I had spent close to a week in a small town called Sippenaeken, located in Belgium and close to the border of Netherlands and Germany.
With a population of 250 inhabitants, it's one of the most unexpected places I would had thought to be spending so much time in.
There is only 1 pub / restaurant in the town, with the nearest shops and supermarkets at least a 20 minutes drive away.
Oh, and there’s a castle too!
Despite that, I had a wonderful stay here.
I only heard of this place just a few months ago, as it's where Pieter lives, a friend whom I had known 5+ years ago during a tour at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, and had decided to take the opportunity to pay him a visit while I was in Europe.
Pieter had been fantastic and super hospitable! Not only did he drive out 1.5hrs to pick me up from Cologne, he also took time off work and showed me around the area.
Being so close to the border of 3 countries, we were constantly driving in and out of Belgium, Germany and Netherlands, visiting towns such as Maastricht, Liege and Aachen, as well as taking beautiful hikes around the town of Sippenaeken and around Belgium.
We were blessed with very beautiful weather (blue skies and sunny), albeit with extremely cold temperatures (3 to –8 degree Celsius), and snow!
Pieter also brought me to visit a national park with snow covered pine trees (super beautiful!) that he recently discovered, and also visiting the highest point in Belgium and Netherlands.
We also went to the stables where Pieter has his horse.
Visited an American cemetery “Henri-Chapelle” located in the most unexpected location in Belgium.
As well as catching “Lion”, one of the latest movies recently released on the big screen.
And of course great meals and lots of fun moments.
Including numerous jokes and laughs made about Trump, since his inauguration took place while I was staying at Pieter’s home.
The last 1 week is certainly another highlight to my trip!
Thank you sooooo much Pieter!
With a population of 250 inhabitants, it's one of the most unexpected places I would had thought to be spending so much time in.
There is only 1 pub / restaurant in the town, with the nearest shops and supermarkets at least a 20 minutes drive away.
Oh, and there’s a castle too!
Despite that, I had a wonderful stay here.
I only heard of this place just a few months ago, as it's where Pieter lives, a friend whom I had known 5+ years ago during a tour at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, and had decided to take the opportunity to pay him a visit while I was in Europe.
Pieter had been fantastic and super hospitable! Not only did he drive out 1.5hrs to pick me up from Cologne, he also took time off work and showed me around the area. Being so close to the border of 3 countries, we were constantly driving in and out of Belgium, Germany and Netherlands, visiting towns such as Maastricht, Liege and Aachen, as well as taking beautiful hikes around the town of Sippenaeken and around Belgium.
We were blessed with very beautiful weather (blue skies and sunny), albeit with extremely cold temperatures (3 to –8 degree Celsius), and snow!
Pieter also brought me to visit a national park with snow covered pine trees (super beautiful!) that he recently discovered, and also visiting the highest point in Belgium and Netherlands.
We also went to the stables where Pieter has his horse.
Visited an American cemetery “Henri-Chapelle” located in the most unexpected location in Belgium.
As well as catching “Lion”, one of the latest movies recently released on the big screen.
And of course great meals and lots of fun moments.
Including numerous jokes and laughs made about Trump, since his inauguration took place while I was staying at Pieter’s home.
The last 1 week is certainly another highlight to my trip!
Thank you sooooo much Pieter!
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