Whenever we take trips, I like to reflect on things we learned. It’s become my custom to write blog posts about the new things I discover when I travel. Since we just came back from Belgium, here’s a quick top ten list of things I learned in the land of waffles, frites, beer, and chocolate!
10. Belgium might be even more dog friendly than Germany is. Our dogs were well catered to on our trip and their occasional outbursts were patiently tolerated.
9. You can find grocery stores open on Sundays! Hours might be limited, but they do exist!
8. Dinant, Belgium is the birthplace of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone. This is probably my favorite new piece of knowledge since I am definitely a music lover.
7. Public defecation is apparently a problem in Belgium.
I saw this sign… I also encountered the most disgusting rest area I have seen in a long time. A prior trip to Brussels also revealed an apathetic attitude toward shit cleanup in Belgium.
6. Renting a house, even if there are just two of you, is a great deal. We only paid slightly more for a whole house what we could have spent on a hotel room and we had the added benefit of privacy and the ability to cook our own meals.
5. Speaking of rental houses, there are a whole lot of them in eastern Belgium. They seem to be more plentiful than hotel rooms are.
4. If you use the bathroom at the Autogrill in Belgium, you get a voucher for the whole 70 cents it costs to use the toilet, rather than just fifty cents.
3. Belgian TV has lots of English channels. I even got to watch part of Dr. Phil in Belgium and was reminded that I don’t miss his show that much.
2. Some hot tubs require physical labor before the big payoff. They aren’t all jetted tubs, either.
1. Driving through France to get back to Germany may be a lot less stressful than driving through Germany. You won’t hit Ramstein traffic and there seems to be less road construction going on. On the other hand, I also noticed the roads weren’t quite as well maintained as they tend to be in Germany. You also have to pay tolls.
Overall, Bill and I had a great, laid back trip to Belgium. I think we’re going to have to go back soon. I was reminded why I loved Belgium so much the last time we lived in Germany and chagrined that we haven’t made visiting again a priority. I don’t know how much longer we’ll get to live in Europe, but I think more trips to Belgium are in order, with or without the pooches!