November 2019 - Belgium & some more hikes

On the last day of October I boarded Flight DL0357 toward Brussels with a layover in Atlanta. I arrived in Brussels at 7.30AM on November the 1st where my parents picked me up. In the late afternoon that day I would surprise my oldest boy Hendrik, who I hadn't seen since July 21st and who would turn 17 on November the 4th!
But first I went to my parents' place where I was spoiled with some goodies from the bakery, because that is one of the things we do miss here in the States: good bread and pastries.

In the afternoon they brought me to Geert's mom's place, where Hendrik is staying during his time in Belgium. When I got there, he wasn't home yet, which was perfect for my surprise 'act' of course. I hid in the bedroom and waited there until he got home (the choice of room was well thought through 😆😴). Based on his reaction, I can assume he really had no idea I was coming!
That evening we had a small pre-birthday party together with the families of Geert's oldest brother and sister. Geert's youngest brother lives in the UK with his family, so he couldn't be there. The party was definitely the prelude to what was to come the rest of my week in Belgium! 😅
The next day I took Hendrik to Leuven for some shopping and much needed quality time! As from Sunday Hendrik would start his 'leefweek' with the Chiro, the youth movement where he goes to every Sunday afternoon. 'Leefweek' means that he would live at the Chiro for a whole week ... meaning he would not be home for the rest of the week! Talking about bad timing!! The plan was that we would meet up again for a breakfast on Wednesday as he didn't have classes then. That meant I had some time to catch up with friends and colleagues. The first one on my list was Katrien of course, one of my best friends with whom I go way back! What a fun evening (and night ... we stayed up until 6AM!) we had together with Bart, her partner.

The next on the list was my sister, Natalie. She was staying at a friend's house south of Brussels, and man o man, the trip to there was memorable! After my rough night with Katrien & Bart and only a few hours of sleep, I headed direction Brussels around 1PM with the car of Geert's mom which I could use throughout my stay. As there was an accident on the ring road around Brussels, my gps on my phone directed me to the centre of Brussels. For those who don't know Brussels, the traffic can be very hectic there, and with all the Sunday markets that were taking place, I was re-directed the whole time 😣! To make the situation even better, the battery of my phone was almost dead and the charger in the car didn't work!! So I quickly sent a message to my sister 'In the center of Brussels. Battery almost dead. Help!' because I would have no idea how to get to her friends house without my phone! Luckily I was still able to read and memorise her directions before my phone went dead. 😅
On top of that, I needed to go to the bathroom (nr 2!!😱) really urgent!
At some point I got so desperate that I just took the tram track to make a completely illegal U-turn to get me in the right direction ... toward a toilet, euh my sister. 😆
We spent the whole afternoon just at the kitchen table, catching up, and went for a delicious meal in restaurant 'De Smidse' in Alsemberg.
The next morning I got up really early since I needed to cross the ring road during the morning peak for a breakfast 'date' at 7.45AM @ 'skeyes' (my previous work place) with one of my favourite ex-colleagues. During that first 'meeting' I already achieved to lose my badge (skeyes is a secured work place where you need a badge to enter the different buildings) ... by this simple act I'm afraid that my reputation was re-established again. 😂 After breakfast I just went from office to office and had the best time catching up with everybody.
Each time I was back in Belgium for a visit, I've made a stop at skeyes, and I have to admit that thanks to the people (and the awesome food they serve in the cafeteria) it's always a pleasure, and it felt each time a bit like coming home.

That evening I had a dinner surprise party at Meulstee (the town where we lived before moving to Utah) with some of our friends there, but as if the lost badge wasn't yet enough to re-establish my reputation, I delayed my appearance at that party as I apparently didn't shut down the car lights when arriving that morning (there still are cars where that needs to be done manually!?! 😱) ... hence dead battery! At that moment I found out that the batteries of the new fancy cars are not really accessible and thus not able to get my car up and running again. And we tried everything, I can assure you!

Luckily my mother in law has a road assistance contract that I could turn to good account. But the battery of my phone was almost dead ... again! ... so I had to ask one of the nice gentlemen who were trying to help me out to stay with me, since the road assistance guy needed somebody he could contact upon arrival! 🤦🏼‍♀️
As a result, I arrived fashionably late at the dinner in Meulstee.

The next day I had dinner with Kim, one of my favourite (ex-)colleagues, and her family at her place.

Even the dog made me feel like I was part of the family 😍!

On Wednesday, my last day in Belgium, I picked up Hendrik at the club house of the youth movement where he was staying that week, and we went for a breakfast in Diest with just the 2 of us. After breakfast we strolled around in Diest, which went through a lot of changes since we left 3.5 years ago, where the weekly market was taking place. We finished our 'date' at a coffee place, where we met up with his girlfriend Klaudia. I already heard a lot about her of course, but it was the first time we met. It was definitely special to meet the first girlfriend of my boy! 😊
After a quick goodbye (I really don't like long goodbyes!!) I headed to Geert's mom because she would bring me to my parents’ place. That night I took them out for dinner as a belated birthday present for them (their birthday was in October).
The next morning we braved the horrible traffic (I think it even got worse than before we left ... as if that was even possible! 😱) towards Brussel for my morning flight back home. It was a very short, filled, but fun trip back home!
Once back home (my other home 😏), my regular life picked up again. Which meant some more activities with the spouses, hikes, dinners, ... the good life 'quoi' 😊.

'Bunco' and Book club with the American spouses

Sushi dinner with the galls

Coffee and 'Night out with the hubbies' with the international group

Hike to Flag rock and Patsy's mine with the Energy Club

I've done the hike to 'Flag Rock & Patsy's mine' already several times, but never with Geert. So a few days after I did it with the ladies, I dragged (it ís quite the workout!) my ass back up there with him 😅.

At the entrance of Patsy's mine

Exploring the mine

Another hike I did that month with Geert, is 'Malan's basin'. It's a 10 km 'hard' hike with 740m elevation gain, which will definitely kick your butt, but very much worth it!

Along the way you pass an evergreen forest, and you get nice views into the canyon. And at Malan's peak (which is more of an overlook than a peak) you're treated with a gorgeous view on the Ogden valley.

Beyond Malan's Peak, you'll descend into Malan's Basin where, from from 1894 until 1906, a two-story hotel, 7 cabins, a club house, and a sawmill once stood, built and run by the Malan family. The hotel was abandoned in 1906 and burned by vandals in 1913. There is little left now. Apparently there are some old metal parts, and an old boiler from the saw mill left, but they must be hidden really well because we couldn't find them!

Going down into Malan's basin, and the spot where the hotel used to be

The last hike I did that month with Geert was 'Wheeler Creek Trail' near Huntsville. We were not able to do the whole trail as part of it was closed. It's a pretty easy hike (I believe we did 10 of the 14,8 km) where you get a nice view on Snowbasin, our ski resort. It was kind of a worrying view, because the resort was planned to open a week later, and there was hardly any snow to be seen up there!

I think it must be a gorgeous hike in the fall!