Back In Wiesbaden

No matter the joy of a holiday, you always get back to two things. 1. A huge pile of Washing and 2. A huge pile of payment receipts - assuming that you have bothered to keep them - the evidence of money you have changed into experiences. Often the bits of paper are the only memory of the experiences at all.

In my case, it has been four, 7kg loads of washing that have taken two days to get through. I even used the drier as I did not have the hanging space, in the apartment, to get everything dry. Never fear, once the washing is dry I have the ironing to look forward to. The same ironing that I had to do before I went on holiday. At least I have plenty of recorded TV programmes to watch while I iron. This is now that the cable TV receiver has been replaced. The current incumbent seems to be working a bit better than the previous one, although it did only start recording 30 minutes into two of the programmes.

As to the money spent. I always try and keep all the receipts for my spending and then capture them into an Excel spreadsheet. I know most people do not bother to keep detailed records of their spending. It is usually those with lots of disposal income and those with none that seem to be least concerned about how much they spend. I know that it takes a while to capture all the expenses, but at the end, I know exactly how much I have spend and more importantly on what. Yes, I do have a Budget and Expense Codes. Not because I am the best accountant, but rather an Excellent Administrator. Often in the past, I have got the two confused, which has caused me untold misery. Well, the holiday spending has been captured and I know how much I spent on Belgium Beer and Parking.

As part of most holiday rituals people buy postcards that they never seem to send. This is often because they do not know where the nearest post office is, or they are too busy while on holilday. Or the postage is more than than the cost of the postcard. Well, I do try and send the postcards that I buy. Yes, in the age of social media, Facebook and WhatsAP people send instant photos. I tend to be a bit of a traditionalist and still send Christmas cards and postcards and even birthday cards. As I see it, an email is not the same as a birthday card, it never will be. The point is, it needs to be a bit of an effort to remember friends and family. So I had to dash off to the post-office here in Wiesbaden this morning to get the postcards out before it becomes too late. So now my postcards from Brussels been posted with German stamps. The true meaning of the European Union, or European Integration at least. I would of course never dream of sending a British postcard with German stamp or a German postcard with a British stamp. That is totally unthinkable. Just like the UK joining the Euro Zone. The world will literally END, or for the City of London at least, which is THE WORLD.

I treated myself, to what I consider the best sandwhich in Wiesbaden earlier today. Just to remind me that I am no longer in Brussels and to celebrate getting through my four loads of washing.

View from my Sandwich 1 - Not in Brussels anymore

View from my Sandwich 2

Best Little Sandwich in Wiesbaden.

Day 5 Brussels - European Parliament

Today we were shown around the European Parliament. We were very lucky to have been taken on a guided tour by a very well connected. After getting very lost and wondering around the area, we finally managed to find the Parliament building, after asking several people for directions. The building is truly impressive and so was the canteen. We were even allowed to visit the Parliamentary Chamber. The only people present, apart from us were two cleaners. This tour has been one of the highlights of my week so far. It is always nice to meet friends who have done well for themselves. So know I have a better idea of how the system works (And it does work, Sorry Mrs. T[hatcher]), after it was explained by some one who works there.

The Place to Meet

Day 4 Brussels - Da Vinci Exhibition

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Today, to keep out of the heat, we visited the Da Vinci Exhibition in Brussels. A number of models had been created from the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. Of course there is also the very interesting TV series called Da Vinci's Demons,but it is probably educational in slightly different ways.

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There were models of flying machines, tanks and all sorts of engineering bits and pieces. In addition a very detailed gallery dedicated to the Mona Lisa.On the smaller (human)scale some poor chap lost something valuable at the exhibition. He was seen walking from room to room searching the floor despondently.

And AWAY

Crossbow Cart

Tank

Photo of Mona Lisa

The only shiny thing that I saw laying on the floor was a discarded sweet wrapper. I do hope that he found "His Precious". But like Smegal, I guess not. No the guy did not look like Smegal....He had only lost something valuable.

Day 3 Brussels - Seaside - Oostende

We did make it to the seaside today. Happily the day started off a bit cooler than it has been for the last few days. When we arrived at Oostende, around 10 am it was about 19 degrees, and overcast. So about 15 degrees cooler than yesterday. We also experienced a few drops of rain on the drive from Brussels. The buildings along the coast are quite drab and uninteresting - even for holiday apartments. There is however, a nice long promenade. The only problem is that it is a bit hectic/chaotic/insane. Lots of people and children on bicycles, with no or little traffic sense. There is no separate of bike path from the pedestrian path. I am very surprised that I did not see any fatal accidents. I would have thought it best to separate walking pensioners from Red Bull fueled, cycling teenagers, but perhaps I am being too German about it."Ordnung muss sein" - roughly translated in English as "Let There be Order". The 11th commandment of the German Bible. Another way of looking at it: if you allow people self regulate, they actually do. And you get better social order than when you try and control people and they simply ignore your attempts. Worth thinking about in the time of the NSA,Prism, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowdon etc. etc.

We were hoping to find something to eat, so we went into a shopping centre, which proved to be a bit of a disappointment. Not sure why you would need a Media Markt - Electronics Retailer - at the seaside, with exactly the same products they have back Wiesbaden. We did manage to find something to eat, at the beach. Some really fresh falafels. The service was really excellent, as the place was under new management. After spending some time in and around the water. I played a personal game of catch the seaweed. Very intellectual, but so what. Afterwards it was time to seek shelter, as it started getting really hot again. We had some really tasty eclairs. Walking in the opposite direction to the one we had been in, we found the centre of Oostende, which was quite a bit more interesting than the Media Markt. We even found public toilets, which up until then had been completely absent. Around 5 pm we started our drive back to Brussels. I am pleased that we were able to a day at the seaside on this holiday.

Beech at Oostende

Beware the Cyclists: I had to wait about 10 mins to get this picture with out the maniacs swooping past.

Day 2 Brussels - Atomiun

Today was as hot as it was yesterday. We made an early start and decided to visit the Atomium. We caused some confusion at the ticket office when we said we were from Germany, but wanted English audio guides. Although the exhibition is a bit dated, considering the structure was opened in 1958. And some of the displays do not tie up to the audio display it is well worth a visit. On the upper levels there are some very interesting multi-media displays.One of my concerns about driving to Brussels was what to do about the car. But this turned out to be less of a problem than anticipated. You can park at the Atomium for 5€ for the whole day. The afternoon was spend hiding from the heat and we only ventured out again in the evening.

Brussels Week

This week I am in Brussels so not much posting to happen. Drove from Wiesbaden yesterday.

Was a nice drive actually, except for the roadworks that are always present on the German Autobahn. Driving is really cool because as you know there are parts that have no speed restrictions. Once we got to The Netherlands we had a speed limit of 120 km/h. Fortunately, we had cruise control otherwise it gets a bit boring. It is extremely hot in Europe at the moment. The car measured 34 degrees Celsius. We a arrived in Brussels at about 3.30 pm.