The Rococo Roamer

Tongeren, Belgium Flea Market

Tongeren, Belgium (Stop #3 on our Road Trip)

I just need to say that part of the reason (okay most of the reason) I scheduled our trip in Belgium was so that I could make it to the Tongeren Flea Market which is the biggest flea market in Belgium and one of the biggest in Benelux region. Tongeren is the Mecca of fleas in Belgium and I don't think I've been more excited for a flea market. The market runs every Sunday from around 6 AM to 1 PM. You HAVE to get there early or you will miss out on all the good stuff! Go on the first Sunday of the month because all of the antique stores and restaurants are also open.

I don't know about you guys, but when I see a good flea market my palms get sweaty, head gets dizzy, and I start foaming at the mouth. I may be exaggerating a little but the point is that I was excited woo hoo. The town of Tongeren is also known as the oldest in Belgium so it had quite a reputation to live up to. I'm going to show you some pics of the market, tell you what they specialize in, give you some tips in pink, and show you what I came home with!

I had to admit, this was the one stop on the trip with my family that was purely for me. The boys (Brandon, my brother, and step father) aren't too interested in fleas, though my mother was excited, but I was determined to go there because it was only an hour and a half drive from our home-stay in Arlon, Belgium. We parked a few blocks away on the road for free and I excitedly scurried my way to the shining orb that was Tongeren.

I'm going to show you some pictures that I snapped unfortunately from my iPhone, so they aren't the best, but I know most of you won't care right??? I don't know how anyone else feels, but I just get kind of nervous bringing out my camera and snapping shots of peoples things, plus I'm not sure who is okay with it and who isn't. And I don't want to look like a total tourist and mess up a sale :)

Up above, you can see some beautiful shelves, baskets, and small pieces of furniture.

Check out all the great stuff. Lots of shadow cabinets, clocks, paintings, and a globe. While Tongeren does have decent prices, there are a lot of items that you are going to pay a price for. Tongeren flea market is a very nice market full of higher end items and antiques (aka it's not full of stuff people are about to throw away) and most of the dealers know what they have. They certainly aren't going to ask an arm and a leg, but their prices are pretty spot on with what they are worth. But that doesn't mean you can't find plenty of deals!

Beautiful dress forms for every price range. I seriously considered buying one of these! They had dress forms that were old and new. And anywhere from 75 Euro to 250 Euro. It didn't disappoint in that avenue.

This pretty little box below was a bone of contention for me. It was a beautiful old box with pictures of Nurnberg and cherubs. The colors were beautiful and I thought about getting it to store some of my newly acquired linens. The dealer wanted 40 Euro for it and although I thought it was beautiful I decided to walk and figured if I really wanted it I'd come back later.

Let me tell you, this must have been the land of secretary desks, because when I entered one of the inside rooms, there were beautiful secretary desks EVERYWHERE. I have been trying to get my hands on the perfect secretary desk since I've moved to Germany. I've seen so many beautiful desks and I even drove a two hour drive to pick one up about 5 months ago, but it was sold right before I got there. :( So you can imagine my frustration.

I thought today was the day and that I'd be taking one of these babies home. The one below actually. This desk was from about the 1950's and it was only 170 Euros haggled down to 150 Euros. What? Is that the serious price? I was so excited. But alas, and what I've come to realize is that no one offers a delivery service. And with five people in my little SUV, they'd have to walk home for me to fit this in my car, and trust me, I considered it. A tip is to never go to a market unprepared or without enough car space or a delivery method. But sometimes, as in my case, it just wasn't possible.

Similary, I found a 300 Euro secretary desk that was over a hundred years old which was also a decent price, but I had to accept the simple fact that I was not taking any of these gorgeous desks home. Sure, I know I could have done some research and found some sort of a delivery company, but that's not how things worked out. So I bid farewell to the desks and moved on.

Below is a very blurry picture of some metal, brass, silver, and wood items.

