How The Trip Went

Let's see if I can remember... it seems so long ago that we left the US. We got up at 4:45 am on September 2nd (Pacific Time) and were relieved that our chauffeurs (Jake and Joan) had also arisen. Because of the "pre-production" Kristen and I had done in the month prior to this ungodly hour, we really only had to get in the car and leave. That's pretty much what we did. Leaving the house at 5:25 am, we arrived at the Portland Airport at close to 6:00 am.

Check-in went smoothly, the line was not too long. To our relief, we found out that the international flight weight limit on bags is 70 lbs, as opposed to the 50 lbs we had tried to meet. When we got to the ticket-counter, the extra 20 lbs per bag was akin to divine intervention. Two bags were about 60 lbs each, another was 65, and the fourth was 76 lbs. Over the limit! On a domestic flight you would only be charged $25 for being over the limit. International flights are a different story. We would have had to pay close to $400 for those 6 extra lbs! Almost as much as a ticket! However, the nice man at the counter had me lay the heavy bag on the scale and then he watched it as I removed items from it and placed them in the lightest bag. Luckily everything fit and we were on our way. Our first plane left at 8:15 am, bound for Washington-Dulles.

Not much else to report for the duration of our flight. Went pretty smoothly. We had to sit separately on the first flight because it was overbooked. Around us were a whole bunch of students from University of Portland who were on the way to a "Semester Abroad" in Germany. Please... a semester? And they had the gaul to complain about how much they had to do to prepare! I sat there smugly, knowing that what Kristen and I had embarked was so much more insane. In flight entertainment was "Down With Love" and "Chicago"... a Rene Zellweger marathon.

We landed in Washington with enough time before our connection to take a bathroom break and for Kristen to have some food. The second leg went just as smoothly. No horrible stories to tell. Food was OK. Plenty of leg-room. This time we had 9 TV channels and many more music programs to choose from and individual monitors in the head-rest in front of us. Several films played on continuous loop, along with TV shows. On the mini-screens were such great hits as "Bruce Almighty", "Daddy Daycare", and "Identity". Neither of us really slept at all. Too busy being freaked out at the reality of our situation. We descended into Brussels on Sept. 3rd at about 6:45 am (Brussels time which is GMT +1), 30 minutes early, with a beautiful sunrise on the right side of the plane.

Customs. Four long lines for non-EU nationals and one short line for EU citizens. Guess who got through first? I didn't even get a stamp in my passport! He only asked me what my destination was. Kristen got through about 20 minutes later. She had been queried about her destination, purpose for entry, visa status and was told to report to the appropriate commune for registration within 3 days. Sometimes it's just a lot more convenient to not be a US citizen!

After that, we got through without even getting our bags checked. No customs declarations. Since we couldn't meet our landlord until 10:30 that morning, we circled the wagons in the corner of the terminal lobby and waited. I practiced some Dutch by ordering twee Coca Lights met ijse blockjes (two diet cokes with ice) from the lobby bar. The bartender very meticulously rattled three ice cubes into each cup. That's how it is in Europe. Ever since the ice-shortage of '84. However, they serve the drink at a much cooler starting temperature to make up for it. Who needs ice anyway?

At 9:30 we headed outside with our luggage and got in the taxi-line; a very efficiently run endeavor. Though the line was at least 100 people deep, it moved at a lighting pace. There was an even longer line of taxis waiting and a guy directing them to each passenger. As soon as one had left, there was another to take it's place. So, 30 euros and 25 minutes later, we were at our new doorstep. Two strangers in a strange land.

--RP--