Our first Christmas in Overijse we spent with my colleague Dave W. and his wife Linda and their three boys on a ski trip to Kirchdorf, Austria returning to Overijse on Christmas Eve, where on Christmas Day we had dinner together at their home. By then my sister Carol had moved to Overijse from Thailand, where she would live with us for about two years. She joined us for this trip. 14 December 1984 Friday. We fondly remembered the Kriskindelmarkt in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, so decided to make that our stopover destination on the way to Austria. We arrived by mid afternoon, and stayed for the last time with the farmer and his wife on the outskirts of town. After renewing our acquaintence, we walked to the market to see the festive decorations and Christmas ... read more

In October we were done with our flurry of trips so had time to pick up our new Volvo in Copenhagen. It turns out that for those who do not have to pay taxes, the best place to buy a car is where the taxes on cars is the highest. Car companies tend to reduce their base price so that with taxes the car is still affordable, and in Denmark the taxes are very high. Anyway, Linda and I took the Friday night train from Brussels to Copenhagen, sleeping as usual in a couchette. We arrived about 9 am Saturday morning, and the owner of the Volvo dealership met us at the station. Our first stop was to a womens boutique, which just happened to be owned by his wife. Linda admired the blouses...she loves blouses...and ... read more

I accepted the position at the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium as the U.S. Representative to the Infrastructure Committees and the Senior Resources Board. Our home in Overijse turned out to be the place I lived the longest in my life. Also, during those years we would have three children, Tamara born in 1986, Rosanna in 1987, and Will in 1989. So this became perhaps the most significant period of my life. Remembering every trip that we took during these eleven years proved to be a daunting task. 13 July 1984 Friday. We had our farewell dinner with our USEUCOM office colleagues. Now we were ready for the next adventure in our life. Linda and I loaded our car and drove from Boblingen, Germany to Overijse, Belgium, in the southeastern suburbs of Brussels, to ... read more

I tried to sign up others from Patch Barracks so that the German tour company would provide an English speaking guide for our tour to Andalusia, Spain for Passion Week. In the end we only had four couples. However, at each stop our German guide tried to link us up with an English speaking guide. I was very impressed with their willingness to go above and beyond for us. 18 April 1984 Wednesday. So early Wednesday morning found us on another charter flight, this time from Stuttgart to Almeria, Spain. Upon arrival all 40 or so of us boarded the tour bus that would be our home for the next week. Our first destination was Grenada. Our first stop on the tour of Grenada was to the Alhambra. This palace/fortress was constructed in the 14th century ... read more

23 December 1983 Friday. In keeping with our policy not to spend Christmases at home, we decided to take a cheap flight from Stuttgart to London. We arrived midday, took the tube to our hotel on the north side of Hyde Park, and then went to Leicester Square to see a movie and have dinner to celebrate of 11th anniversary. 24 December 1983 Saturday. We returned to Leicester Square to the cheap tickets booth to purchase tickets for a show that evening. We finally saw Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap. We spent the rest of the day touring the British Museum and shopping on Oxford Street and Harrods, returning to the theater district for dinner before our play. London was certainly all dressed up for Christmas, with all the streets and shops lit up for the occasion. 25 ... read more