Sunday is a day of rest in Belgium, but not for us. Most of the boxes are unpacked, but things are everywhere. I apologize for not posting any new pics lately, but I just haven't taken any in the last few days. I did take a lovely break yesterday. The hubby and kids baked me a fabulous birthday cake, and took me out to eat for dinner. We live a short walk away from a fantastic little pizzaria. (I know that Belgium is famous for beer, chocolate and waffles, but these people can REALLY cook some fantastic food. It's a wonder they are all so thin. I'll weight 500 pounds by the time I leave this place!) Anyhoo, Jess and I ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese, Brandon got a Margaretta pizza (cheese), and Russ got one with ham and salami. I really couldn't tell you what was better, and trust me, I tried every one's. They were all delicious! Did I mention the rolls with garlic butter spread? See my problem? The food is just too good! Now feel free to go and get a snack, because I'm sure that if you weren't hungry before reading this, you certainly are now!
It's not just the unpacking that has kept us busy. There are lots of thing we have to do to get settled here. One of those things is order Mazut. It's a very heavy fuel oil that is used to heat the houses in Belgium. I called a local company to arrange for delivery. The lady I talked to spoke very good English, so things were going pretty well until she asked for the name of my street. I gave it to her and she paused for a minute. "Could you repeat that?" she asked. I tried it again. She was very patient. "Could you spell that for me?" she requested. I spelled it out and she said, "Oh, you mean..." Let's just say that the way she pronounced my street and the way I pronounced it were not even remotely close to each other. "Uh.......yeah. That's it," I replied. In my defense, my brain was saying it correctly, but my mouth just won't follow along. (I apologize. I did not mean to butcher your language. ) Yesterday, the hubby and I made a purchase at a store that required us to give our address for a warranty. I am feeling much more confident with my street name, so I say "I'll handle this." I tell the salesman the name, and receive a confused stare. "Could you repeat that please?" he asked. Why does this seem to familiar? I tried it again, and he said "Could you spell that please?" Can anyone say 'deja vous?' If my street name is that hard to pronounce, do I even stand a chance with the rest of the language? Oh, well. I refuse to give up. I can say "please" and "thank you" in Dutch. I think that is not to bad for now. They are the magic words, you know.
Europeans KNOW FOOD. They just use fresh ingredients instead of crazy preservatives like we Americans do... I can't tell you how many times I'd just go down to the British shops in our village and bought a fantastic fresh loaf of bread and a variety of amazing (and cheap!) cheeses and a yummy bottle of vino and VOILA! There's dinner!! Oh, how I envy you, chicka...
ReplyDeleteEverything is very fresh, which explains the small fridges. I think that it also tastes better because you walk to the restaurants and eat outside under an umbrella. Atmosphere is everything! I know what you mean about picking up cheese and bread, fresh from the local stores. It's awesome!
ReplyDeleteAt the British cheese counters, I figured out that they always let you sample the huge variety of cheese - when it wasn't busy, they would totally sit there and give me samples of almost all of them! I always asked which were their favorites, too - helps find hidden treasures! I don't know if they do this in Belgium, too, but I bet they do... the quaint little shops can just rock when you get to know the workers!! (I'd tell you to mail me some cheese, but I saw what happened to the chocolates... R.I.P., delicious Belgian chocolates!!) ;)
ReplyDeleteI think that same little Italian place is in my village in Germany. Macaroni Gorgonzolla and the garlic butter on little rolls...mmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog while looking for inforamtion on Elmendorf. We will leave Geilenkirchen NATO base for AK in December. Currently I'm in the states with my girls visting family.
I also love taking photos and journaling, so this blog idea is looking like fun. I wish I'd started one 3 years ago when we arrived in Europe. You are going to love it. Tongeren is a lot of fun isn't it? Brugge is adorable too, lots of photo ops. We took a horse and carriage ride from the center and the guide was wonderful.
I remember moving into the new house with the dorm fridge, sorting trash, being so quite on Sunday, no washing the car in the driveway, washing the front steps weekly...lol. The neighbors loved our Chevy Tahoe! I think you could fit two or three of their cars inside;)
Thank you for your dedication to both blogs. I've enjoyed the past 90 minutes.
Happy travels!
Germany sounds a lot like Belgium. I can't wait to go to Brugge. It's high on my list of place to see. The carriage ride sounds like fun. The kids would love that! I know what you mean about the tiny cars here. I have a mini van, and it's a tank compared to the locals. :0)
ReplyDeleteI hope you are as excited about Alaska as we were. It's the most beautiful place that I've ever lived (and we came from Ft. Walton Beach, FL, so taht is saying a LOT!)Don't let the rumors scare you, they have normal shopping malls and indoor plumbing. :0) Temps reach the 70's and sometimes 80's in the summer, but the norm is the 60's. There isn't any humidity, so it's very comfortable weather, and not cold. Anchorage does get a lot of snow in the winter, but they are great about plowing immediately, so it's no big deal. Base housing is privatized, and pretty nice. They have tons of new units, but I recommend Cherry Hill (where we lived). It's older, but the houses are huge and the area is secluded from the rest of base. It's just inside the Gov. Hill gate, which is closest to Anchorage. They have one car heated garages. If you have one vehicle, you are set. If you have two, get a block heater installed in ONLY the one that will remain outside. We got one in each and never plugged my van in. It stayed in the garage, so it was a waste of money. You can drive 2 wheeled drive vehicles there with no problem, you don't have to run out and get a 4 wheeled drive truck...unless you are getting a 4-wheeler. :0) I would recommend that as well. This is the best place in the world to ride. There are tons of photo ops in AK, so be prepared to be amazed. Lots of animals and gorgeous scenery. If you have any questions about Elmendorf, feel free to ask. I would recommend taking the Christmas train trip from Anchorage to Seward. It's the first weekend in December, so you will miss it this year, but do it next year. It's amazing and a lot of fun. They do an Easter train too, but it's shorter.
Glad you liked the blog. Have a great visit with family, and get ready for lots of AK fun! Just wait until your girls go tubing at the ski resort on base! Whoo hoo!
We are very excited! I will definately make note of the train rides. Apparently this is considered a cosecutive overseas tour and has some special things to go along with it, although we are still trying to find out what they are...lol. We may be leaving Germany on Dec 1st, so I'm going to look into the train ride.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the info. And I loved the deer blog! If you were closer to GK I'd invite you on the next trip. The are so much better than Manventures:)
Gwen
I menat girl trip...lol
ReplyDeleteGwen
Chickventures are always a blast! :0) Too bad we are so far from GK! I still haven't made it to Ramstein yet, but hope to one of these weekend coming up!
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas train is on Dec. 5 this year. They normally sell out pretty quickly, so if you want to do it, you can order it online or call to get your spot. I believe that they start selling tickets in early November. Here is their link. They have lots of fun trips that you can take if that one doesn't work out. http://www.akrr.com/arrc39.html