April 05, 2003 : bliss in the form of an auto
Bliss shouldn't rely on having a car. Bliss shouldn't rely on having transportation at all. Bliss lies in moments when everything seems to be going well, whether it's temporary or more necessary, but today it took the form of lil' Debbie.
Eva and I woke several times this morning, as Eva turned the alarm to snooze for at least an hours worth of consecutive 5-minute intervals. Finally we had both had enough as the repetitive alarms make us both grumpy, and we rose to face a brand new day.
First on our list was the Lunch Garden and it's best-deal-for-breakfast breakfast. Apparently it used to be a better deal back when it was in Belgian Francs, and as most things have increased a bit over time and rounded up (to say the least) it's still quite a steal.
Eva decided that we should buy some champagne, strawberries and fresh cream and head to Broechem to surprise her mother and toast to having the new car. So after our purchases of the aforementioned products and 99 cent 40 pack of coffee-filters (a minor discussion about which is better, a reusable filter or a biodegradable paper one we can throw into the bio bag, which we chose the latter) we headed in the direction of her mother's place.
We consequently woke her (we think) and after touring the place and it's new inhabitants (her mother has sublet part of her house) we've decided that we really should become small-scale farmers ourselves! (If you could only see the color of the earth here! No rocks and brown soil to this particular Missourian looks to be heaven) We even talked about the possibility of refurbing a whole other section of the house and making an apartment for Eva and I if, in fact, I get legal status to live here after October and the two of us want a more sedentary location.
Once again, the wind seemed a bit fierce. Out of the wind, the sun was warm and the day beyond pleasant. After our small snack of berries and champagne, Eva and I set to trying out our 7 Euro bike-rack. We know now why it was 7 Euro. It's the same 40 dollar Wal-Mart version I have back in the states for my Metro. It's not that this version was faulty, it's because the directions were as good as rubbish. As I have the same exactly bike-rack with different clips, I knew how it was supposed to fit on the car, but the clips were a definite mystery. The diagram was useless. We could only imagine how many such racks exist in Belgium (since people here don't tend to return products once they've opened them) and then finally we figured it all out and are so impressed with the quality that we wish we had weeks of weekends at our disposal.
We grabbed one of the many bikes from Rita's garage, strapped it on, and took a tour around the neighborhood. The farmer that helped us put on the license plate was outside and waved a friendly wave and gave us a thumbs up. We returned to the house, removed the rack, replaced the bike, said our goodbyes, and hit the road. It was only mid-day.
Where should we go? We chose Geel. We snaked all over the countryside, we ended up going through any number of cities, Aarschot where we stopped to walk around the city and have coffee, Retie, Herselt, and Mol. Outside of Mol we ended up at Postel, a monastery from the 1600s where they brew their own beer. It's in the middle of nowhere and in the center of a nature reserve all decked out with bike-trails for as far as the eye can see. (oh yes, we'll return! with our tent and bikes!)
Just when I've almost decided that Belgian cities are located so close to each other that it's almost hard to tell one from the other, just when I've almost decided that there's not a nice scenic, rustig (rustic and calming) road in the whole of Flanders, we stumble upon our route today. What bliss!
Our car still may be radio-less, but Eva and I didn't seem to mind. Nothing could change the fact that we were moving at something just under the speed of light (relative to other vehicles) and tasting a bit of life I was once quite accustomed to and Eva had learned to appreciate in the States, a bit of the world neither of us had seen (new cities for Eva as well, not all of them, but at least Aarschot) and simply a bit of life we certainly had not experienced thus far together in Belgium.
In Postel we stopped for a bite to eat. Though our meals were common (spaghetti and lasagna) our time there was quite enjoyable. We ended with a parting coffee with slagroom (whipped cream) and snaked our way back to Antwerp, losing the green highway signs twice, passing dozens of packed frituurs, before ending back on the E34 and it's orange lights having barely burning and just turned on.
By the time we got back the orange lights were truly giving light instead of glowing and after circling twice, we parked the car, cleaned out the loose papers we had accumulated in the day, and walked home. I had to pick up my pace a bit due to a bought of minor (I think common-food induced) diarrhea and we settled in for a night of computer and reruns of Ter Zake while we tried on our 1.75 Euro massaging shoe insoles.
Yes, I must say it was a day of bliss. And as long as Debbie keeps running, I keep avoiding other traffic and obstacles while driving, and Eva has spare time in her weekends, I think many days of bliss will follow.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE REST OF THE WORLD WHILE WE WERE LIVING IN BLISS:
Brian Avery, 24, from Albuquerque, N.M, an American peace activist volunteering as a human shield in the West Bank, was seriously wounded on Saturday when Israeli troops allegedly opened fire on him.
AND:
A small bomb exploded in a McDonald's restaurant near Beirut Saturday, wounding five people and highlighting the rising anti-American sentiment in Lebanon due to the war in Iraq.
