Dorint Spa Balmoral 4

I left the hostel and got the bike, riding it unloaded was weird. I headed back to the narrow shopping streets which were busy with shoppers and had a generally friendly feel to them. Returning to the tourist information I was directed to the station and a bikeshop that is open til midnight (this is because bike shops are often merged with manned bikeparks where commuters can store their bikes during the day). My sister in Law Kirsten had also ...

... plan to get a front rack in town (for the bike that is) and needed to stash my stuff. I did what I should have done in Eindhoven and asked someone for the tourist info rather than an internet cafe, the TI directed me to another Stayokay hostel on the bank of the Maas river (Stayokay is a Dutch hostel chain, other than Strowis all my hostel stays have been in them and they are pretty good although they dont let you cook your own food). This one was the most expensive ...

During our stay in Spa we had the most scary, horrible, unpleasant experience ever in a restaurant.

The restaurant to avoid is "Le Bouchon Gourmand", the owner does not hesitate to insult customers, lock them into the restaurant if there is a dispute on the bill, and claim more money than is due.

See more on www.bouchon-gourmand.blogspot.com

... bad, but considering everything I did today, it was a long day.

Coming up the stairs I met our neighbor lady, Rosvitta. She is a talker, but very nice. She's the lady that cooked that traditional German dinner a couple weeks ago. I told her all about my day, and she was happy for me and kept telling me how my time here is just going to fly. She also said that if I ever get homesick I can always come back here to my family. That was ...

... use my fingers to eat wings, but other than that, very delicious.

Tomorrow I have to:

1. get up and go get my apartment looked at by the rental agency to make sure of the apartment's condition so they can ensure that the room is returned in the same condition
2. go to the electric company and sign up so I can have power at my new place
3. go to the bank and finalize my damage ...

After popping into and out of Germany, we were now back in Belgium. It was beginning to get a bit dark, and we still had at least 200 miles left to drive.

Gaz's motor was struggling, and threatening to overheat, so we stopped to let it cool down.

With the vehicles all decorated with stickers, we attracted a bit of attention, and a Belgian couple took our ...

... hope its free to get in! haha

Just fixed a pizza for dinner and watched Nil make a "birthday cake" for her friend. It was nothing like we would consider a birthday cake; it had mandaran oranges and crust and was all creamy. It looked delicious, nonetheless. I hope they bring a piece back for me!

Well gonna get ready for the church outing. Hope everything is going well for everyone back in the states!

We started the day with yet another breakfast of brochens, meats, cheeses, and fresh fruit, a typical European breakfast. I was overjoyed when I was offered a helping of eggs or a boiled egg to break the monotony. Don't get me wrong, the breakfasts have been great, but let’s face it…the same thing every morning for 4 weeks gets tiring.

After breakfast we loaded up the bikes but ...

... to eat. Unfortunately no one was serving any food. No one was polite in telling this and no one was prepared to offer any kind of customer care what-so-ever. Course this led to a "Stephen is tired and hungry" moment that alerted many to the facts that: 1 Belgium is a hillbilly country populated by rednecks 2 Too much sun is never a good thing 3 I have no control over my temper when I am hungry 4 All french people are rude and hateful Peter let me get over ...

... small cursory road sign confirmed we had crossed into Belgium. It was an absolute pleasure to ride along the flat bike lanes attached to each and every road, a far cry from the stress and angst of riding alongside vehicle traffic in Australia, and we kept going for a good 25km or so to the town of Genk.

Genk itself was a fairly non-descript place, but when in a local supermarket we were each able to ...