long afternoon journey in search of accommodations we decided
that we would take Tony's German friend, Gerda, up on her offer to visit her
home and stay a couple of days. So Tony called her to line that up. We were
running out of clean clothes again and a real house with a washing machine,
real beds and home cooked meals seemed very appealing. Sort of a vacation
from our vacation. The plan was to hit a saison brewery the next day,
Thursday, then tour Chimay and Orval, thus seeing all the Trappist
breweries, at least from the outside, and then drive to Gerda's house in the
outskirts of Kaiserslautern to crash Thursday night. She was taking off from
the kindergarten where she works on Friday to spend it with us. Just another
typical day of life "on the road."

     So the TV sucked. The best things on were "The Simpsons" in French and
an interview of Douglas Adams on BBC. So much for Belgian TV. I think they
should just stick to brewing beer. All the voices on the Simpsons sounded
just like at home except Homer whose voice was totally different and instead
of "Douh" he said "Sacre Bleu."

     Zeke came back later. Tony didn't make it.

     The next morning Zeke told me that Tony hooked up with a chick and
would be back to the hotel by 8:00. At 8:00 we were the only car parked on
the street but the miracle of the Belgian tags worked again and the car was
not disturbed. Tony came back around 8:15 and we were out of there by 8:45.
And yes.

     After a quick stop for cigarettes and Belgian Waffles we got silly, I
mean we got to Silly. Drove through town, spotted the brewery, went inside
and asked for a tour. The boss, who spoke very good English, a rarity in the
South, looked at his watch, said he had a meeting in 15 minutes so he could
only give us the 10 minute tour. He was very friendly and accommodating
answering all our questions, showing us all the operations, and invariably
getting to his meeting late after giving us literature on the brewery. A
whirlwind tour of a very interesting small brewery. That's the way to start
the day. Now on to Chimay.

     We took to road to Beaumont and stopped at a bar/restaurant near the
Abbey for some Chimays and sandwiches fromage de Chimay. At the Abbey we
could tour the grounds but not the brewery. We could tour the bottling
facility, however, but it was down the road a stretch, 7 km actually. After
each batch of beer is ready for bottling they fill a tanker truck with it
and drive it the 7 km to the bottling plant. The Abbey is a beautiful one
and they even rent rooms for the night. Sort of an Abbey B & B. So we drove
to the bottling facility and got there just in time to hook up with a French
speaking tour. First they sit you in a small theater and speak for a while.
God knows about what. Then they show you a movie about the brewing process
narrated by Brother Thomas. It was very interesting. Even with the language
barrier you got to see their brewery in action and the brewing process at
work as well as the cheese making, if only on film. After the lights came on
they herded everyone outside and told us that the bottling plant was shut
down due to a mechanical breakdown and we couldn't tour it. What luck. So we
loaded up the truck and we left for Beverly, Hills that is, but granny made
us go to Orval instead. Good old granny.

Next time - Orval, and beyond

Pictures - That Silly Brewery, the Guesthouse at Abbaye de Scourmont
(Chimay)


 


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