9/15: Traveling Internationally Again At Last!

Even though Steven and I have traveled together to each of the continents, for years I have wanted to visit the Benelux countries which comprise Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Steven and I have stopped in the Netherlands a couple of times, almost as an afterthought, at the end of other trips but hadn't spent much time any place beyond Amsterdam. That was why we were both looking forward to beginning this two-plus Europe month trip in the Netherlands by taking day trips to several cities around the small nation. Unfortunately, those plans had to be put on the back burner when Americans were no longer able to tour the country without first quarantining for ten days because of the worsening pandemic. That was why, about ten days before our trip, we had to scramble by changing our itinerary and fly to Belgium instead and on a different airline. That meant adding the five days we'd hoped to spend in the Netherlands to our stay in Belgium, changing around what cities we would see when and also finding new hotels that could accommodate our change in plans.

After traveling together overseas for so long, we like to pride ourselves on being able to make changes on the fly so all that went off without a hitch. NOT so easy, though, was leaving the fate of the results of the required Covid-19 tests in the hands of others! In order to fly to Europe, we needed PCR tests done no more than 72 hours before the beginning of the overseas flight and the results in our hot little hands when checking in for that flight. Sounds simple enough, right - ha! When we got tested first thing on Sunday morning, September 14th at a local drugstore drive-thru, we were advised it could take from 24 hours up to five days to get the results! 

Thankfully, my smart husband had planned ahead and also booked us appointments at a Kaiser Permanente facility for first thing the following day. We thought we might well have to stay overnight in Boston, the city we were leaving for Europe from if neither set of results came through before checking in for our flight at 4 pm EST. We thanked our lucky stars and you know who when Kaiser sent us emails on Monday evening saying we both tested negative! BTW, the drugstore chain took about 65 hours to process the tests, i.e. when we were already well over the Atlantic en route to Lisbon, our stop before Brussels. 

No wonder Steven looked more than a little like an alien on one of our four flights from Denver to Brussels as it took us more than 24 hours to reach the Belgian capital from our home in Denver!

On arrival in Brussels yesterday afternoon, I almost began to wonder if we were in fact in the French-speaking city as, disconcertingly, there were signs everywhere in English. I don't know about you but when we travel, I want things to be different and definitely outside my comfort zone. I don't want to expect people in foreign lands to know my language and, quite frankly, deplore seeing the proliferation of English usage everywhere. 

These signs were just steps from the apartment we rented for our five nights in the city. 

Some English-language signs from further afield:

After collapsing for a couple of hours after one of our longest travel days ever, Steven and I revived and walked over to one of the city's largest parks, Cinquantenaire, which means 50th anniversary. The site was comprised of a vast set of gardens dotted with monuments and museums. It was dominated by three triumphal arches with a bronze chariot at the top and was built in 1880 for the 50th anniversary of the country's independence.

On the other side of the massive square was an equally large car-free park with loads of gardens, trails, and sculptures. We realized quickly enough that bicycles and joggers reigned supreme in Brussels and to be wary of both! I was thrilled to wear the cozy, hand-knitted cowl you kindly made me on our first night out on the town, Suellen!

In the park was the Great Mosque of Brussels that was conceived for the 1897 Universal Exhibition to display a circular painting representing Cairo and the banks of the Nile River by Emile Wauters. When the architect added a porch and minaret, the building, and not the painting, became the Exhibition's star attraction. Three-quarters of a century later, the brick and marble building was revived to house the city's mosque and opened in 1978.

As we walked back to the apartment, Steven and I remarked that we didn't remember when we'd last been in a city that had as many joggers and exercise enthusiasts as Brussels seemed to have. In the hour or so we were out last night, we saw hundreds without exaggeration. I suddenly felt old and very much out of shape!

Next post: The Grand Place, considered to be Europe's 'grandest' squares, and Belgian chocolate and lace - ooh la la!

Posted on September 16th, 2021, from Brussels at the very beginning of our extended trip to Europe. Wherever you are, please stay safe from the nasty Delta variant.