Another item I was sure I would bring home was a chandelier. They had so many to choose from, but I refrained myself.

And of course they had plenty of chairs and furniture which is what I love best.

So after going through the whole market, having lunch and eating some amazing Belgian waffles (Brussels is only an hour away from Tongeren so the waffles are still amazing!), and only buying three items, I decided that I wanted, nay, needed that colorful antique Nurnberg box. I headed back to the stall where it was located and I kind of froze. It looked like nothing had been bought from this stall EXCEPT for the box that I wanted. Of course it was taken and I broke one of my own rules about flea market shopping; If you love an item or even like an item then you should buy it then and there because it WILL be gone when you come back around, and of course in my case it was...

So there aren't too many pictures here, but I want to let you guys know what were the most popular items that I saw in bulk at Tongeren Market. Meaning, that if you are searching for any of the below mentioned items, this place will not disappoint.

Popular Tongeren Flea Finds:

-Dress Forms -Paintings

-Secretary Desks -Watering Pots

-Chandeliers -Ceramics

-Linens -Vintage Signs

-Grain Sacks -Militaria

-Chairs -Shabby Furniture

-Clocks -Knick Knacks

- Suitcases

Now on to what I took home!

Still on my turquoise and gold color kick, I picked up this porcelain? turquoise and gold leaf dish that was just what I needed to store my rings on my bedside. The lady was asking 3 Euro and gave it to me for 2 Euro without me even asking. I love it! Looking at the back it was probably made by a local company in Belgium and signed A. Bayer.

The second item I picked up was this old blanket. To be honest, I don't even think the blanket was for sale, but as soon as I saw it I envisioned having pic nics and naps in the park! It was 4 Euro.

The final items I bought were this pair of Lion's Head Bowls that are in literally every restaurant in Germany and other parts of Europe. Everytime I get soup it is in one of these bowls so I wanted to take some with me. The dealer had about 10 more of these but I wanted to keep it simple and they were only .50 each!

If you can manage to do the math, that's only 7 Euro total that I spent. Even my family ended up finding some cool things and they admitted that they actually had a great time and weren't bored once. "Duh!" I told them.

I will definitely be back a few more times before I leave Germany and although I didn't buy a lot, I wanted to. Tongeren didn't disappoint and I would recommend this market to anyone.

Favorite Items at Tongeren:

The secretary desks and dress forms.

Next Stop: Trier, Germany

Have you been to Tongeren? Tell me about your experience or if you haven't been there would you like to go?

Linking up at:

The Dedicated House (Anything Blue Friday)
Dagmar's Home
Ivy and Elephants
The Brambleberry Cottage
Budget Traveler's Sandbox
Mom on Time Out
Her and Nicole
Rooted in Thyme
From My Front Porch To Yours
The Tablescaper
Twigg Studios
Sunday View
Dwellings
The Dedicated House (Make it Pretty Monday)
Coastal Charm
A Stroll Thru Life
Knick of Time
Kathe With An E
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
Pret-A-Vivre
Common Ground
The Thrifty Groove
French Country Cottage
Serenity Now

Luxembourg City

Luxembourg City (Stop #2 on our Road Trip)

The second day of our trip we decided to go to Luxembourg, Luxembourg (otherwise known as Luxembourg City). It was only a 30 minute drive from our stay in Arlon, Belgium. Why did I want to go to Luxembourg? I don't really know. I have this book "501 Must Visit Cities" and it was in there. It's not a big country and you don't hear too much about it.

What I did hear about Luxembourg City are that:

1) It's very expensive 2) It's full of rich bankers and 3) It's not too much different from Belgium or eastern France or even "little Switzerland." While all three of these things might be true in one way or another, Luxembourg does have it's sights and traditions, though I can honestly say that one day in Luxembourg can be done easily.

