Tour de Trappist, Round 1

Spring is the best time of the year in Belgium. When the weather is nice, the flowers blooming and the cafes are full of people. It is almost enough to make you forget the several months of rain that you have just endured. So to take advantage of the beautiful weather, SWMBO planned for us a driving trip to a couple of Trappist monasteries to see the sites and sample some of the monks products.

The first destination was Orval. About 2 hours from Brussels in the Luxembourg region of Belgium, Orval sits only a few kilometers from the French border. The weather was a bit touch and go early in our drive but by the time we reached Namur, the sun was out and the temperatures were rising. The Abbey at Orval is probably the most scenic of the monasteries that we have been to and is the site of some very well preserved ruins. We wandered the ruins for a while then peeked into the cathedral. The extreme quiet was a little intimidating so we left and went to their museum, trying but failing to maintain the silence.

By the time we finished in the museum, we were ready for lunch, so we went to the cafe associated with monastery. Many of the monasteries make beers that are specifically for the monks. They are referred to as Patersbiers and are generally lower in alcohol and would be classified as blondes. You can sample the Orval version only at the cafe, so this made lunch a little special. The beer itself is quite hoppy and refreshing. It was very easy to drink sitting in the sun enjoying our lunch.

After lunch, we walked back to our car and enjoyed looking at a collection of vintage MG’s and Triumphs that had stopped in the middle of their road rally to do the same thing that we had just done.

Next stop was Abbaye de Scourmont home of the most well known Trappist beer, Chimay. Leaving Orval, our GPS took us on a route that crossed into France and kept us away from most of the highways. We drove through pretty little towns and past fields bright yellow with blooming mustard. It is really a wonderful drive and it made me wish we were in one of those classic convertible MG’s.

The Abbey itself was pretty, but did not compare to Orval. The cafe for the Abbey reflects the popularity of their beers and is set up in a more touristy way. We also sampled the Chimay Doree which is their version of the Patersbier. Like the Orval it was more hopped than their other beers and considerably lighter. Again very crisp and refreshing although not as complex as the Orval.

At this point it was pretty late and we still had a long way to drive home. We purchased some cheese and bread also made by the Abbey for dinner and headed back to Brussels. 

Spring Is Here

It is officially Spring in Belgium. Both in accordance with the calendar and from a weather perspective. I am always struck by the wonders of the jet stream. While it is still snowing and cold in many parts of the US that are much more Southerly than Europe, here we are having mild temperatures and sunny days. 

We have often said that when the weather is nice, there are few places that are more beautiful than Belgium. This weekend was a good example of that. With the warm weather, cafe’s disgorge tables and chairs into every available outdoor space. Squares fill up and sidewalks become an extension of the main service floor. And with this, every person able to walk, and some who can’t, stake out their spots for the afternoon. 

After some negotiation about which medieval square we wanted to try find our space in, SWMBO and I headed for downtown. We went to the St. Catherine’s area of Brussels, an area we like very much. There are many restaurants and a few cafe’s where, if you can’t find a place to sit, can still order a glass of wine and some snacks and stand and wait for some tourist to vacate their seat. I pick on tourists, because they typically have somewhere to be and on a sunny day in Brussels a local would never relinquish their table in less than 2 hours. They are there for the duration.

We got to St. Catherine’s a little early, so the crowds were only beginning. We settled on a lovely little restaurant that we have passed several times but had never gone into. They have a spectacular raw bar set up outside and as SWMBO does not eat fish, we typically have passed by. This time though, I was in the mood for a Fruits de Mer and there are not many places that will do one for a single person. It turns out they also had a nice selection of meats on the menu so with that settled, we took a sunny table in their courtyard, ordered a bottle of wine and enjoyed our sunny Saturday like a couple of locals.

Obama Is Coming To Town

Obama is visiting Belgium this week. The barkeep at our favorite local asked us what we would be doing during his visit? Would we go to Ieper for his visit to the American cemetery? As veterans of DC, we told him that we would do everything possible to avoid the inevitable traffic jams that his motorcade would cause. 

He commented that Belgium became the de facto capital of the EU so that they could have visits like this but that they may have gotten more than they bargained for.

SWMBO and I chatted about this for a while and frankly, what other country could have been the seat of the EU?  You can picture the discussion going something like this.

France? 

The food is great but too many strikes.

Germany? 

Do you really want to give those people that kind of power? Look at what happened last time. 

Yeah, right.

OK how about Italy? 

No, they strike more than the French and then there is the corruption.

Spain? 

Seriously? 

Right. 

UK? 

They don’t want to be part of the EU in the first place.

OK forget I asked.

The Netherlands? 

Coffee shops + Prostitutes = Scandals

Yeah, bad idea.

Luxembourg?

Too rich to care.

What about the Scandanavian countries?

        Too Cold.

Greece?

        Now you are just messing with me.

Belgium? 

Great food. Good Beer. No risk of power going to their head. Close to everywhere. Perfect!

