Travel, Belgian beer, etcetera

Update Two (written by Paul, edited by Kathy)

Well, we’ve been in Europe for officially one month. Only 5 more to go…
This letter is the second update of our personal travels that I am sending
you. Please write back and let us know what is new with you because we
love to get news and letters from home.

Kathy and I are finally acclimating and recovering. The first month was
quite difficult, but things are looking up. We met our doctor and saw St.
Luc, the hospital where our child will be delivered. It is only 20 minutes
away and very nice, and Dr. Hubinont is great. Less than 4 weeks to go!
Kathy is counting the hours, though. Only 720 to go! Pregnancy is not the
most comfortable experience in the world, but we are sure that the end
result will make it all worthwhile (at least I am sure- Kathy is still
debating this). During our last ultrasound, we learned that we are having
a boy. He appears to be healthy and normal. The Besser name will live on!

If anyone can figure out a convenient package, please send us some
California sunshine! We need it! We would even accept East Coast sunshine!
It has been a wet spring in Europe, which is probably normal, but we still
miss the bright sunshine of our home. If we want rain, we’ll just fly to
Oregon for the weekend, dammit! The rains and somewhat warm weather (60’s,
oh boy!) have facilitated greenery on most trees and hillsides. Belgium
has beautiful forests and rolling hills. It is hard to plan events outside
with the weather, though. Spot showers are common every day. But I am
still trying to get some biking in.

I have gone biking a couple of times. There is not much of a shoulder to
ride on around here. I rode with one guy at lunch. He works at IMEC, too.
He likes to go fast, …real fast. No warm-up needed for this guy! No,
let’s just ride as fast as possible for one hour. At least he showed me
one of the bike trails in the area. As there are no hills, I could hang
with him. He was only fast for the first 1/2 hour, so I assume he was just
“seeing what I had”! He must have mistakenly thought I was Canadian or
something. I also did some riding while we were in France last weekend,
but I am really looking forward to some warmer (and dryer) weather to get
more biking in. The days are really long here – it is light until at least
10pm already. We have found that we are adjusting our day to go to bed
later at night, because it is difficult to go to sleep when it is still
light.

Kathy and I are still coping with our sorrow over Reilly. But we are
improving. I am not sure we will ever get over it – he was such a great
dog and just an awesome soul. We have progressed though, and our periods
of despair are reducing in frequency. Irritability is commonplace, but it
is only a mask for what is really on our minds, and we are both quite
aware of this and talk about it all the time. We have taken to spending as
little time as possible at home – it is just too quiet. So if you cannot
reach us by phone that is why.

We are considering picking up an answering machine. We thought about
picking up a used TV, too, but it is a lot of money for the tube, then you
HAVE to buy cable to get more than 2 stations (neither in English) and you
HAVE to pay tax on the tube – $200 a year! So we listen to a lot of music
and go for walks every night and read. We did have one dinner party, which
was fun. We invited Marion (she found our house for us) and her husband
for dinner, along with two other friends and served a bottle of California
wine. It was well received by the guests. Dinners seem to last a long time
in Europe. We started at 7pm and finished dessert at 11. However, it is
very relaxing. Another way to keep busy has been to host visitors. Our
friend, Rachel, came to visit last week while I was in the U.S., and Dave
(brother) and Dave (friend) are here this week. Kathy took Rachel to some
section of Belgium near France and checked out some castles. It is nice to
have guests, so plan your trip now!

We are finally done dealing with the Belgian bureaucracy for a little
while, as Kathy and I now have residence permits. It was such a pain in
the ass. In fact, I even had to fly back to the U.S. to get my visa, so
that the visa could be stamped by Customs as I entered the country. I flew
back for only three days – one day in California to discuss the impact of
the re-organization of AMD’s development group with my new manager, new
director, and VP (all of whom were tremendously supportive, as supportive
as they could be – it is difficult to get such news while you are >5000
miles from AMD), and 1.5 days in Los Angeles to get my visa straightened
out, plus at least 1.5 days flying to and from the U.S.A. (BTW- the
service and food are much better on British Air than American, although
American did serve Caymus, a wine I cannot afford very often).

