Last weekend we had a trip to Belgium planned. Life has been a little hectic so I had seriously contemplated cancelling it. But in the end, I decided it was just what we needed. Everyone had been so excited about getting out of town for a few days that I decided to shake the feeling of just wanting to stay home, and just GO!The trip had gone back and forth on participants, times, even destinations! Our final plan a
s of last Friday was to leave at 430, with two car loads of people and head to Brussels. We would spend the night, explore Brussels on Saturday and take the train up to Bruges on Sunday for a little more exploring before heading back home that afternoon. Oh the best laid plans of mice and men...We ended up leaving a little later than expected, right at 5pm. I really wanted to be to Wurzburg by 5 to avoid some of the traffic, but it couldn't be avoided all together. I couldn't begin to imagine the traffic we would sit in. 
After two hours, we were barely on the other side of Wurzburg...for my non-Germany friends, that's like sitting on I-40 from Greensboro to Winston and barely being to Hanes Mall in TWO hours. Yikes. After we got through a chunk of the traffic, we decided to stop and eat. Unfortunately all the OTHER people we had been in traffic with also had the same idea, which made for a very busy McDonald's. We got our food to go and ate in the car since there was not a seat in sight, much less enough for the 8 of us.
After two hours, we were barely on the other side of Wurzburg...for my non-Germany friends, that's like sitting on I-40 from Greensboro to Winston and barely being to Hanes Mall in TWO hours. Yikes. After we got through a chunk of the traffic, we decided to stop and eat. Unfortunately all the OTHER people we had been in traffic with also had the same idea, which made for a very busy McDonald's. We got our food to go and ate in the car since there was not a seat in sight, much less enough for the 8 of us. We got back on the road and shortly ran into MORE traffic. I could not believe our luck. We
played games in the car and Hayden napped a bit here and there but it was definitely not what we had expected. Here in Germany when we travel, we have Esso fuel cards so we don't pay German prices for gas. To give you an idea of the difference...I pay about 80 cents a liter on post, and there are 3.75 liters to a gallon (roughly). So right now on post I'm paying about $3 per gallon for gas. Off post, Germans pay 1.35 euro per liter, which is about $1.75. You do the math, but it's more than double with the exchange rate. The Esso fuel cards can only be used at Esso stations, and we had full understanding of the process. However. We did not take into account that Esso stations would be closed at 1130 pm when we finally stopped for gas. We tried three different Esso stations, only to be disappointed at every turn. We ended up stopping at an Aral station, which does NOT accept the Esso fuel card (think Exxon vs. BP). So we paid 30 euro (about $45) for a half a tank of gas. Yikes.
played games in the car and Hayden napped a bit here and there but it was definitely not what we had expected. Here in Germany when we travel, we have Esso fuel cards so we don't pay German prices for gas. To give you an idea of the difference...I pay about 80 cents a liter on post, and there are 3.75 liters to a gallon (roughly). So right now on post I'm paying about $3 per gallon for gas. Off post, Germans pay 1.35 euro per liter, which is about $1.75. You do the math, but it's more than double with the exchange rate. The Esso fuel cards can only be used at Esso stations, and we had full understanding of the process. However. We did not take into account that Esso stations would be closed at 1130 pm when we finally stopped for gas. We tried three different Esso stations, only to be disappointed at every turn. We ended up stopping at an Aral station, which does NOT accept the Esso fuel card (think Exxon vs. BP). So we paid 30 euro (about $45) for a half a tank of gas. Yikes. 