Considerations For The Prospective Ex-Pat

I was speaking with a colleague the other day about whether I would do an ex-pat assignment again. We were discussing how global our business is and that the demands might require that some of us relocate to various parts of the world. What I told my colleague is that I would, but I would do it differently than we did in this first experience. So, if you are considering a global assignment, these thoughts may help you as you consider the situation.

Define an End Date: We are on a permanent contract with no defined end date. The principle issue with this is we never know when the experience will end. It colors all of your decisions, particularly those that involve purchases that are discretionary. Little things like appliances you do without because you don't want something else that you will have to throw out at the end of your time because they work on 220 rather than 110. An end date gives your stay definition. You can always agree to an extension but without an end date, you always have some level of uncertainty.

The Trailing Spouse: I was worried when we were planning this move. SWMBO had worked full time for the entire time I knew her. She is a bit of an introvert and I was a little worried that she would feel isolated. It turns out that i did not need to worry as she has developed quite a social calendar with language classes, cooking lessons, book clubs, etc. to keep her busy. When you are negotiating, try to negotiate some things in for your significant other like language classes. Anything that will help them assimilate while you are immersed in your work environment.

Do not accept an American Vacation Allowance: We have a typical Belgian vacation allotment and it is perfect. We have met other expats however, who have the standard US 2-3 weeks of vacation. When you are overseas, this is completely unacceptable. The whole point of being an expat is immersing in the new culture and seeing a bit of where you live. With 2-3 weeks of holiday, you will use it going back to the US to visit family and friends and will not have the time to explore.

Negotiate the condition of your return visits: When I signed on, the company agreed to pay for one trip a year back to the US for the two of us, for the first three years of my contract. There were two factors here. First, negotiate the class of travel or negotiate a budget. We were stuck in cattle class for our returns without the possibility of upgrading. Secondly, negotiate for the duration of the contract. When that perk goes away, it is like a salary reduction.

Guarantee your compensation against large fluctuations in currency: This has not happened to us, but it is not too far fetched that if you are being paid in the local currency, that a currency fluctuation could have an impact to your lifestyle. The reason your company wants you there is because they can't find a local to take the position. Make sure they protect you.

Housing: We rent in Belgium and have a lovely old home. In some parts of the world however, I would try to negotiate a housing subsidy or the full cost. Cities like London are incredibly expensive and this can impact your happiness and that of the trailing spouse. Do not underestimate how the housing arrangement can influence your comfort level with the new location. Think about how the location provides access to community or how it might isolate you. It is probably the most important decision you will make.

Taxes: Most people do not realize it, but if you are an American, you must pay taxes on your income in both the country where the income is generated as well as the US. Uncle Sam always gets his cut.
You will likely get help with local taxes from the company but if you don't, negotiate this in. Think about the tax burden of your new country as well as that of the US and negotiate your compensation accordingly. It is likely you will be responsible for a much bigger tax payment than you ever considered in the US.

Would we consider another ex-pat assignment? I think we would. I would probably be looking for someplace a little warmer and drier than Belgium for the next one, but we are enjoying the experience. That being said, there is no place like home and I think after being away for 3 and a half years, going back to the US might be a little like an expat assignment for us. At least for a little while.

Christmas in Latvia

It was supposed to be Thailand. When the Sun Devil said she would not be able to join us for Christmas in Europe, we had originally though that it would be a good time for us warm up a little in a resort in Thailand with a quick side trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Given the political unrest in Thailand and our relatively late planning, we decided to postpone that trip for a couple of shorter trips, a bit closer to home. Which is how we found ourselves on a propeller-driven Dash 8 on Baltic Air heading for Riga. 

Riga sits on the Coast of Latvia and is split by the Daugava River. We arrived around mid-day, however being so far North, it was already beginning to look like dusk. We stayed at the Gallery Park Hotel, which was a good choice. The location was perfect, right between the Old Town and the Art Nouveau district. The hotel itself is a step back in time but looking fairly recently restored. The young staff were quite attentive and made our stay very pleasant. 

After about 3 hours on a propeller airplane, we were quite hungry so set out to find some food after checking in. We wandered around for a little while until we found a small garage themed bar where we could get pork sandwiches and watch some hockey. As with almost all the meals that we had in Latvia, the food was simple but good. Overall, I would have to say that we were surprised with how good the food was. The service ranged from excellent to absent but as a whole you can eat quite well on a limited budget in Riga.

SWMBO and I have spent quite a bit of our travel time recently in countries that were formally behind the iron curtain. It is always interesting to see how the country has adapted since that time. Latvia will switch to the Euro on January 1 but for the moment, the Lat is still the currency. What is interesting is how inexpensive things like locally produced food can be while imported products are substantially more expensive. This seems to result in a very economically polarized environment. Bentlys and expensive restaurants on one end with the Riga Central Market on the other. Not much in the middle however.

The Riga Central Market is vast. It is centered around 5 Pavillions that are repurposed German Zeppelin hangars. Here you can buy anything, food, clothing, housewares, you name it and all at very low prices. The food quality looked excellent and if you are into Eastern Bloc Chic, the clothing pavilion may be right up your alley.

