Thursday 15 March 2018

Charming Neerijse

A very muddy adventure - No. 207


Today, as said in the title, the adventure was filled with mud and moon walking. Much unlike the view we saw last week, which was filled with snow, the fields seemed greener than ever.

We started off walking down the same road where I had made a snow angel that now has gone to heaven and has been replaced by puddles of dirty water. We saw some chocolate that looked like the dried up version of the chocolate cake with icing. Every adventure I seem to end up talking about chocolate... [Note by Tonio: ploughed soil often looks like chocolate]

Before: "chocolate" with icing

After: plain "chocolate" with icing removed

I don’t say this much but in the first half of the adventure nothing very special happened. The view was amazing though. Especially when we went through a tunnel of trees (not the first time) and the fields had different patches of their own colour as usual. It was very nice.



As we passed by a nice looking church/chapel I saw a potential narrow passage we could go through. Now any of you readers that came from a while ago know that I’m a big fan of narrow passages. I don’t have a reason for it. Maybe I  just like the fact that it's pedestrian territory. It also feels like we are one of the first to walk there. But unfortunately, we had to continue going straight as our route didn't go through the narrow passage. Luckily, a few minutes later we found a narrow passage and walked through it. Ah, the feeling of walking through a narrow passage after all this time was great.


In the middle of the narrow passage, I spotted a sign that said something like Baron Restaurant. Because the sign was old we thought it would be closed but as we went down the path it was actually open. It was a Michelin star restaurant (basically a very good restaurant). We went in for a snack. I had water while Tonio had beer from Dijleland called Charlepoeng and we both shared a tapas full of little bites. It was presented very well and we started to realise why the restaurant had a Michelin star. And the prices weren’t even that expensive!


Through another narrow passage (yay!) We took a shortcut home because it wasn’t worth it going through the first part of the adventure again as it was very muddy and hard to traverse.

At last, we went back into the car and drove home... 

Did you enjoy the adventure? If you have, then make sure to join us on our next one. Also, make sure to check out Tonio’s blog called The Wanderer. But for now, goodbye!


GianlucaDeGringu 






[by Tonio]:

You wouldn't believe we started from a spot that we had walked through last weekend. These were taken close to our starting point from No. 207 today:



This is how the landscape looked the weekend before, close to the same spot:


If last weekend the ground was snowy, today it was mud that reigned supreme, especially in the first part of our walk.

The beautiful thing of these adventures with Gianluca is how each seems to have a character of its own. After "mudding" our way through the first couple of kilometres, we approached the village of Neerijse. It's mostly old buildings and farms. 







What a charming place.

Gianluca's legendary sharp observation power was in full evidence as he spotted a signpost to a brasserie in an unexpected and unlikely place: a narrow path next to a large green field.


It was the entrance to the back garden of a restored old building, now a Michelin rated brasserie. Curiosity and the promise of a rest, a snack and a drink got the better of us, so we walked in.


The young waiter suggested a platter of tapas and the locally produced artisanal beer Charlepoung - brewed in nearby Huldenberg. Plain water for Gianluca. We loved it.

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