From the picture above which was taken from the Adolphe Bridge, you can see the Notre Dame Cathedral and the downtown district with it's modern buildings. You see that concrete wall? As you go further down, below the wall and bridge, (which we did) there are miles of a partially underground city called the Bock Casemates. It's pretty cool because the walls and rocky cliffs form a natural fortitude around the city. There were ruins and underground system also. We only drove through the town quickly but from what we saw, it looked pretty interesting to spend a few hours walking around.

Back at the Notre Dame Cathedral (every big city seems to have one) you can see Gothic and Renaissance inspired architecture. Below are three shots of the inside of the Cathedral and the crypt being guarded by two bronze? lion statues.

Every Saturday morning in Luxembourg City they have a farmers market. Luckily we were there on a Saturday and got to experience this. What was interesting was that they had foods from all over Europe; cheese from Italy (which I bought), French bakeries, Spanish foods, Greek foods, like the olives below, and various other types of foods.

They even had a section of the market where they were helping raise money for the people of Africa by selling foods and African wares, which I thought was great!

I love olives, so my mother and I tried some of the Greek olives that were at the market. Yum!

View from the other side of the Adolphe Bridge. Walking towards this building from the other side of the bridge we were really excited to get closer to see what it was. I figured it was a castle or something epic...

But as we reached the building we realized it was this, which was much smaller than were were anticipating. It is called the European Coal and Steel Community (Building). Now there is a Luxembourg Castle and a Luxembourg Palace, which actually look pretty cool in pictures. But we just didn't get to experience those places, so I'd suggest you start there if you ever find yourself wanting to visit Luxembourg.

The statue below is the Monument of Remembrance or the Gelle Fra (Golden Lady). It is to remember the service members of the Allied Forces of Luxembourg who fought during World War I.

After all of our walking around, we were working up an appetite. We made it towards the shopping district and decided to have a seat at one of the cafes for lunch. I decided to have a salad which was very good! It had bacon, ham, cheese, tomatoes, black olives (which are the only olive I don't like), cuts of potatoes and a dippy egg on top!

Luxembourg, like Belgium, is also known for their french fries and that is what the boys on our trip had. There are "Friteries" everywhere. Tastes just as good as any other french fries in my opinion. :)

The placemat under my food had a "Summer in the City" itinerary and I took a picture to give you and idea of some of the events that were going on in Luxembourg throughout the Summer.

Once we had viewed enough of the city we went to the second thing that we came to see in Luxembourg...The Luxembourg American War Cemetery and Memorial.

There are 5,076 American soldiers buried here. Most of them were casualties of The Battle of the Buldge, which I spoke about on my trip to Bastogne, Belgium. It was pretty much the nicest cemetery I have ever seen. All of the grave crosses were in perfect condition with scattered names of fallen soldiers. The grass was impeccable. I usually don't get excited about grass but it was so soft on your feet, well cut, and a vibrant color of green. The care that they put into the grass there just goes to show you how well the cemetery is taken care of.

Here, standing out from the others is the grave cross of General George S. Patton!

What a beautiful and certainly heartwarming place to honor American service members. Definitely a must see if you are an American visiting Luxembourg.

Alternately, we stopped by the German memorial cemetery (Sanweiler German Cemetery). It was twice the size of the American Cemetery but was only maintained by donations and it was clear that it was a lot less well kept, with dark headstones and grass that wasn't as immaculately tended to. When Americans were going through the bodies to bury during the war, they found the dead of Americans as well as many dead German soldiers and they decided to bury them in their own memorial graves.

After our day trip in Luxembourg City we headed back to our home-stay in Arlon, Belgium. Like I said, Luxembourg City in my opinion can be done in one day and I don't think I will have the need to visit again.

Though I know only a day trip isn't enough to know what an entire country is about, I still left with the feeling that I knew little about the culture and lifestyle of Luxembourg. I'd like to hear from readers who did other things in Luxembourg or are from Luxembourg themselves!

Favorite Thing About Luxembourg City:

Honestly the American Cemetery was great to see, not only for history buffs.