My theory is that no government pays state workers very much money, so
intelligent people don’t work for the government. Most of the ones here in
Belgium are pretty clueless, except the last guy who helped us. The
government also wants to charge me $1,000 in taxes because I brought a
computer into the country. AMD shipped it to me after I got here, and
Customs held it up saying I owed taxes. IMEC called and said it was
personal property, but it did not matter – it had an AMD barcode. I told
them to send the damn computer back to AMD if they had a problem. The
laptop arrived shortly thereafter. I think that if they had really wanted
their money, they should have held the laptop ransom until I paid.

Work

It was ugly for the first three weeks, but now things are really
improving. I got here and three out of four tools I needed were down. I am
delayed at least three weeks, possibly four. Hmmm, a one-month delay in a
5-month assignment. I had better send some really good chocolates to my
management…

Travel

This is the section you all want to read. Where have we been, you ask?
Well, last time we left you, we had been to Amsterdam, Brugge,
Kaiserslautern and Antwerpen. Add to your list Waterloo, the French
countryside, the Loire Valley of France, and Brussels. It was a slow three
weeks, mostly ’cause I blew a 4-day holiday weekend to travel back to the
U.S. for the visa snafu. The Loire Valley in France was the best. Last
weekend was another 4-day weekend because of yet another Belgian holiday.
The drive is long (550 km), but worth it. Kathy found a very charming B&B
for us to stay in while there, and our room was the pick of the manor. The
entire room was decorated in white and beige with just a few pieces of
antique furniture as accents. The bed had a partial canopy (sort of a
sheer bronze silk) that came out from the slightly vaulted ceiling and
provided a central focal point for the room. The antique Venetian mirrors
(nope, not on the ceiling) were stunning and the Louis XV armoire (real!)
was just incredible. And best of all for us was the profusion of
monogrammed linens (with “B” for Binet, the proprietors, or Besser as we
liked to think of it) on the bed, chairs and sofa. The bathroom was very
modern with white ceramic tile and a corner tub and shower – everything
accented with a few items in a golden yellow color. The overall effect was
both luxurious and comfortable. The rest of the house was beautifully
decorated as well – pale golden walls and more incredible antiques. They
had even turned an antique infant’s bed into a window-side settee. We had
dinner at the Inn twice during our stay – Monique Binet is justifiably
famous for her gourmet cuisine and we enjoyed the locally grown
vegetables, fresh lamb and pork, as well as the delicious desserts.

We went to a local restaurant one night and regretted it because
everything on the (limited) menu was very heavily sauced. Kathy can’t
stomach creamy foods these days and classic French cuisine seems to rely
heavily on sauces to disguise the poorer quality of the beef, chicken,
etc. Next time we go, we are dining exclusively at La Paqueraie. We
visited several chateaux (in between the rain showers) and especially
enjoyed the formal gardens and beautifully appointed furnishings in many
of the castles, particularly at Chenonceau and Villandry. The Binets have
asked us to return after the baby is born and we are thinking about going
back in September when the weather is more stable.

The weather was the only downside of the weekend. The people we met were
nice, we got to speak lots of French, the B&B had a big lovable puppy, and
all the chateaux were beautiful. It was funny at dinner when we were
talking about the baby… they asked if we had a name, and I said August.
And they were all excited that we had named the child Augooost! They just
shouted Augooost in unison! The French crack me up. I’ve decided that my
favorite word in French is “Voila!” They say it all the time, and I just
love it. They put your dinner in front of you, “Voila”. Like it just
appeared out of thin air and they are taking credit for it! They give you
your change after paying for something, Voila! Walk into a meeting late,
Voila! (I have arrived!). Pass the bread to you at dinner,
Voila!

I don’t know why, but I love it.

