Two capitals

One of the major bonuses of living in a tiny country like Belgium, smack in the middle of Europe, is the proximity to other countries. In the time it takes to drive from Wellington to Palmerston North or to sit on the train from Fukuoka to Kumamoto, I can arrive in cities as diverse as Paris, Amsterdam or London! So it goes without saying I do my utmost best to take advantage of this situation whenever I'm home :-). It's also good fortune that several of my foreign friends have recently moved to European capitals, giving me not only a free bed ;-) but a perfect excuse to pop over.

That's how I ended up along the canals of Amsterdam last week, reunited with my good New Zealand friend Corinne who was in the Netherlands for her cousin's wedding. It now appears that Corinne will be moving to London in January, so Vaughan & I will of course have to visit her there next summer!

Even bigger news came from Yong & Martijn, my two Dutch friends who met in New Zealand and want to immigrate there in a few years (hoorah!). Within ten minutes of our reunion Yong couldn't contain her excitement anymore and told me she's pregnant :-). This photo shows the first images of their baby, which they lovingly call 'Krieltje' (= 'small potato'). Those Dutch huh...

Yong & Martijn live in a lovely area just outside the Amsterdam city centre, but around the corner lies the hotbed of the Dutch maffia, complete with grandiose villas and the occasional mob killing!

The parents-to-be in het Vondelpark

On my return from Holland I staid over with my friend Torsten in Brussels, an altogether very different capital. While Amsterdam has a very tidy, neatly arranged and straightfoward feel, Brussels seems more nonchalant, chaotic and ornate. Amazing how two countries that were united until the 17th century and have a common language can be so different. Holland & Belgium really share very little characteristics, spending a few days there feels quite exotic!

On Thursday Ilse & I spent the day exploring Brussels and I got very excited about the prospect of moving there in the -near?- future. How typical...

'La Belgique Gourmande' is certainly not a lie, I believe my body has expanded substantially since my arrival here!