Jo braves the dangerous part of the Cologne train station.
Germany: consistent with stereotype
Variants of my name in German
Indeed, dachshunds are German.
Weiner dogs, and then just plain weiners. Still in the Cologne train station.
The megachurches of yesteryear. Still Cologne.
And.... Belgium!
"Brooklyn, c'est pas loin!" --some Francophone Belgians in upscale seaside town Knokke. After having made the journey, Jo and I could attest that Brooklyn was indeed rather far.
I adjusted my sweater for the occasion.
'While abroad, did you come into contact with any livestock?'-U.S. Customs form, paraphrased
Brussels
Also Brussels
Did someone have a little too much fun at the Ghent FNAC?
Ghent dhucks
Evidence a) that I seek out warme wafels, and b) that I was the shortest person in Flanders. The woman in front of me is, I believe, the average height of a Flemish woman.
Brooklyn is apparently a chain store.
Jo looking dashing in Ghent.
This is what a mall looks like in Antwerp. Believe it or not, this building contains an Urban Outfitters.
Free samples of brown-sugar-topped rice pudding. I'm moving to Antwerp.
Nom nom nom! Also, the rice pudding sample was just after the cheese sample...
...and just before the chocolate-covered strawberry sample! Exchange rate, be damned.
Hand in hand.
Apparently what looks like a chocolate croissant in the picture is actually a sausage wrapped in dough. Now that would be disappointing.
Jo's mother and I explore a castle after some snacks.
Low birthrates be damned.
Chez Fred, Kloosterstraat, Antwerp.
Antwerp art museum: bring your labrador!
Not quite Oren's.
Oh yes, and then the Americans came to liberate Tienen. Of all the parts of World War II, I'm glad this was the one the town chose to reenact during my stay.
?
Note the child on the left.
On a rare trip to Wallonia. Jo's mother and I examine shoooooeeeees in Liege.
OMG actual Liege waffles. Better than I'd even imagined. I'm assuming the building behind us was build in honor of this treat.
Of the three of us, it was clear who was the American. (hint: behind the camera)
Jo shows his ambivalence at having crossed the language border.
And... Germany! Because it costs a lot less to fly to Cologne than to Brussels. But also because Cologne is not that bad, actually.
If I ever decide to run for office in the States as a populist, this photo will be held against me.
Like in a guide book! Too bad the coffee in Cologne was uniformly undrinkable, with the exception of Starbucks.
Soon enough, we learned that coffee was the wrong approach.
This is in fact a tiny beer. Although that's clearer when a more Northern-European-looking person is holding one.
Cannibalism! Sausages eating sausages! Five euro cents go to anyone brave enough to try a "Mexikanische" at this Cologne butcher shop.
Honestly, the fashion in Cologne was quite excellent, everything from Nolita-esque side streets to the H&M-Esprit-Zara trifecta. But this simply had to be documented.
A "concept store" on what seems to have been the posh street in Cologne.
Note my new three-euro skirt. Not from the concept store, but from Cologne!
Jo seems to be enjoying himself.
Authentic German food, or doing a very good imitation. My beef goulash (basically Belgian beef stew) with some kind of fried spaetzles was most excellent.
