5/29 Housekeeping then Liege Belgium

We spent the morning on housekeeping issues. A laundromat sited across the street was a no brainer. And then shops were open. Down the block a pharmacy had some nice micro pore tape style blister patched and packets of salt for foot soaking. A few blocks further was Intersport- a large retailer which had gear. Tammy hobbled in and strode out wearing some Teva trekking sandals. It would have made a good commercial ! In addition I found a German sock brand called Falke. They had some made for heat, and seamless in the heal where a lot of irritation had occurred. They are marked for the left and right foot. We loaded up.
Suddenly more mobile we whizzed through an audio tour of the Aachen town hall. Many interesting rooms but the huge Coronation room with it's vaulted ceiling and thematic fresco's was notable. Kings of Germany were once crowned here.
Out on the city square we popped into a cafe - Sausalito's - for a quick bite - - tacos and chicken salad . Zipped back to the hotel, we taxied to the train station with 10 minutes to spare before our train to nearby Liege Belgium. A one hour slow journey we saw quite a change in landscape.
Liege.... A storied town perhaps at its peak during the days of coal mining and steel - those now a memory. A massive tower memorial to the fallen of the first war looms above the massive ultra modern train station that dwarfs and contrasts the old buildings across the street. We stayed at the Best Western near the station for convenience. Checked in, we walked to see what we could of the city - hopeless really in the short time we were there. Hosting the nearby start to this years Tour D' France ( in Vise) the town has aspirations. But unlike other cites it is not a tourist town - not easily served up to the visitor. So we blundered towards the central area as thunder rumbled overhead and the temperature dropped. We reached the edge of the center an with glimpses down narrow alleys suggesting a rich nightlife we sat down at cafe Cecil as the drops began to fall. We had a glass of Bordeaux and I ordered the plat du jour- a whitefish in a well done sauce with rice. Tammy opted for a chicken salad. We were done as if on signal the rain stopped an we wandered home. Liege has sculpture everywhere you look. To say the least we didn't do this town justice in the few hours we were there. Coming from a major tourist town, the first impression of Liege is a worn out town of faded glory--which doesn't do it justice either. Indeed our host the next night suggested you need to hire a private guide to really grasp Liege.

5/27-5/28 Maastricht Holland & Aachen Germany.

With blister healing in mind we hopped on a bus and within 30 minutes were out of Belgium and back into the Holland town of Maastricht. Immediately noticeable arriving was the vast number and complexity of the bicycles and supporting infrastructure. The architecture mix new and old was distinctive as well.. . Odd how things change crossing an un-noticeable border.
Way too early for check- in,we parked our packs at the hotel and walked/hobbled through the beautiful morning air to a nearby art museum - the Bonnefantenmuseum Art Museum with its signature architecture. We spent most of our day there. There was a visiting exhibit of Turkish art which included some impressionist pieces I enjoyed.
Checked in back at the hotel, Tammy did blister care while I checked out the rest of the town in part to see the sights but also to find a drugstore. Here is the deal - Holland / Belgium/ Germany - except for restaurants and reduced scheduled transport EVERYTHING is closed. And this was a holiday weekend. Memorial day in US there is Whit Monday in these countries - a religious holiday we don't observe. So ditto for Monday shopping / supplies.
On Monday we bussed early to Aachen Germany - line 50 and 11 euros and we were there in an hour. we taxied to the hotel - All Seasons Aachen.
Again too early to check in, we wandered over to see the famous cathedral - the main reason for the visit. But first we had some lunch at an Italian street cafe. Tammy had an excellent stuffed asparagus ravioli while I enjoyed a chicken salad all washed down with a big San Pelegrino. ( it's still hot and you have to keep drinking) At the cathedral we were not disappointed. Built around 800 AD the interior has Roman/Byzantine influences and remarkable unique details such as 30 million mosaic tiles, the gold sarcophagus of Charlemagne, and is throne. Note- take the inexpensive English guided tour to see everything! Some serious history !
We finally checked in to the hotel then rested up a few hours before heading out to dinner. We searched for some traditional German food and finally settled on a spot near the town hall. Tammy ordered an interesting beer - a blend of wheat beer and grapefruit juice - while I had a great wheat beer Paulaner. I had an interesting solid heavy skillet style meal of beef and potatoes / vegetables plus light gravy. Tammy had Steak & Potatoes with sour cream. No room for desert! Ambled to the hotel in the warm evening breeze  and sleep.

5/25-5/26 Zolder to Hasselt to Zutendaal

Lack of good Internet when we reached our hotel in Hasselt stymied my blogging so forgive me if I combine 2 days in one.
We left Zolder in perfect weather just as the motorcycles started out on their morning laps. Fun to see!
As we walked further along the broad bike lanes beside the Albert canal cyclists and barges streamed by. They easily could do 100 miles out and back just along this path!
We reached a split where a GR 5 variant stays north of the downtown and avoids the city center. Seemed like like a good idea but the first 2-3 miles were damp and dense with mosquitos. So motivated we moved very fast through this area which finally it opened up to shady lanes with strong breezes which made for perfect delightful walking pretty much the rest of the day.We reached our hotel early. After a good lunch at the Qwackvoss, Tammy went for a rest at the hotel while I want to see the open air museum at Domain Bokrijik. What followed was 3.5 hours of fast nonstop walking to tour and photograph this worthwhile display of old Flemish homes and farms in a setting similar to what we saw before in Arnhem Holland. Very well done. Returned back to the hotel exhausted and after some fruit I'd picked up along the way and hit the sack.
Another bluebird day for our walk to Zutendaal the next morning. The heat eventually hit near 80F. Like the prior day, a GR 5 variant allowed us to bypass the Genk center but unfortunately no watering holes till almost Zutendaal. We has a late lunch at an outdoor cafe and a fantastic dinner at an Italian restaurant. Tammy had a penne while I had Belgian Blue steak - very very good. We drank 3 bottles of water - the daily heat takes a toll. The damn blisters remain pesky too!

5/24 Diest to Zolder

We arouse early hoping our days weather would be similar to the day prior - cool misty morning till burnoff around noon. Well it didn't happen- there were blue skies with a warm morning sun right from the start. But we were rested, our feet seemed better and packs lighter after we sent home more then 7 kg of unneeded stuff. Most of the morning and half the afternoon was in the shade of breezy paths and lanes, which made the heat quite bearable. The route made its typical frustrating winding progress but did takes us by a massive 1000 yr old oak tree apparently of historical significance with an interpretive sign.
We stopped in the village of Lummen for lunch but when we sat down in a cafe and asked for a food menu, but we were told drinks only! So we backtracked a ways to a butcher shop and obtained great sandwiches after waiting 30 minutes for the bread to cook. We finally pushed on and as we approached Zolder we could hear engines roaring in the distance. Circuit Zolder is a formula one racetrack on weekends with motorcycle racing weekdays. We made good time with the heat was well tolerated as we had shady breezes, the correct clothing and plenty of water. Dropping off the GR5 we followed the Albert canal in the scorching heat and direct sun and we were knackered when we arrived at our lodging "De Pits".As the name suggests, our room gave us a view of the track and pitstop right outside our window. After 7 pm the track opens to cyclists and they turned out in numbers to train.
We dined right in the upscale hotel decorated thematically to celebrate the racing. After the heat we wanted a light meal- Tammy had chicken Cesar while I picked seared tuna with linguine. I went. Down well with a chilled Chardonnay. Sleep came soon after.