5/17 Essen to Kalmhout

Clear skies greeted us this morning. After breakfast we hit the nearby bakery for trail food. Returning to our B&B we made the acquaintance of Chris Quigg the other guest staying there, the first American we've spoken with since we left and a GR5 walker. We walked out of town towards the boggy sand dunes of Kalmthout Heide nature preserve. Chris caught up with us there and we talked along the way comparing travel notes. As it turns out he lives in Wheaton Illinois and is a particle physicist at the Batavia Fermilab. What a small world as I grew up in Elgin IL so close by.
Needless to say he was a pleasure to talk too and we enjoyed lunch with him upon reaching town. He introduced us to some tasty Belgian beers. It was a short walk and we arrived at our elegant B&B Villa Konijnenberg early. We cleaned up - Tammy did a power nap - and then we walked to the nearby bee-keepers museum. Very well done with the staff giving us a semi private tour to make sure we understood the Dutch wording. All in all, a well done museum.We went home and both did some blister maintenance. We decided to eat light - food from the bakery, and rest up. Rain forecast for next several days.