Eden Hotel Antwerp

... UK!<br><br>Brussels airport is emptier than I have ever seen it in my life. There are no more than 10 flights for the rest of the day. Eric and I are alone in the airport lounge, save for a couple of elderly people and their miniature poodle, which is snacking on a croissant. <br><br>We are waiting for our flight - it is delayed by half an hour as I write this. That's just fine, in fact, it can be delayed until ...

... a nice day and I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to share this with me. Gyongyi then picked me up at the airport which is where the train returned to and we went to the shopping center in Hoofddorp to pick up some last minute items. We then went back to her house so I could begin packing and get ready for my trip home. My plane leaves tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

... painter, many elaborate wood carvings, and of course gobs of stained glass windows. And somehow, I don't know how in gods name this happened, but the most breath taking cathedral in northern Europe has a freaking rooster weather vane at the top of the tower. I included a picture of this. I'm fairly sure the many architects and designers did not decide crown their masterpiece with a damn golden rooster. Whatever, I just that that ...

... a suit and tie. Have a trip to Prague coming up for some magazine article assignment and am currently finishing up a big "Places to Go" piece for a Baby Boomer website. So, on that note, back to work...right after I get another cup of coffee. Enjoy the pictures. Better yet, come over here and take some of your own. There's a cold beer(s) waiting for you in the fridge. Visit Klenske, Ink.

... night Alain (2B), Sven (3B), Kenny (P), Helga, and two other girls (forgot their names) took me out to the city of Antwerp. We went to a fair that is going on in downtown Antwerp. We rode some rides and I had a Pita. Which is stringed Pork BBQ that is cooked in these awesome spices all thrown into a folded peice of pita bread.....best thing I've ever tasted! Then we went to a small bar near by and tried out some new beers ...

... workout. After the workout I headed home, extremely tired and the last thing I wanted to do was sit on public transport for 90 minutes. This is however the BEST rowing club in the area where the Belgian HW and HM national team singles train, so it is worth the hike! I am heading there again next Sunday. Hopefully we will be able to get on the water. I will either be in a pair....or a single...dun dun dun. I better learn what port and starboard are in dutch!

This will be my last entry for a while, as I'm on an early flight to Moscow in the morning, then hopping on the Trans-Siberian Railway, traveling to Beijing via Mongolia. It's gonna be a crazy trip! It's a 7,621 kilometer (or 4,735 mile) trip, so I'm sure it'll be an amazing experience. Here's some more information about the Trans-Siberian if you're interested: http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.ht m#Route%20map That's it for now - Vaya con Dios mis amigos, Kenny

Antwerp was different to Gent and Brugge and I like it, but I don't think I would choose to live there. Antwerp is much windier and colder than the other places in Belgium that I have been to. When I went there, I left Brugge with a t-shirt, because it was warm enough, but I was bitterly cold the whole day and I spent most of my time there trying to find a nice bar to escape the cold. It is really interesting and unbelievable how different the people consider ...

... introduction to Taoism. The Quiet American, Graham Greene. Story with Saigon during the French Vietnamese War as background. I wasn't impressed by the recent movie of the same name; the book isn't a masterpiece either but there are some interesting dialogues about relationships between foreigners and Vietnamese, and it shows how Americans, French and Vietnamese thought of each other at the end of the colonial era. The Acid House, Irvine Welsh. Collection of short ...

... great and asked how he had heard about them. He told me that he talked to some people on beer chatrooms or something like that. While we had a great time, it made me laugh - both Oude Arsenaal and Kulminator were in Lonely Planet. After breakfast, we headed to see the Central Station where Chris was meeting some French guy there to sell him a watch - as I said before, Chris is a rare watch collector/dealer. With the combination of a major language barrier and having to deal in ...