Ch. 7 Belgium Christmas and New Year!! part 1

Hello Everyone,


Its been a long time again since i have posted up here and for that i am sorry. I do have lots to tell you, almost too much to fit into a chapter. I guess the holidays wear you out. I seem to still be tired from them.. I did have an amazing time though. Better then I ever could have expected and far and away a much needed break from Japan. There are few things I can remember about the first weeks of December besides longing for them to be over so I could see Dorinne again. I was finally mobile again without the reliance of crutches or a big brace and it couldn't have come at a better time. It was such a relief and I celebrated by devoting all my time to preparing for my first Belgian Christmas!





I ended up packing the night before the flight as I typically tend to do but i soon realized that leaving a house load of stuff behind was a much bigger task then I had thought. By the time I finished cleaning and searching for my clothes it was nearly three and my biggest suit case was completely full. I couldn't sleep at that point so I caught the first train to the airport. Wired on my excitement and anxious nerves to get there; I spent he better part of half a day in the super complex known as Narita airport(seriously its a mall, supermarket, train station...). I was all set for my 14 hours of flying to be over and be in Dorinne's arms again. Unfortunately starting the day early in anticipation for my trip did not help me. I soon discovered, mid-flight, that Brussels Airport had closed down. There was a Blizzard and heavy snow falling all day and it was just my luck the airport stopped accepting flights after 7 that night (I was on the runway ready to go). So I was stuck in Rome. The worst part was Dorinne was stuck waiting for me in Brussels. There are no trains after 11 so I thought she would spend the night in the airport. We had booked a hotel near the airport however and she luckily got a ride there by a nice traveler. I was supposed to just spend an hour in transit there but the gods would not have it and i was put up in an Airport hotel with the hundreds of other stranded passengers (there were snow storms hitting all of northern Europe). Of course by the time i got checked in and had dinner it was almost 1 am!! So i just made it to my room before passing into soundless sleep.
The next day i got on what was supposed to be the early flight but it finally left after nine. This time I was pretty sure i was going to make it but I was still worried they might cancel the flight at the last minute again. I made it to Belgium though and entered into a true winter season. Luckily Dorinne brought a winter jacket for me because I was definitely unprepared. The funny thing was that as we made it east on the train the snow started to gradually disappear, and in Genk where Dorinne lives there wasn't any snow at all. It was great to be back in Europe! We snuck into a cozy cafe by the train station and had tea and hot coco to warm up. I was excited to be celebrating the holiday here and the sights and sounds of Christmas were all around me.
That night Dorinne and I had planned a small welcoming party for me. I brought some food from Japan and we started making Sushi. It turned out pretty good. I met a lot of Dorinnes friends and saw others again. Even though the Sushi wasn't a big hit with everyone it was a fun night! Jet lag soon hit me though and I missed most of the party.
The next few days were busy. Dorinne and I went shopping and relaxed around Genk. On Sunday we had brunch with her parents and brother and his girlfriend (the first of many champagne gatherings). It was a nice place over looking the town plaza. We had quite the view too because it started snowing that morning and everything was covered in white. It was nice to see the big flakes again, gently floating down from above. Afterwards we went to the apartment of a friend of Dorinne's Dad. It was on the top floor and we went for the view but you couldn't see a thing with the heavy snow falling. It was a great day! Later Dorinne and I went for a walk in the park behind her house. It was unbelievably warm with the fresh fallen snow.
The next day Dorinne and I went to her university town of Maastricht, Holland. We were supposed to meet some of her school friends but they ended up backing out. So we just had a nice lunch and saw some of the city by going up in the Ferris wheel. It was so nice just to explore the city together and finish up some Christmas shopping.
The next day was xmas eve and since i really wanted to see a real Christmas market we decided to go to Aachen, Germany. It was only a couple hours drive and I was excited to see Germany for the first time. It is also the place where Charles the Great is said to have died and been buried in the main church. In this giant cathedral there is also one of the oldest thrones in Europe. Unfortunately when we arrived in Aachen we found out that Christmas is a two day holiday there and nothing was open. It was almost like a ghost town. We headed back disappointed. On the way we decided to stop in Liege another ancient city, this time in Belgium, and I finally got to see a Christmas market. Everyone was tired at this point though as we were running late to Christmas eve dinner!! When we got home we barely had time to change clothes before we were at the dinner table with more Champagne. Dorinnes family usually opens Christmas presents at this time but one of her dads friends had finagled his way into the picture. It ended up being a long night but the food was good!
The next day was Christmas and once again everyone was busy preparing for the big dinner. Dorinne and I had to go out on errands, buy flowers for grandma, pick up other grandma, etc.. We finally made it back by lunch time just in time for the relatives to start visiting. It was little bit over my head what was all happening but I was glad to finally meet Dorinnes cousins, whom she grew up with and is really close to. Finally after eating way too much again we started opening presents. It was nice to finally be done with the holidays (or so we thought). We rested the rest of the night and most of the next day. Though it was nice to just enjoy the slow relaxing day, we were egar for the next few days because we were heading to Amsterdam!! This time not only to see the sights but also to have a Nicaragua reunion!

I will have to delve into more later as i am at work and very busy this week.
Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you had a great holiday.
Check out my pictures on flikr!!!