A Minnesota Girl...
eats Chinese food in a Best Western in Mons, Belgium.
Sometimes the weirdness of the contrasts of this European tour really boggle my mind. Hans went and picked up Chinese take-out for supper tonight...he said it's so strange trying to speak French when our first instinct now is to speak German. And then, he's speaking French to native Mandarin speakers. I feel the same way...I find myself somehow trying to translate what I need to say here into German and then from German into French. The result is very confusing...French is so difficult. And I laugh that I used to think that German was impossible!
So, here we are, in Belgium, staying at the surprisingly decent Best Western in downtown Mons. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how spacious and clean our room is, especially after our last experience at a hotel in a French-speaking country (see: Normandy trip 2008). We didn't get much done yesterday because Hans was busy working and had to take the car...it was a bit of a long day, that's for certain. He left us the stroller, so after breakfast, we took a little walk, found a park and the kids chased pigeons for an hour. That was the excitement of the morning.
Hans came back to the hotel after lunch and we headed out to find the air base at Chievres, which was actually painless to locate. We were hoping to get some gas at U.S. prices, but no luck since they don't have a gas station on post and we're not allowed to purchase gas rations since we're not actually stationed at Chievres. So, we put a very expensive tank of gas into Nessie and headed in the direction of Waterloo, where we climbed 408 steps to the top of the memorial to admire the battlefield view. Yes, even pregnant me. Now we can tell little Hans, Jr. that he has been to Waterloo...
Did I mention that I forgot the camera? I know...how could I have forgotten the camera what with packing clothes, food, toys, more clothes, blankets, movies...? Somehow it slipped my mind! So, sorry guys, there won't be any pictures from this trip. Trust me, I'm bummed too. Think I'll throw our old camera in the glove box permanently so this doesn't happen again.
Oh, we ate at Chi-Chi's last night. That's right, there's a Chi-Chi's in the old town square of Mons, Belgium...
So, we've had Irish, Mexican and Chinese...but so far, no Belgian food. Come to think of it, what are Belgian foods? Besides waffles, I mean?
More later.
Sometimes the weirdness of the contrasts of this European tour really boggle my mind. Hans went and picked up Chinese take-out for supper tonight...he said it's so strange trying to speak French when our first instinct now is to speak German. And then, he's speaking French to native Mandarin speakers. I feel the same way...I find myself somehow trying to translate what I need to say here into German and then from German into French. The result is very confusing...French is so difficult. And I laugh that I used to think that German was impossible!
So, here we are, in Belgium, staying at the surprisingly decent Best Western in downtown Mons. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how spacious and clean our room is, especially after our last experience at a hotel in a French-speaking country (see: Normandy trip 2008). We didn't get much done yesterday because Hans was busy working and had to take the car...it was a bit of a long day, that's for certain. He left us the stroller, so after breakfast, we took a little walk, found a park and the kids chased pigeons for an hour. That was the excitement of the morning.
Hans came back to the hotel after lunch and we headed out to find the air base at Chievres, which was actually painless to locate. We were hoping to get some gas at U.S. prices, but no luck since they don't have a gas station on post and we're not allowed to purchase gas rations since we're not actually stationed at Chievres. So, we put a very expensive tank of gas into Nessie and headed in the direction of Waterloo, where we climbed 408 steps to the top of the memorial to admire the battlefield view. Yes, even pregnant me. Now we can tell little Hans, Jr. that he has been to Waterloo...
Did I mention that I forgot the camera? I know...how could I have forgotten the camera what with packing clothes, food, toys, more clothes, blankets, movies...? Somehow it slipped my mind! So, sorry guys, there won't be any pictures from this trip. Trust me, I'm bummed too. Think I'll throw our old camera in the glove box permanently so this doesn't happen again.
Oh, we ate at Chi-Chi's last night. That's right, there's a Chi-Chi's in the old town square of Mons, Belgium...
So, we've had Irish, Mexican and Chinese...but so far, no Belgian food. Come to think of it, what are Belgian foods? Besides waffles, I mean?
More later.
Comments
Hans Jr.?!?
LOVE YOU GUYS!
I'm bummed you forgot your camera also, but there could be worse things.
By the say, I like the name "Hans, Jr." It's a good name!
Please kiss the angels for me. Tell them I miss them - and you too!