Molmento, 💗, and a Farewell to Mol

Day 58: Mol → Diegem (Train and staging day)

We had a wonderful night of sleep at B&B Molmento and decided to enjoy a late breakfast at 9:00. In Molmento fashion, Peter and Kristein did absolutely spoiled us.

The table was filled with homemade bread, cheese from Postel Abbey, special meats, fresh fruit, muesli, homemade yogurt and jams, orange juice, coffee, and scrambled eggs from their own chickens served with bacon. Peter had also made homemade speculoos, the traditional Belgian caramelized biscuit flavored with cinnamon and other warm spices.

There was enough bread, meat, and cheese to make sandwiches for later, which would become our lunch on the train from Mol to Brussels Airport.

We sat around the table talking with Kristein for another hour or two. Conversation with Peter and Kristein always comes easily, and the time always feels too short. Every visit reminds us how fortunate we were to meet them and how much their friendship has come to mean to us. There are some people that enrich your life simply by being themselves. The map says we’re worlds apart, and the clock says we don’t talk every single day, yet somehow, we feel as close as the porch light across the street.

Eventually, the bicycle boxes could no longer be ignored. We finished organizing and weighing everything, with each box coming in at around 23 kilograms (51 pounds). We cleaned up our room, made sure nothing had been left behind, and then took a short walk to visit Marleen and Theo.

We first met Marleen and Theo in 2017 when they entered a restaurant with a group that needed a larger table. Lisa and I gave up our table near the fireplace so they could sit together, and Theo then helped us understand the menu.

That small act began another friendship.

Theo later came to watch me race at the Cyclocross Masters World Championships. During another visit, he helped carry our giant bicycle boxes in his car to the train station. Unfortunately, Theo was not home this time, although we enjoyed a short visit with Marleen and were happy to see her again.

After walking back to Molmento, it was time to begin the complicated process of moving two people, two giant bicycle boxes, and the rest of our luggage to the station.

Peter carefully loaded one bicycle box at a time into his small Citroën C3 and made separate trips to the Mol train station. It was quite a sight watching each enormous cardboard box slide flat into such a small car. Somehow, Peter made it work.

From Mol, we had a smooth train ride and transfer to Brussels Airport. We ate the sandwiches we had prepared at breakfast and watched the Belgian countryside pass outside the windows. The autumn colors were still changing, and bicycles seemed to be everywhere. At many intersections and stations, they were lined up against fences and guardrails, another reminder of how naturally bicycles fit into daily life here.

I also caught myself looking for tractors through the window simply out of habit. Sorry, Nathan. No tractor pictures today.

When we reached Brussels Airport, we learned that our hotel shuttle would not arrive for nearly two hours. We tried to use the public buses, but after locating the correct stops and maneuvering our boxes into position, the drivers declined to take us with our oversized luggage.

Waiting for the shuttle became our only realistic option.

Fortunately, the temperature was pleasant. As the sun began to set, we could look across Brussels and even see the Atomium in the distance. It was not the airport transfer we had imagined, although it was difficult to complain too much about one final Belgian sunset.

Once the shuttle delivered us to the Thon Hotel in Diegem, we began searching for a suitable final meal. After a 25-minute walk and a stop at Lidl for breakfast supplies and extra tape for the bicycle boxes, we found the perfect little pizza restaurant.

We had been craving pizza for several days, so the decision was easy. Then Lisa noticed that the restaurant also served Belgian fries. How could we possibly spend our last night in Belgium without ordering one more basket?

Pizza and Belgian fries made an excellent combination. We topped it all off with a Tripel Karmeliet, which was the first Belgian beer we tasted during our first visit to Brussels nearly ten years ago. It seemed like the perfect beer to complete the circle.

We returned to the hotel with full stomachs, reinforced bicycle boxes, and everything staged for our morning departure. The airport shuttle will collect us at about 6:35 a.m.

It is always difficult to leave Mol. The first time we said goodbye, we were not certain whether we would ever return. Each visit brings that same question. Is this the last time?

We truly hope it is not.

Peter, Kristein, Jos, Marleen, Theo, and our other friends in Mol have made this town feel like much more than another stop on our travels. They have become part of our Belgian family. Every visit feels too short, and every goodbye leaves us wishing we had allowed ourselves just a little more time.

We hope there will be another return to Mol, and next time, we hope to stay longer.Read more