We continued our drive through the Netherlands and into Belgium. It didn't take us too long to get into Brussels, and we had the hotel address punched into our Navigons. However, Navigon takes you the "shortest" route, which is not necessarily the fastest. So we were driving through some pretty scary neighborhoods at 130 in the morning. Add that to the fact that Belgium has more traffic fatalities than any of its neighbors (other than France) and you have a recipe for absolute terror. I forget how to be scared when Jay is here because I always know we're safe. But with five women and three kids, it's a different kind of fear. We located our hotel and knew there wouldn't be parking so we set out to find spots. We encountered our first Belgian traffic circle, which is two lanes wide but not marked. And in some traffic circles, cars coming IN have the right away, as opposed to the rest of the world where those already in the circle have the right away. Several near-accidents were avoided, and there was a lot of honking. Who expected there to be so much traffic at this time of night? We found two spots finally, right out in front of our hotel. But we missed them so we took a drive
around the block to get back to them. Imagine our surprise when, in the middle of a well-light hotel zone, we were greeted by no less than 35 prostitutes in two blocks! I could not get off that street fast enough, which was no easy feat in the narrow alleyway in a Ford Fusion. We got back to our parking spots, and I hopped out to check in while Erica parallel-parked my car with Mandie and Hayden inside. Our hotel was padlocked from the inside, presumably thanks to the working girls around the corner. Once we were finally checked in, we took turns going back out to the cars so the kids didn't have to be outside. I scrambled to get our bags as quickly as possible so I could get inside. You can imagine why, at 2am, I thought this trip would be a disaster.
around the block to get back to them. Imagine our surprise when, in the middle of a well-light hotel zone, we were greeted by no less than 35 prostitutes in two blocks! I could not get off that street fast enough, which was no easy feat in the narrow alleyway in a Ford Fusion. We got back to our parking spots, and I hopped out to check in while Erica parallel-parked my car with Mandie and Hayden inside. Our hotel was padlocked from the inside, presumably thanks to the working girls around the corner. Once we were finally checked in, we took turns going back out to the cars so the kids didn't have to be outside. I scrambled to get our bags as quickly as possible so I could get inside. You can imagine why, at 2am, I thought this trip would be a disaster.
Luckily Saturday came along and changed my mind! It rained briefly in the early morning, but cleared up just as we headed out to explore. It was still chilly and windy, so Hayden was armed with his snowsuit and winter hat. What an amazing city Brussels turned out to be! I love to visit new cities to learn about the culture and the people. We walked from our hotel to the city center at the Grand Place, which is a square surrounded by beautiful, old buildings. A couple had just gotten married in the church, vendors were setting up stands with fruit and art and wine, and it reminded me of why I love living in Europe.We visited "Manneken Pis", a world-renowned statue of a little boy peeing into a fountain. This is seriously a national treasure, and one that bears over 700 outfits! It is a great tradition to change his outfit, and this particular weekend that task belonged to a group of college students. It was so much fun to be there to see it, once we finally found it! We also sought out his "little sister", which is less widely known and much younger statue. There's a dog too, but we weren't that ambitious. We got waffles, which were totally worth the hype. We picked up chocolate and lace and souvenirs, and enjoyed the sunshine in the city.
This was one of those trips without much clear direction or itinerary, and we had a blast just 
exploring and eating. We had a relaxing lunch at an adorable restaurant, and spent the evening just hanging out. On Sunday, we decided to forego the Bruges plan since the weather was forecasted to be ugle, and instead headed to Cologne. We got lost a few times, but finally found ourselves at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. We enjoyed great food and music before heading back our way and finally ending up at home around 9pm. Not bad for our first trip to Belgium, and considering all the bumps in the road! It took us a bit to get home, this time due to the 40mph winds on the road, but we arrived safely and just in time for bed!
exploring and eating. We had a relaxing lunch at an adorable restaurant, and spent the evening just hanging out. On Sunday, we decided to forego the Bruges plan since the weather was forecasted to be ugle, and instead headed to Cologne. We got lost a few times, but finally found ourselves at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. We enjoyed great food and music before heading back our way and finally ending up at home around 9pm. Not bad for our first trip to Belgium, and considering all the bumps in the road! It took us a bit to get home, this time due to the 40mph winds on the road, but we arrived safely and just in time for bed! 
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