Belgium

Reunion of small Jurgen, big Jurgen, Michaela and II love skinny Belgian houses!BrusselsMmmmmm..... chocolate!

I am back in Riga again after a fantastic trip to Belgium and Luxembourg. I had a great reunion with big Jurgen, small Jurgen and Michaela. We had met while in Tallinn, Estonia. I stayed with big Jurgen and his girlfriend, Tiny, in a beautiful, old town called Lier in northern Belgium.

The first night I was there we all went out to drink Belgian beer! I have never had so much beer in my life (referring to variety- not quantity. HaHa!) The five of us would order different types of beer and we would test them all out. Belgian beer comprises the most varied and numerous collections of high-quality beers in the world. I have always said that I didn’t like beer while in Canada, but I guess that isn’t true anymore because if we had some of the types of beer I tried in Belgium then I would definitely drink beer in Canada as well. The next day, the Jurgens, Michaela and I all went on a road trip to Luxembourg. It great because I got to see the Dutch part of Belgium, the French part of Belgium and Luxembourg! The north of Belgium is quite flat while the south of Belgium has many hills, which reminded me of Nova Scotia. Latvia is quite a flat country as well and I forgot how much I liked hills until we were driving through the south of Belgium :) However, what was different from Nova Scotia was that the majority of houses are very close to the roads and there never seems to be just one house standing on it’s own as there are always other houses around it, even in very rural areas. We saw some beautiful nature, ate delicious food and drank some more beer. We went to a brewery and drank their beer on location which was really neat. We decided to camp in Luxembourg for the night. The tent that Michaela and I were sleeping in didn’t have a rain cover, but we weren’t too worried because the sky was clear and lots of stars were visible. So as you have probably guessed, it started to rain very early in the morning. And it wasn’t a light rain... it was heavy rain accompanied with thunder and lightning. We both tried to ignore the fact that we were getting soaked but eventually we went to sleep in the car. At least it was an adventure! So then Michaela went back to Holland and small Jurgen went home as well.

The next day I went to the second largest city in Belgium called Antwerp. Jurgen showed me around the city and we also drove to the port. The port of Antwerp is very big and Belgium has A LOT of transfer trucks that drive from Belgium to Germany. The port reminded me of Alberta as there were oil refineries and lots of industrial buildings. Both Jurgens work as police officers and on Saturday night I got to experience what it was like to sit in the back of a police car while big Jurgen patrolled the highway. I really enjoyed the experience, although I hope that I am never in the back of a police car again, as generally it is not somewhere where one wants to be :)! The next day Jurgen, Tiny and I went to an air show. It reminded me a lot of my childhood, when Dad took Peter and I to the international air shows in Nova Scotia almost every year. The day after the air show I discovered Lier by bike. I biked for two and a half hours and wasn’t tired or sore, something that would never happen in Nova Scotia if I biked for two and half hours! It is so flat and not uncommon for people to bike 15 kilometres to work or school. Hmmm... imagine biking from my house to Stellarton and back every day! Hills make a big difference.

Then Jurgen and Tiny left for Chicago as their American friend was getting married. I spent the day relaxing and discovering more of Lier. Also, Jurgen and Tiny had an American phone number so I was able to talk to Papa, Erik, Mum and Nina for long periods of time. It was the longest conversation I have had with Nina since I have been gone. Unfortunately, calling Latvia is extremely expensive. Skype has come in very handy for communicating with people (who don’t have dial-up!)

On my last day I took the train to Brussels and spent the day sightseeing, as my flight wasn’t until night time. Brussels is a very beautiful city. I love the skinny, old houses in Belgium. I walked around the whole day and saw the grand palace, the beautiful city square, stunning cathedral and the famous statue, Manneken Pis. In addition to seeing the statue, I was treated to FREE BEER being passed out on the street. I simply love Europe sometimes! I also treated myself to Belgian chocolates, Belgian frites and Belgian waffles, as it was my last day there. I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

So then I flew back to Latvia, worked for one shift and then took the bus to see my relatives in Mazsalaca. I had a great visit, as always. I think that my October trip will be to Poland. I am now writing this while on the bus back to Riga. To finish, I want to add that I just saw my first Latvian moose while I was looking out the window!