2009 Things we have learned so far

[David and Susan Bratt]

Things we have learned

Special K comes in chocolate. So does nearly everything else.
Adults don’t wear bike helmets.
People drink beer and wine before lunch time.
We’d give anything to find a Starbucks.
The British WWI cemeteries are immaculately kept up.
Peanut butter is hard to find; most of it comes mixed with chocolate.
Wine is often cheap; it can also be expensive.
Ground pork looks like ground beef.
There are bike paths everywhere in the Netherlands and all ages ride bikes.
There are no poppies in Flanders Fields in September.
Much of Belgium is very flat--like Kansas but with trees. Other parts of Belgium have tall long hills and steep valleys.
Almost everyone in Western Europe speaks several languages.
We are driving on roads where we don’t understand most of the traffic signs.
Grocery stores do not provide bags.
Farmers in the Netherlands use ditches instead of fences to keep the cows in.
Most campgrounds use the same hose for fresh water fill and dump site clean up. This turns our stomachs.
There are 3 McDonalds within 2 blocks of each other in Rotterdam. However, there are NO STARBUCKS!
ATM’s can be hard to find and then you will find three of them.
Doing laundry is frightfully expensive and takes a long, long time.
You can sweep the motorhome out three times a day and the floor will still be dirty.
Things in the outdoor markets are much cheaper than in stores, but then you have to carry them all day.
“Quaint” isn’t nearly as endearing when it is raining.