Trip to the Zoo

Ok, so this post was from last week I just didn't post it yet. I know Scott already put these pics up elsewhere, but I'm trying to not feel like a total slacker.

This weekend we decided to venture out a little further and take a train ride to Antwerp.

The train station in Turnhout is about a 5 minute walk from our apartment and we were able to get roundtrip tickets to Antwerp with admission to the zoo. It was Morgan and my first train rides and we had lots of fun.


Does Morgan love Belgian pastries? What do you think?




The Antwerp train station. The pictures don't really capture the beauty here, but this massive train station allowed for about a dozen trains to enter at once on multiple levels. Once you got off there were shops and a waffle/coffee stand (of course we had to sample some on our way back and yes, they are delicious). The station is under construction now to allow for through trains so we'll have to go back to take more pictures later.




The meerkats were cute too all trying to fight for the same heat lamp.


This momma elephant was so cute playing tether ball with her baby:)


Ryan and Brenna being cute.




It was a long day for a little Morgan to go without a nap so we just took a little snooze while Ryan and Brenna played on the playground.

Turnhout

"the traveler" in front of the train station in Turnhout

Adventures in Stadspark

While wandering into Stadspark (city park) yesterday to take some pictures of the pretty snow I saw another guy there with a rather large camera (I couldn't help but notice his enormous lens and bag of accessories either). He came up to me and started speaking Dutch. I'm starting to get a little less self conscious about the standard reply "sorry, (stupid American here) I only speak English." "Nice day to be out taking pictures" he says. I agreed and we get to talking a bit and as it turns out he is a professional photographer who was there to meet his hot air balloon that was going to pick him up to take aereal pictures of Turnhout. How awesome to be there at just the right time. He said the balloon would arrive in about 10 minutes and they would be taking off in about 30. Needless to say I stuck around to take a few shots myself. How cool is that?

He gave me his card and has some amazing photographs on his website if you want to check out some amazing pictures of Belgium.

"It never snows in Belgium"

Before we arrived in Belgium everything we heard about the weather was that it was more temperate, doesn't get to hot in the summers, not too cold in the winters, and it rarely snows. After our visit in November we heard from Brett and Terrie than we just missed an unusual snow and we were a bit disappointed. I thought it was ironic then that my first day of work was another big snow. Everyone at work assured me that the cold and the snow was very unusual and would melt right away. Apparently every 5-10 years they get a winter like this that is cold and snowy so we should be happy that it feels like home for the time being. It is quite obvious that this is not the norm by watching people try to drive in it (flooring it in a parking lot and wondering why the car doesn't go anywhere, tailgating salt trucks, etc.)

The snow that fell Monday didn't melt and it has been cold and continued to "snow," but it has been more of a misting of frozen humidity...or something like that. Anyhow it has continued to collect on leaves and branches creating quite a beautiful winter wonderland. Unfortunately the days are so short there isn't much time for taking pictures during the week since it is usually dark when I leave and by the time I get home. I went out Saturday while Morgan was napping to see if I could still get a few good shots and this is what I found.

Kwak

It would only be right to talk about beer in our experiences here. Suffice it to say we haven't been disappointed. We have been spending much of our time with Brett and Terrie before I started working so I don't have full documentation on the beers we drink there, but here are some of the tasty treats we have brought home. We have been starting off trying to taste some we didn't remember seeing in the states or try on our world tour at the Winking Lizard. Here are some of our tasty treats:





Many of these Belgian beers have signature glasses that are available in the grocery stores where you buy the beers. They didn't have any the day we were at the store, but we will be on the lookout for this one... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauwel_Kwak


These hotel/apartment glasses are just not right.

Travels with a 1 1/2 year old

Our travels to Belgium began New Years Eve. We got to the airport quite early hoping Morgan would take her nap on time and be pleasant and well behaved for the first short leg of the flight. She was already getting sleepy around 10:00 so we thought this would be no trouble at all. Unfortunately we underestimated the volume of the overhead speakers in the airport and every time she was nearly asleep there was a gate change alert or a friendly reminder not to leave luggage unattended. So...for 3 hours we strolled through the airport, tried snuggling in a quiet corner, rocking, all to no avail.

No worries though we thought, we could just strap her into the seat on the airplane and she would fall right asleep. Not so much. Ever notice how easy it is to put on your seatbelt on an airplane? Adjust? Remove? Yeah, she had it figured out in like 2 seconds and keeping her in a seat was futile. Luckily we had her suitcase stuffed with lots of snacks, toys, and books to keep her entertained.

Our first flight was delayed quite a bit so we didn't have too much time in DC before boarding the next flight. By this point she was beyond exhausted, but we knew as soon as she fell asleep we would be set for the remainder of the flight. We had a few very nice stewardesses who helped us get her some yummy tortellini to fill up that belly and help her get to sleep. One had caught sight of her striped pants and stopped by every chance she got to hold her while the fasten safety belt sign was on, rub her belly to help her fall asleep, and admire their shared hairdo. She was great once she finally passed out and we took turns keeping an eye to make sure she didn't roll out of her seat (absolutely necessary!) All in all she did great under the circumstances, but that was a long day!

It was around 8am local time when we arrived (a bit late) and the airport was nearly empty. It didn't take too long to collect our luggage and pass though customs (they pretty much just look at your passport and you walk through). Brett was so kind to come to the airport to pick us up since the taxi company JnJ uses was closed for new years. We headed back for Turnhout to pick up the keys to our apartment and went to check the place out. It is a very nice apartment we are staying in with two bedrooms, a bathroom, "water closet" (usually separate here), a furnished kitchen, and nice living area. A bit small for long term, but perfect to get us by until our lease starts on the house. And the adventures begin...


Morgan studying the airplane's safety features.

Alas

Our visas have arrived!! The movers have been scheduled!! We have no tickets!!

Okay so just when I thought I would be feeling less stressed knowing everything would be on time and we had nothing to worry about it has all hit me. We're moving to Belgium. Well not that part thats stressing me out, but all of a sudden I've been feeling the rush to get every loose end tied. We know now that the movers will be here packing Monday and loading the truck Tuesday so we will be able to leave early if we want (we do!!) What better way to spend New Years than starting over fresh on new soil? A champagne toast in midair? Being anywhere with my best big friend and best little friend? We're pretty excstatic. The disappointing news is that the travel site is closed for the holidays. Hopefully that means either a) closed today, but open tomorrow or b) closed today, closed this weekend, but open Monday. You will know soon enough. Anyhow things are still moving along and I'm trying to remain calm. Scott appreciates it much.

In the meantime here are the pictures of the new house we'll be moving into beginning in February.













Lots of space for visitors...hint, hint.

Ahh, I feel better already:)