How Expensive Are Things Over Here?

Today I got the oil changed in my Mazda RX-8 at a Belgian garage. I provided the factory oil filter and I provided all the motor oil. They replaced a tiny gasket and changed the oil. The cost? $96.

Spring Comes to Belgium

Even two weeks ago, when these pictures were taken near the Meuse River about 50 miles southeast of here, spring had definitely begun to spring. Amazingly, in the 14 days since these pictures were shot, the sun has shone every single day, with temperatures nearing 80 on several days. Around here they are talking about a drought. In most places, they'd simply be calling it a typical April. In any case, there's no denying that Belgium can be a beautiful place, if the sun shines and it's a bit warm. In other words, normally about a week a year. But evidently we are being blessed in 2011 and you'll hear no complaints from this side!

What Not to Do This Summer

Been planning that dream vacation to Europe this summer? Going to grab a rental car and see every sight from Berlin to Paris to Florence? You might want to rethink the plans, thanks to gas prices and the current exchange rate. While rising gas prices will surprise no one, you'll have to agree it's all relative. Thanks to the worst dollar/Euro exchange rate in well over a year, plus typically outrageous fuel prices all over the continent here, one gallon of regular gas most anywhere in central Europe will now cost you...drum roll please... just over $9 !! Maybe next year.

Norman Bates: Alive and Well... in Bavaria

Interesting street sign in Oberammergau, in Bavaria. First of all, "Ferien" means vacation. And "Wohnung" means apartment. So, as you can guess, in this little tourist village the sign is telling you there is an apartment nearby for rent. So far, so good.
It's the next line that's a bit discomforting. I guess if you're an optimist, you'd say that this is a killer place to stay. If you're a bit more easily frightened, you might wonder if Norman Bates has pulled up stakes and is now renting rooms to unwitting travelers in southern Germany...

Mid-Flight Musings

Just flew on Lufthansa from Munich to Brussels and continue to be amazed with the German airline. On this very brief flight (barely an hour), they still find time to feed you a snack and free drink (including beer or wine). In the Munich airport there is all-you-can-drink free coffee and a half-dozen kinds of tea. As well as over 10 English and German newspapers, all there for you without charge. Where have we gone wrong in America?
In the tiny john there was an interesting sign, in effect telling you not to throw newspapers, spoons, or bottles down the toilet. Newspapers? Harry Houdini couldn't get a Times down that downspout. As for spoons and bottles, I guess it's time to come clean: on those long flights where a full meal is served, I've often sneaked my "dinner" tray and drink into the john, always finding the dining arrangements there so much more cozy and intimate. But what to do with the silverware and bottle when I'm done? Well, I guess now I've been found out, so I'll have to resort to eating in my regular seat, like everyone else.
The Lufthansa magazine announced that as of next month the super-jumbo-mondo-massive Airbus airliner, the A380, will be flying non-stop from Frankfurt to San Francisco. I found it interesting how the classes are broken out on these planes: out of a total of 526 seats, guess how many are First Class. Only 8! Now, Business Class holds nearly 100 which seems huge, but that still leaves 420 folks flying in Peasant Class. I don't know what will be more interesting: the boarding or the waiting for luggage:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will begin boarding Cattle Class at this time, so we invite all heifers seated in rows 140 and higher to board at this time."
And, can you imagine the wait for luggage, just you and over 500 flight buddies? After a 13-hour flight. Where they don't even let you dine in the bathroom...
Finally, in Europe they generally do not board shorter flights by rows and, guess what, it doesn't seem to slow things down at all. Of course, this being Europe, even if they did attempt to get you to board by row it would never work. That would require patience, thoughtfulness, and a willingness to be Number Two, for just a minute. It just won't work on this continent, folks.

Maybe It's Not so Good to Be King

At least, not in this country. Things have traditionally not gone all that well for Belgian royalty. Going way back, the only daughter of Belgium's first king got married to a loony Austrian whom Napoleon III decided should do his thing in far-away Mexico. As Emperor Maximilian, he would be put to death. Wife Charlotte (later, Carlota) would be luckier: she'd simply go insane.
Jump forward two generations and more bad luck is waiting: the daughter of Belgium's 2nd king got married to Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, who would later commit suicide with his lover, setting the stage for a fellow named Archduke Franz Ferdinand to become heir to Austria-Hungary. And we know what happened to him. And Belgium. And Europe. And the World. Oh, by the way, that 2nd king of Belgium would be known as Leopold II, whose "achievements" in Africa speak infamously for themselves.
The eventual king of Belgium, Albert I, ended up falling to his death in a rock climbing accident near Namur in 1934. His son, Leopold III, married the beautiful Astrid of Sweden. But, only a year after his father's fall from the rocks, Leopold's car fell from the road near Lucerne, Switzerland, killing Queen Astrid. Leopold was driving.
I guess you'd have to say that things have improved over the past couple of generations, but not by much. Leopold's behavior in WWII led to a plebescite in 1950, to see whether Belgium wanted to retain this king. The pre-election decision was that anything above 55% in favor of the king meant he could stay. Leopold "won," with a resounding 57% of the vote...
His son, Baudouin, had his own problems, this time with the church. In 1990, Belgium's parliament voted to legalize abortion, which the king would then be forced to sign into law. The king and his wife were devout Catholics. So, what to do? Clever King B: he abdicated for a day, making Belgium a 24-hour republic. The law was re-passed, this time not needing any royal blessing, since there was no longer a king. A day later, after the vote, the king returns, law in place and his conscience intact.

Have I mentioned yet that Belgium is an odd place?