October 4, 2022
By train to Belgium
An early start again to catch the Eurostar back to Brussels. There were a lot more people this time but once again we were through customs with plenty of time to spare. We took our seats in the priority seating area for the long wait, but this time nobody came to get us and we ended up being the last on board. That was fine with us. The journey passed uneventfully except for Kevin making friends with the man sitting across the aisle, who remarked on what a quiet, well behaved baby he is.
There was almost high drama at Brussels station when we very nearly boarded the wrong train. In fact we came perilously close to a situation where the train left with Dea and Kevin on board and me left behind on the platform. But luckily Dea got off the train at the right moment and we realized it must be the wrong train just in time. Which saved us a bit of stress but denied us a good story. Ten minutes later and the right train arrived.
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We boarded the right train and immediately had another emergency on our hands - with Kevin’s nappy overflowing I searched the whole train for a toilet with nappy changing facilities and found none. The Belgian train service leaves a lot to be desired. So we just had to change him on the seats and thank goodness there weren’t many people on this train. With Dea taking charge of the nappy I kept Kevin from screaming by doing a silly dance for him, something which almost always works. This time as I was doing it the carriage doors opened and a man began to walk in, noticed me over the top of the seats without being able to see Kevin, and did a swift u-turn to avoid the weirdo dancing in the carriage by himself.
The rest of the journey was uneventful and we arrived back where our train adventure had begun, Turnhout station. We had a two kilometre walk from there back to Ludo’s house, a walk that was improved by the weather. It felt like it was still summer here on the continent. But by now we were tired of carrying our heavy bags and our heavy baby, and we were looking forward to get back to our bikes.
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It was yesterday afternoon that we arrived and we have now spent a rest day here with Ludo, ostensibly so we could buy some food and get our things organized before cycling again, but in reality I spent most of my time doing this puzzle:
It might look easy but it took forever to find that solution, so I recommend you save that photo in case you’re ever in the situation of trying to solve this puzzle yourself.
Anyway, we’ve had a nice time with Ludo, got to meet his son and his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter, eaten some nice food, completed a puzzle, I’ve bought some new shoes and boiled some eggs, and tomorrow we will get back on our bikes and pedal once more.
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