Europe etc!
So Jenny, my dad, my brother and I myself left Austin on Monday for Belgium. We’re here for a family reunion of sorts: my grandparents are having a big 50th anniversary thing and most of the family should be there.
It’s been a pretty nice time so far: we’ve visited Bruges (Brugge) and Leuven and we’re planning another trip to Brussels (to see the Grote Markt and the comic book museum), London, and Oslo.
It’s definitely pretty weird being back again. Things are mostly the same, with a few big exceptions. Some observations:
- There’s tons of houses with solar panels on their roofs. The Belgian government is subsidizing purchase of installation and panels, and many people have taken advantage of this. There are also many more windmills around the countryside than there used to be.
- People still wear those stupid capri pants, gentlemen included. I generally don’t give a crap about this sort of thing, but in this case I’m experiencing what Dutchophones might call “plaatsvervangende schaamte”: I’m embarrassed for their heinous fashion crimes.
- Yesterday I rented a car to go visit the town where I used to live back in the day, Leuven. I ended up with a Renault Clio diesel. It was an awesome little car. Actually, it wasn’t all that little: it was quite a bit bigger and more comfortable than my Mazda Protege and had about the same amount of power, even though it was a diesel. Surprisingly for a French car, it had AC. With said AC blasting and racing through little Belgian streets, I was easily getting 45 mpg! Priced at just under 12,500 euros, it’s a really good deal. Can you tell I want one?
- On the same note: fueling up was a pain in the ass. I tried to get gas at 10 PM and could not find a gas station that was open at night where I could pay at the pump with a credit card. Seems to me Belgians have a ways to go in applying and using “new” technologies like the credit card. When I did fuel up in the morning, the pump wasn’t even digital. Even the cheapest little gas stations in East Austin don’t have an analog pump, even if you do have to pay inside. Weirdness.
- Also: the word “max” seems to appear in many advertising slogans. Pepsi Max: Max It!. Kriek (a beer): Kriek Is the Max!
Anyhoo, enough verbage. Here are some pitchers from Leuven, Bruges and the tiny little house we lived in until I was 7:
Jenny took most of these. I’ll put up a more extensive selection on Flickr when I get back.
