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Good and bad
On my way back to the apartment tonight I was thinking about the good and bad of Brussels. Nothing major, just some of the little things that have caught my attention. Anyway, the good in no particular order: Classical music in the underground stations at night Getting around easily Lots of green space No such…
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Last laps
I was going through my diary for the next wee while and realised that many of the items appearing on the horizon are after my placement in Brussels. Twelve weeks, a time that seemed so long before the placement, has simply flown past. I also realised that I haven’t blogged for a while but that’s…
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More tourist stuff
Having got bored with Brussels (kidding!), we decided to take a daytrip to Bruge (or Brugge, depending on your preferred language). Photo album here. It’s a very busy touristy place but it is still a very beautiful old town. many of the buildings date back to the early 17th century. The photo on the left…
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Being a tourist
This is the end of my first week of holiday and it’s certainly been a packed one. The weather forecast was a bit mixed for the week so we scheduled lots of indoors stuff. It does mean that I’m a bit ‘museumed-out’, but it’s been an interesting week. So what did we get up to?…
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It’s not all G&T
Apparently the Euro parishes were, not so long ago, accused of being ex-pat social clubs who spent their time sipping G&T in the afternoon. Without a doubt, hospitality is a big thing here and it is not uncommon to be invited to come for a meal when a visit is arranged. And, yes, it’s not…
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BBQ
It’s been a fairly busy week: a bunch of visits, lots of noisy tractors in Brussels, lots of walking around sightseeing (pictures here), preaching this morning’s sermon. So what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon after all that than at a barbeque? The St. Andrew’s, Brussels annual congregational barbeque to be precise. Well, it’s…
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Are you lonesome tonight?
Yesterday I moved from the apartment I was sharing in Zaventem to one in Brussels city centre. In this one, I have the place to myself so I’m not imposing on others (although I couldn’t have been made more welcome in my first digs) and it gives more space when the family come over on…
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A grand day out
On Wednesday I had an (eventful) trip to Amsterdam to meet up with John Cowie, the minister in the Church of Scotland there. This was part of an opportunity to get to know some of the other churches in the Presbytery of Europe and to get to understand a little of their uniquenesses and similarities.…
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Brussels bites back
Having had an easy introduction to Brussels, the last couple of days have ended the ‘honeymoon period’. When the Brussels transport system works, it’s very good. You can get round the city quickly, efficiently and at pretty low cost. But when it has a hiccup… On Wednesday I was travelling to Amsterdam for a visit…
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More first impressions
This morning was my first (proper) visit to St. Andrew’s, Brussels. I was made very welcome and was bombarded with names that I will probably forget or get mixed up, but it was nice that so many people introduced themselves to me. The service itself was an interesting ‘mix’. I think that the most striking…