I spent this past weekend in Belgium visiting Bjorn and his family. He lives in a town (okay, village) called Dilsen that is about 30 minutes away from Maastricht (where I went for Carnaval and where we met), and 2 hours away from me. It was kind of funny... as I got closer and closer, I saw less and less people and more and more animals. :) It's kind of in the country. ;) I have to say... it made me quite homesick for Ohio being in place that felt so similar. Everyone knows each other, family is closeby, and everyone seems to know everyone else's business. Sounds like a town I know very well. ;) So, I arrived around 2:00pm after my weekly long run. I'm up to about 15 miles in preparation for this crazy RoPa run. I did my run all by myself this week, which kinda sucked, but gave me a lot of time to think. It's nice to have that time sometimes. I got to Bjorn's place (which is a REAL house... I'm so used to the dinky apartments in Amsterdam!), and he was already making a really nice lunch for me. He tried to tell me last weekend that he doesn't cook, but I don't think I believe him - it was delicious. :) We went for a bike ride through the countryside and along the Maas river (which divides Holland and Belgium), and then Bjorn had to go to his volleyball game. I haven't exactly figured out how all of this works, but there are different levels of teams in Belgium, and he's on the 2nd highest level. They don't play between countries, but are on the level beneath that. Anyways, they are really good. :) I got to spend some time with Bjorn's sister Ellen while he was away. It was fun to have some girl time. After polishing off the majority of a family size pizza and a 1/2 liter of wine, we made our way to the game, where I met Bjorn's parents. Okay... for the folks back home. Let me paint a little picture for you... you remember how scary it was to "meet the parents"? Now imagine meeting the parents when they speak a different language than you! ;) It makes it exponentially MORE scary. :) Anyways, we made it work between my limited Dutch, their limited English, and lots of hand motions. :) They seemed very sweet, and I'm looking forward to learning more Dutch so I can become an intelligent human being rather than just a girl that smiles a lot. ;)
Bjorn's the team captain, so he got interviewed after the game by the news! :)
After the game, it was so sweet... everyone from the crowd (probably about 100 people) all went to the local pub to share beers and conversation. Most of the time, I didn't know what was going on, because most of it was in Dutch, but it felt really cozy and warm, and I enjoyed myself. :)
The next morning, Bjorn once again wowed me with his cooking skills (see what I mean, can't believe this guy! hehe)... he made his famous "omelette royale" which was an eggy, bacony, tomatoey concoction of goodness. We also had champagne (why not!) and fresh-squeezed orange juice made by yours truly. ;) And then... for something completely different, we went to feed his friend's chickens, who Bjorn is "chicken-sitting" while his friend is on holiday. So funny!
Breakfast made for a queen!
KP looking a little uncertain at the chickens...
Bjorn collecting his payment... 3 eggs! :)
After this adventure, we drove to the Arden mountain/hills, and took a tour of some underground caves there. It was amazing to see the beautiful creation that Mother Nature put there for us. Some of the structures were many thousands of years old. I sampled a few kinds of Belgian beer (MUCH better than Dutch beer), and then I eventually had to make my way back to the Dam. It was a nice weekend that went by way too fast.
One funny little side story... so Bjorn was asking me what kind of chocolate I like, because Belgium is famous for their chocolate. I told him dark chocolate, and so look what he surprised me with: a one kilo (about 2.2 pounds) "Pashaas" (hehe - that's what the Easter Bunny is called in Dutch). I must admit, he's now missing his ears... couldn't resist.
De Pashaas
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