PART II: SCENES AND STORIES FROM OUR TRAVELS IN THE 1990s

1994: Belgium and the Netherlands

Click to see: 1990 Italy / 1992 Germany and Greece / 1993 Spain / 1994 Belgium & the Netherlands and British Columbia, Canada / 1998 France

There are no story spoilers here.

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1994: BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS

Bernie Marks in a train in Holland, 1994

▲ Bernie and I explored Belgium and the Netherlands entirely by train. This photo of Bernie is one of my all-time favorites. I chose it for the dedication page of Betting on Bernie, because it captures his sweet smile better than any other one that I have. So glad to share it here in full color!

▼ Below, I caught Bernie poking his head out of the door of our cabin on the train.

Bernie and Martha Marks with new Dutch friends on the grounds of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, 1993

▲▼▼ The previous year, 1993, Bernie and I had hit it off with an English-speaking Dutch couple whom we met while staying on the grounds at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. (All 3 photos here are from Granada.) After several fun days of exploring that city together, they invited us to visit the Netherlands the next year and stay with them in The Hague. We quickly accepted, of course!

Bernie and Martha Marks with new Dutch friends in a restaurant in Granada, Spain, 1993

Bernie Marks (rear, right) with traditional Spanish dancers in Granada, Spain, 1993

1994: Belgium and the Netherlands

So now, in 1994, we were set to fly to Brussels, Belgium, when a last-minute development at Bernie’s company delayed his departure for a few days. I went on and made my way to the first stop on our itinerary, beautiful Bruges (pronounced broozh.)

▼▼ I had booked us into the charming room shown below, whose colorful leaded-glass windows overlooked one of Bruges’ many canals. (Those canals are why some call it “Europe’s second Venice.”) What a fine introduction it was to Bruges, which was founded in 1128.

Bernie and Martha Marks's canal-side hotel room in Bruges, Belgium, 1994

The view from Bernie and Martha Marks's canal-side hotel room in Bruges, Belgium, 1994

▼▼ A week later, Bernie arrived by plane and caught the train to Ghent, another medieval town in Belgium. I met him there, and we spent several hours exploring that historically important city before taking a train on to Bruges. Here he is sketching in the train station.

Bernie Marks in the train station in Ghent, an historic port city in Belgium, 1994

Bernie Marks in Ghent, an historic port city in Belgium, 1994

▼▼▼▼▼ Back in Bruges, I was able to extend my stay in the charming room to allow for another full week there, which was a treat for both Bernie and me.

Bernie Marks sketches historic buildings and reflections in a canal in Bruges, Belgium, 1994

Martha Marks beside a canal in Bruges, Belgium, 1994

Bernie Marks sketches historic buildings and tourist boats in a canal in Bruges, Belgium, 1994

Bernie Marks sketches in Bruges, Belgium, 1994

Bernie Marks sketches an historic building and a swan in a canal in Bruges, Belgium, 1994

▼ Here we’re about to eat a rainy canal-side lunch in Delft, Holland. It’s a useful reminder that what at the time may seem like a random shot — taken by a stranger whom we would never see again — becomes priceless in later years.

Bernie and Martha Marks at a canal-side restaurant in Delft, the Netherlands, 1994

Martha Marks on a rainy day in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1994

▲▼▼▼▼ Bernie and I managed to have fun in Amsterdam even though it hardly stopped raining the whole time. He even found dry spots where he could sketch.

Bernie and Martha Marks on a rainy day in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands , 1994

Bernie Marks sketches in a sidewalk cafe in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1994

Martha Marks clowns around with a cardboard monk in a cafe in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1994

Bernie Marks sketches in a sidewalk cafe in Bruges, Belgium, 1994

Martha Marks (left), with a local friend and Bernie Marks, prepare to eat raw herring in the port of Scheveningen in the Hague, Netherlands, 1994

▲▼ We and our Dutch friends rode bikes to the fishing village of Scheveningen to experience the age-old tradition of eating headless raw herring, which is sold in an open-air market there. Bernie managed to do it, but the photo below is a fake, because there was no way I could eat that raw fish! Our host ended up enjoying it himself.