Next Stop: Tongeren, Belgium Flea Market

Tell me some fun facts about Luxembourg and its people.

Linking up at:

The Brambleberry Cottage

Budget Travelers Sandbox

Mom on Time Out

Her and Nicole

Rooted in Thyme

From My Front Porch To Yours

The Tablescaper

A Dose of Paige

We took the Road Less Traveled

Arlon/Bastogne, Belgium

Arlon/Bastogne, Belgium (Stop #1 on our Road Trip)

So my family finally made it to Germany to visit and we had a whirlwind adventure of travel throughout Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. We did a lot of road tripping. I mean A LOT. It was 5 of us packed in my little CRV and I was determined to show them a great first time in Europe.

My mother and I were brainstorming on what would be the best way to see a lot while still maintaining a budget with 5 people. No doubt it was expensive, but there are many ways that we cut costs. I had already been to Brussels, but after the chocolates I'd sent my mother for Mother's Day (Leonidas) she had to go back and get more. Plus, I wanted to check out Luxembourg and some northern parts of Germany. We decided that the best idea was to look on airbnb.com, which is a website that allows regular people to rent out their houses or apartments to people who A) Don't want to waste money on a hotel, B) Have more than two people in their party, and C) Want all of the amenities of a home or apartment.

The answer was too obvious and we decided to rent an apartment in Arlon, Belgium for 4 nights. Arlon itself isn't a huge travel destination, but it is 30 minutes from Luxembourg City and Bastogne, Belgium, 1 1/2 hours from Tongeren, Belgium, and 1 hour from Trier, Germany. So we got to sleep in the same spot for 4 nights and drive to our destinations during the day. Sounds great right? Arlon was the perfect mid point to veer out from. (If you'd like details on where exactly we stayed, send me an email, our host was great!)

Like I said, Arlon isn't a big travel destination, but it is a great place to come home to and it has a lot of restaurants, cafes, and stores to peruse. We literally stayed across the street from the neo-gothic, Saint Martin Church.

Check out all of the gargoyle heads screaming out of the sides of the church. They were everywhere!

Some of the dinners we ate in Arlon included Italian, Ukrainian, and Belgian food. The Ukrainian place in the square was great and the staff very friendly and animated!

Though we were tired from driving from Germany to Arlon, we still had to drive to Bastogne that night to see what we came to see! Only a 30 minute drive and we were there! One of the most famous areas of The Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 to January 1945 was in Ardennes region where the Americans were caught by surprise by the Germans. This was the largest land battle by the US army during WWII and one of the bloodiest, however, the Americans were able to pull through and become victorious.

We visited the Mardasson Memorial which commemorates the some 76,890 wounded or killed American Soldiers.

We also wanted to check out the museum that is right next to the memorial but it was closed until July of 2014 for construction.

Since we still had plenty of time in our day we decided to head to the center of Bastogne and check out the shops and restaurants.

The town wasn't huge, but it did have a strip of restaurants, shops, bakeries, and other miscellaneous stores. We ended up eating our Ukrainian dinner in Arlon that night, but we did get some baked goods in Bastogne.

Of course the beautiful macarons in various flavors! Also we tried some of the Bastogne macarons to the left, which were much better in my opinion and had a peanut butter filling. We also tried the meringue cookies (which are a favorite of mine) and some apple strudel, ordering in the language of French, which none of us spoke, but we tried!

It was a nice relaxing little area to visit after a long day of travel and Bastogne can easily be done in half a day. It is especially of interest to military history buffs. I know Brandon appreciated this one.

Favorite thing about Bastogne:

Besides the walking around the American memorial (and taking the steps to the top to see Bastogne from up high) those pastries downtown were pretty amazing! Plus you can find like the most famous Belgian chocolates store, Leonidas, in Bastogne and Arlon!

Next Stop: Luxembourg City

History, architecture, or food; which do you look forward to most on a trip?