The first two days

The flight was quite pleasant.
The lay back chairs with footrest were almost as comfy as a bed and I surely used the back massage a lot.
Maarten even slept for a couple of hours but his persistent coughing made not only myself uncomfortable.
I only wish there are direct flights between San Francisco and Brussels.

The Frankfurt Airport was the first downer after landing on the Old Continent. Was it really so dirty or am I already that spoiled from spending last years in the Teletubbie like Tri-Valley Area?

The traffic between Brussels and Ghent was pretty bad and it was really pouring but we safely arrived to our temporary home. We were short on Euro cash for the taxi and the driver of course didn't accept any cards (something we have to get accustomed to again). I was really surprised when he agreed on a lower price (meaning all cash we had) for the taxi fare.
According to many expats the Belgians are friendlier than the Dutch. Was this the case or was he asking too much at first?


Our next-month-home was also a nice surprise. There are some fine hotels in Ghent but we had a preference for a furnished apartment. I believe, one week living in a hotel with Maarten was already enough.
I like a lot this little newly redone loft apartment in the downtown. Only too bad that they forgot to connect the water supply to the washer and dishwasher.