Arriving in Belgium - Part two

So we have had the weekend to re-group, re-strategise and come up with a new plan after the ID card fiasco on Friday. Most people I have talked to about this process are surprised we have had so much trouble, so after a little bit of research, I have found a system for EU citizens. These very special people receive an ID number the moment they walk in the door at their very first visit. The commune clerks enter their details onto a national database and a number is automatically generated. Unfortunately, this system does not apply to us non-EU people and in fact, their is no published information that I can find anywhere. Except we have to wait.  Patience is a virtue :) even if it drives you batty in the process. 

So we have a new plan to retrieve our car and stop paying exorbitant fees for rental vehicles...will update if it is successful.  I have been assured by other expats on facebook that "This is Belgium, what can go wrong." Hmm, that is PRECISELY why I am a little anxious over the whole thing...

Anyway, to pick up from the rest of our journey, we arrived in Abu Dhabi.  I must admit my expectations were pretty low (except for the airport which I had assumed would be 5 star).  We were staying just over 24 hours here as this seemed infinitely better to do then to spend 3 hours and hop back onto another 8 hour flight.  My cousin, very generously offered us accommodation while they were away.  

My pre-conceived ideas of Abu Dhabi were of tiny, crowded apartments a la Hong Kong and crowds of people. Wrong wrong wrong. Goodness knows where I got those ideas from?! The accommodation was enormous, and beautiful. The facilities were amazing. I am not entirely sure where we were exactly in the city (due to the jetlagged stress induced haze) but the place was almost deserted.  The weather was amazing and the views were stunning. A highlight was a seaplane that landed and took off right beside us on the water.  We caught up with old friends whom had never met hubby or any of the offspring. And despite the number of years since I had last seen them being too many to count, nothing had changed. It was lovely to reconnect and share experiences.  All in all, we had a wonderful 24 hour stopover and felt a bit more refreshed to carry on for the rest of the journey. Next time round we will definitely look to stay a bit longer to be able to see some sights. 

Early the next morning (5:30am?) we were back to the airport again.  It was like a market place, crowded, people sitting in large groups on the floor everywhere, no proper places or systems to queue, but after a refreshing sleep, it was bearable.  Again we used the departure service who took us through the first class baggage check in process. Well worth the weight in money.  We were able to sit in the lounge while they organised our baggage and customs clearance.  

The flight to Brussels felt short- only 8 hours or so and was fairly uneventful.  I had booked a porter at Brussels airport to help with our 16 pieces of luggage. The booking process is probably an indication of how it works in Belgium.  There appeared to be no real weblink to the service, just an instruction to send an email to a random address.  This went unanswered for many days and I had actually forgotten about it, but 2 days before we left we got a confirmation that a porter had been booked and we would need to pay him cash. No other useful information about how we were supposed to find or recognise this guy or anything. 

Miraculously we did find him.  At the baggage claim area, a guy wearing what looked like scruffy street wear came up to me and babbled to me in French.  How he knew that I was the one, I have no idea unless he was going up to all the passengers and asking them all? It is quite possible the sheer mountain of luggage might have provided a vital clue for him though. 

He decided to use an industrial size baggage trolley instead of the normal ones (good plan!) and we head off to catch the free shuttle bus to the hotel. Of course, the hotel bus is not working today.  Which is only apparent after we wait a while and then ring the hotel. (Signs are very USEFUL, people!).  They send us back inside to wait for a taxi. We explain we will need two.  So, one arrives.  Me, the kids and as much baggage as possible climb aboard and head to the hotel to check in.  The hotel sends a second taxi which never arrives, but luckily the first taxi driver is a great dude and he goes back to collect hubby and the mountain of luggage. 

We had 2 days at the Grand Plaza hotel. The kids loved the foyer and the glass elevators which provided a lot of entertainment.  We had left Brisbane just before the heat wave struck (thank goodness) but it was still 30 degrees, spent time in Abu Dhabi which was also pretty pleasant summery temperature and arrived in Brussels during one of their mildest winters, thank goodness- it was only 3-4 degrees. And not snowing. Huge bonus as at this point in time, the little D had worn crocs everyday for the last 7 months and even though I had brought shoes for him, these were too small when I eventually tried them on him. He was not going to accept any shoes except his beloved crocs for at least another 2 weeks. (A process that involved about an hour of crying, screaming and generally trying to remove the new shoes from his body and throw them as far away as possible).  He's 3 and in the phase of un-reasonable. 

While at the hotel, we managed to open a bank account in the nearby town. Wow.  We only tried two banks. The first was unable to help us as they were "too busy" doing their paperwork.??? What??? Sigh, yes. This is how it is. And they shut for an hour each lunchtime (during the normal work lunch time) - how are people meant to do anything??! 

I felt very proud of my kids for coping so well this whole time. In the space of the 2.5 weeks since we had left the house where we had lived for the last almost 5 years, they had had to stay in 6 different apartments/accommodations. It's a lot for little people who are used to routine to familiarity. 

Here's the result of the looonnng journey... 

And this was the beginning of our Belgium adventure :).  A bientot!