Finding Belgium and More

EU counties start easing up for travels within EU starting from June 15, 2020. The first trip we did was to Dusseldorf, Germany for German and Korean food supplies..

The 2nd trip for us is Monschau, Germany. Monschau is about 1 1/2 hours away from Brussels and a little town in Germany near the Belgian border. To be honest, what we long for is to go somewhere out, so I must say I did not really care where we go as long as we go.

Monschau was a surprising town in many ways. When we get closer to the town, the landscape becomes grand, green and picturesque. Different view from Flanders, Belgium. Monshau is in the hills of North Eifel within the narrow valley of Rur river. We did not go there, but there is a National Park near by – Eifel National Parks.

When we drove down near the town (since the town is located in the valley), the view was magical and physically I felt my heart getting open up. The way down reminded me of the film “Brigedoon”. Honestly I did not remember the movie title, but the whole scenery remind me of the film I watched when I was really young. When I described it to Jens, he told me that is “Brigedoon”.. Amazing that he remembered this!

The movie was about the town which could be seen to outsiders once every 100 year. The town was magical and hidden. I don’t remember all the details, but what I do remember is that the main character fell in love with someone in the town after he accidentally found the town. The story goes on and he needed to leave the town for something he left in his world. But he couldn’t help thinking about Brigedoon so he decided to find it back knowing that that may be impossible. In the end, their love opens up again the door for him to find.

Ok, okay.. Cheesy movie probably.. I watched this movie when I was in the elementary school. Did not understand the story line but the movie scene with foggy and magical town was scorched to my young brain. When I saw Monschau, this is the first thing I could think of.

Monschau is indeed a picturesque town with a lot of timber houses and narrow streets. Since the town is located in the valley, you can find a lot of great views from the hill within the town. In fact, we mostly followed the narrow streets to explore the town.

Since the COVID-19 policies, there are quite a few restrictions in place. Social distancing and mask inside the restaurants and stores. We were there on Friday and surprising found that there were not really a lot of people there yet. In the afternoon (near 3pm), you could see more people on the street.

There are a few things to do in Monschau which we did not do: For you, I will list them out so that you can try. Outdoor classical music concert in summer in Monschau castle & visit of Monschau castle. I learned that the castle dated back to the 13th century.

We mistakenly took the ruins to the castle so we did not have time to go to the castle. The ruins we visited have a panoramic view which you can see all around Monschau. Just a short climb from the city center.

One thing about Europeans: I am thinking they do know how to enjoy lives. We see a lot of people sitting in outdoor dining, and have beer or wine.. Or just talking. Looked relaxed and not a lot of people were looking at their phones or devices.. Rather looked enjoying the conversation with each other. Maybe this is a consequence from COVID-19 pandemic. We spend too much time with our phones, and forced not to talk to each other in person due to the pandemic. We are realizing that indeed we miss the companies. At least I do…

Overall, Monschau is one of the towns I would like to come back for another visit and explore more. The nearby National Park as well would be interesting to hike!