We have started to explore Brussels more. There are some beautiful
sections to the city. The forest section is nice, with some very large
houses. The International School of Brussels put on a garage (junk) sale,
and we checked out the stuff, picked up some bagels and a couple of used
paperbacks. We checked out an open-air market, too, and picked up a
quiche, some cheese, some salami, and lots of fresh, cheap veggies. We
also went to a mall and I got a haircut. Hairstylists treat you nicely
here. They cut my hair in kind of a standard way, but “Natalie” was very
talented. I showed her a picture of me with a haircut that I liked, and
she reproduced it, only better. She used a combination of scissors, shears
and a straight-edge razor blade. Then, she asks you if you want a Coke or
a coffee. OK, I’ll play, make it a Coke. She brought it and wrapped my
face in a lemon-scented, moist, hot towel and massaged my
face…OOOOOHHHWWWEEEE. This is service!!

On other fronts, Dave (brother) and Dave (friend) arrived this week from
the States and took off for Amsterdam this morning (Red light district,
don’t you know it!) and they depart for Paris tomorrow night (culture,
they say). They return on Friday evening and we are heading to the Black
Forest region of Germany on Saturday morning. We’ll be staying at a
beautiful hotel that is either a former castle or home of a minor noble.
(It looks a lot like a castle though – it is pale yellow and is perched
above the trees on the side of a mountain). We’ll stay there until Monday
morning and have planned a visit to the town of Baden-Baden, famous for
its natural mineral springs and spas. I think D&D will need to recover
after the debauchery of Amsterdam and the rich food of France. I’m just
looking forward to mountain biking and Kathy to a massage or facial. Dave
& Dave plan to head to Prague on Monday and we’ll return here since I have
to go back to work on Tuesday (Monday is yet another Belgian holiday – the
5th day off since we’ve been here).

Food

Belgian food is funny. It is sort of like food anywhere else; at least it
starts out that way. They are just more adventurous – serving more game
than other places. Then, the Belgians do something amazing. They overcook
everything, and then put a sauce on it! The sauce is usually quite rich.
And the amazing thing is that every restaurant serves identical dishes. So
we have taken to eating at home a lot. When we do eat out, we eat dinner
early to avoid the crowd. Seinfeld has an opinion about this I am sure,
but the advantage is that by avoiding the crowd, you avoid the cigarette
smoke that comes with the crowd. Two things the Belgians do very well are
chocolate and beer. The chocolate is incredible. Even the cookies you get
in the store rule, man! For a buck, you get a box of cookies that are
loaded with dark chocolate.

Beer/Wine

This is a huge dilemma, and the jury is still out. The wine is cheap. We
found this bottle for less than $5 that we use as a table wine (Chateau Rasteau,
the name even has a good ring); we even served it at our one dinner party.
It is equivalent to most $15 California wines (sorry no comparison to
Oregon wines). Add to this the fact that the Belgian’s make, hands-down,
some of the best beers I have ever had! They kick Germany’s ass! I think
the key is the extra alcohol. I prefer the Trippel’s which can have up to
10% alcohol. Not only do they have a good kick, but they have a better
flavor. So, here is the dilemma. Good beer or good wine with dinner? To
make matters worse (or better), beer and wine are cheaper than water in
most restaurants!!! Talk about making the choice easy for you!

Movies

We have taken to watching more movies than we did in the past. Reason:
they are in English. If you get adventurous and want to learn more French
or Dutch, there are always subtitles. We went to see “The English Patient”
which was a really good movie; however, in retrospect it probably would
have been better for Kathy and me not to have seen a movie with so many
people dealing with death…but it was a good movie. We also saw Ransom
and 101 spotty dogs. If anyone has seen a particularly good movie at the
theaters, please let us know, because I am sure it will be here six months
later.

Drugs

Well, to change the subject… We went to Amsterdam for the day. We found
a neat place, too. This place, the Blue Bird, actually has a catalog of
“grass” and “hash” (one catalog of each) with a description of the stuff,
and a sample “bag” of what you actually get. There must have been 25
varieties of each in each catalog. This just blew me away! Of course, we
were just investigating so that we knew where to take people when they
visit! That is all for now. A bientot!