Bye, Bye Bruges

We awoke to another day of rain. Steve hypothesized that it was raining because Belgium is not a German-speaking country. True, we did have beautiful weather in Germany and Austria. When he reminds me that we are about the same latitude as Canada, the cool rainy weather makes perfect sense.

Still, we donned our ponchos and headed to the east part of town. Saw the four windmills left over from the early times of milling grain. Very cool. We walked along the canal and saw a guy driving a very well-kept 60s red Ford Mustang. We couldn't help but smile and throw up horns and the "hang loose" sign. He enjoyed our international auto admiration. I suggested that he should have brought the flame-job Suburban here. We laughed, as the streets are barely wide enough for 3 bicycles.

Man, can these people smoke. Everybody smokes!!! Apparently they haven't gotten the memo that it's bad for you. In Berlin, a law is going into effect in July that you can't smoke in restaurants. I bet similar things will happen elsewhere in central Europe. Big smokers in Paris, too. Steve pointed out that its strange to see people smoking while riding a bicycle, since in the US most people ride for their health.

I did some Belgian drug store shopping. This is always fun, to try to figure out what is soap and what is lotion. Steve remembers fondly the time in Amsterdam where, for a stuffed nose, he bought "retard capsules."

So are fries French or Belgian? We still are unsure. Is onion soup with bread and cheese French or Flemish? Some people here claim it. These countries still seem to be at war over some things.

Might not post again, as our houseboat in Amsterdam is unlikely to have internet. In any case, we'll see most of you soon!