Oase Genk

... but it got a conversation started. They spoke excellent English and we talked about things from his house being repossessed, to my adventure, to her climbing (which was of note because she was in a wheelchair).
After 40 minutes or so I said goodbye and headed off as I needed to get back and make my bed before my room-mate went to bed if poss to avoid disturbing her. It was now about 830 and I decided I could take a few more photos on the ...

... to be similar to yesterday (when there was a persistent drizzle for much of the day) however when it started to get harder I thought it was settling in and with a fair breeze out there too I thought, "It'll take a miracle for meto get to Maastricht today."
Well if you were my mother then you will say that a miracle is exactly what I got (I just hope that this is coming around not going around if u catch my drift), moving the stuff out to the bike there was ...

... I spent the afternoon wandering along the foreshore and the marina, admiring not only the ridiculously expensive yachts moored there, but also the Mercedes, BMWs, Bentleys, Jaguars and Aston Martins of the people who owned them. Each evening involved lively, entertaining discussion with Uncle Peter about the state of the world, which I always love. Saturday was a quiet day - we went out to lunch close by then had a quiet afternoon. And on Sunday I taught both Aunty Joyce and Uncle ...

... of course), and a pillow for 107 Euro. About as good a deal as I could get!

I was thinking about trying to get the mattress on the bus, because I couldn't get ahold of Nil on her cell phone, but then luckily I reached her at home. She immediately came to the mattress store and helped me load the purchases in the car. I thanked her up and down, needless to say. She then had to go to a meeting so I took the bus home. I sat next to this ...

... so it won't cost so much to get there. I am focusing on having enough money for food, electricity, rent, and a mattress, and Oktoberfest isn't really high up on the list of priorities right now. I will be so excited and relieved when I get everything settled and can really focus on integrating myself and learning German!!

Also I am concerned with the safety at the Oktoberfest.. with hundreds of thousands of people grouped in a ...

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 ...

Once in Elsloo, we stopped to find postcards (having completely missed the observations again), only to find that the only card shop was closed that afternoon.

Up the road a bit, and Kieran was dropping a card into the door of a Landy enthusiast they had met on the recce. The guy turned up at that moment, and so we were invited in for a refreshing cold drink. The Landyprikkers overtook us at that point, and went on their way. We then ...

... with them while there. Really the atypical belgian but their interests towards the other and the will to help! I greatly appreciate the few times I passed there afterwards. When Mieke arrived we were going to have dinner at her parents and so did we, in a squarely cold way... but well, I didnt feel uncomfortable extremely long as I had the impression that there is nothing anymore that you can do to make ...

(Originally published at http://www.troysgonewalkabout.com)
< br>The slight morning drizzle did not hamper us from exploring the centre of Maastricht, and it felt nice to be amongst the local goings-on in the busy market square. But, although we were enjoying being in the midst of life on the other side of the world from where we were born and raised, Amber and I soon got a surprise reminder of home. In a park on ...

Dit is de start van een nieuw leven! Een jaar lang weg uit de omgeving die voor mij gedurende 18 jaar zo bekend is geworden. Die bekende omgeving ga ik nu verlaten en ga nieuwe horizonten opzoeken. Spannend? Eng? Ik denk een beetje van beiden. Maar dat wil niet zeggen dat ik het niet meer zie zitten.

De laatste dagen zijn hier wel wat vreemd geweest, de dag komt ook zo dichtbij. Afscheidsfeestje is geweest voor vrienden en familie. Want ik ga ...