Spring Break in Europe - Overijse and Brussels, Belgium

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9 April 2004 Friday. We slept in and after a wonderful breakfast at the Holiday Inn restaurant. I had forgotten to call my credit card companies to tell them I would be in Europe, and by now was on my last card; the others having been cancelled. I called Linda to have her call the companies and tell them where I was and to reactivated the cards. She was well aware that the cards had been cancelled as she tried to pay for groceries and the cards were not accepted.

We hit the road about 10 am, taking the autoroute north to Belgium. We arrived at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) near Mons about noon and told the guards that we needed to go to the hospital, so that the kids could see where they had been born. We didn’t have any ID except my Virginia drivers' license and passport, but the guard was very accommodating and let us through. The girls remembered running down the hill next to the gymnasium where Will was born, but they remembered that it was o much higher. Everything was smaller because they were bigger.

Our next stop was Waterloo, where we climbed the Butte de Lion, which commemorates Wellington’s victory over Napoleon. The kids bounded up the steps while I huffed and puffed.

We then drove to our favorite bakery near Overijse, but they didn’t have any of the pink marzipan pigs that were the kids favorites which we would pick up every Sunday after church.

We then stopped at our home at Hannekensboslaan 27, Overijse where we lived for eleven years. We knocked on Eduard and Julia’s, our former neighbors, door. Julia answered and when she saw us, she about fainted. We went in and she called for Eduard to come out. We had a wonderful time with them, with me using my French to tell all about our lives since we left 8 ½ years earlier. The kids were surprised I spoke so much French. So was I. We took pictures of them and our house, and said good bye. We drove to the other end of Overijse to the Delhaize grocery store and we walked through remembering our favorite foods. We bought some. Across the street we stopped at the Leonidas chocolate store where I used to buy a pound of chocolates every Friday on the way home from work. I stopped after the first year as we were putting on too much weight. This time I bought some more chocolates...forget about the weight!

Next we drove through Tervuren Park, where Rosanna learned to ride a bike and drove into the lake. The we drove past the International Baptist Church which we had attended, and then stopped at the Brussels American School, where the kids went to school, and the adjacent NATO Clinic where Linda had been told she was pregnant for the first time some 19 years earlier. The kids walked around the playground that had been such a central part of their life. No children were there as it was Easter vacation.

Next we went to the Woluwe Shopping Center to buy some of our favorite chocolates from our other favorite chocolatier, Corne d'Ore. We stopped at the NATO Support Activity, which had a mini-PX, cafeteria, and all the other American things we needed when we lived in Brussels, but this time the security guard didn’t let us in.

We drove to the Marriott Executive Suites Hotel downtown. Our suite was spacious and elegant. We called one of Tamara’s former classmates who was still living with his parents in Brussels. They were on vacation, but he said he could join us for dinner.

We walked to the Grand Place and the Mannequin Pis, and had Belgian waffles along the way. Our memories were on overload with the sights, sounds, and tastes of being home. We met her friend at a restaurant off the Grand Place. I had my traditional moules, frites and beer. In addition to their food the kids each had cocktails as they were over the drinking age of 16 (except Will but they don't care if kids under 16 are with their parent). Europeans have a much saner attitude about alcoholic beverages. The bill was very high, but it was worth it.

We walked back to our hotel and Tamara’s friend went home. We talked about our day. The kids realized that it was probably for the best that we had moved back to the States when we did. Brussels was great but it wasn’t “the real world.” We went to bed about 11 pm.

10 April 2004 Saturday. The day was cold and drizzly. We slept in. On the way out of town we stopped at the Atomium and Brupark to visit our old entertainment center. We bought about a dozen waffles with the intention of taking at least a couple home to Linda. They didn’t last long! We bypassed Brugges as we wanted to get to Calais to catch the 1:15 ferry to Dover. We didn’t make it, and caught the 2 pm ferry instead.

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Photos

Our favorite bakery near our home in Overijse
They didn't have our favorite pink marzipan pigs

Eduard, Rosanna, Julia, Tamara, and Will
Our neighbors in Overijse. The red brick house in the background was our home for 11 years

Rosanna, Tamara, Julia, Will and Eduard
In our neighbors back yard

Tamara, Rosanna, and Will at Turvuren Park
Rosanna drove her into the lake when she was learning to ride her bike

Playground at Brussels American School
The kids spent many recesses here

Bob and Rosanna in Brussels restaurants
Rosanna with over the drinking age in Belgium

Tamara, Rosanna, and Will on ferry from Calias to Dover
with the White Cliffs of Dover in the background