On Christmas Eve, we spent the morning wandering around the Art Nouveau District. It was very near our hotel and is really quite nice. I am often surprised at how much original architecture has been preserved in places like this. Particularly when one considers the successive Russian-Nazi-Russian Occupation history of Latvia. Many of the buildings seemed to be undergoing some level of restoration which is really good to see as some of these buildings are truly spectacular. 

One thing that did strike me during our wandering of Riga was the number of security cameras. They are on most every corner. It definitely had a bit of Big Brother feel to the whole thing, which is surprising. Riga generally feels like a pretty safe place. There is very limited pan handling, particularly as compared to Brussels, and even later at night we never felt uncomfortable.

Six days was probably a little more time than we needed to see Riga. I think it would make a nice three or four day weekend, maybe tied to a trip to Tallinn or Vilnius. Next up will be Lisbon for the New Year!

Catching Up

The last month has been a bit of a blur and the rest of the year will continue more of the same. The weekend following our trip to Edinburgh, we jetted off to Phoenix. Serendipitously, the largest meeting for my field was in Phoenix which gave me the opportunity to mix work with a bit of pleasure. With the Sun Devil living minutes from the convention center, we were able to stay at her place while I could spend my days learning the latest.

Every time we visit the Sun Devil, I am always envious of her. She is living in a great location with an array of fun places to eat and lots to do. And after almost 4 years in Belgium, the weather alone would be a reason to live there. We may have to move to Phoenix at the end of this journey just to dry out.

I think my favorite part of the trip was the last weekend. We went together to a Mexican market and bought some protein to toss on the grill and just had a nice evening. The following day we had to leave in the evening so we grilled some more food and watched football all afternoon. It was really nice to have family time. We don’t get to do that nearly enough and it make me value it all the more when we do.

We were home in Belgium for all of three days before heading out to Dubrovnik, Croatia. In contrast to Phoenix, the weather was fairly cold and sporadically wet. We chose Dubrovnik at the recommendation of SWMBO’s father. He had never been but thought it sounded interesting. A little internet research and we agreed. Although had we done more research we may have found out that we were going at the rainiest time of the year. On a positive note, going in the off season gave us an opportunity to see the city without the crowds that are typical of the summer months.

Dubrovnik is a lovely city. The old section is enclosed by a Medieval wall. The city was shelled during the war but UNESCO money has enabled much of the scars to be repaired. One or two cruise ships are in port every day dropping 5-6000 people into the center of the old town which makes it a bit crowded, but mercifully, they all leave before dinner leaving it to the locals and the few tourists in the local hotels. The food was really quite good. The menus are very fish centric for the most part but they have enough variety that SWMBO found good things too. One night we ate at a Bosnian restaurant with 4 tables. Obviously a husband and wife show. The food was very similar to Turkish food, which we like a lot. The complimentary house-made walnut liqueur didn’t hurt either.

I don’t normally speak about the hotels that we stay at but the Hilton in Dubrovnik really impressed me. They were very nice on our arrival and as a Hilton honors  member, they upgraded our room. But what really blew me away was that during the check in process, someone must have noticed that it was SWMBO’s birthday from her passport. When we returned to our room, we had a bottle of Champagne courtesy of the hotel as well as a selection of deserts. Kudos to them. The staff really made our stay memorable.

While we were driving to the hotel, our cab driver mentioned that we may want to take a day trip to Montenegro or to Bosnia. Saturday was forecasted to be very rainy so we thought some time in the car wouldn't be bad. We settled on going to Mostar, Bosnia. It is about 2 hours from Dubrovnik and was the site of some very heavy fighting during the war. The city is separated by the Neretva River. Historically this was also the religious divide, with Catholics on one side, Muslim on the other. Until 1993 the 400 year old Stari Most bridge connected the two halves of the city. In 1993 the bridge was destroyed but has since been rebuilt. There are some very riveting videos of the fighting here on Youtube.

Nothing quite prepares you for leaving a city like Dubrovnik which while old, is still intact and then heading to a place where 20 years after the war, little repair has happened. Throughout the route, ruins of homes and entire neighborhoods stand empty.  Once in Mostar you are struck by how many buildings have bullet holes through them. The Stari Most bridge may have been repaired but many of the buildings on either side of it have not. It is really sobering.

Edinburgh

November is shaping up to be a busy travel month. We just finished All Saint’s day, which is a federal holiday in Belgium. Because we can’t get enough of rainy locations, we decided to take the long weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland. This time of the year, Edinburgh can be a real weather gamble, but against all odds, we had excellent weather two of the three days.

The castle in Edinburgh really sits on top of the city. It seems that everywhere you go there is a different view of the castle. Because it is compact, the city is very walkable, which is not the same thing as easy to walk. The elevation changes had our legs and feet hurting by the end of the weekend. At least the exercise helped to burn off the less than healthy Scottish food.

We really enjoyed the Scottish people. Everyone was really friendly and we met a couple of genuine characters. One of whom has written a book about Scottish history and promoting secession from the UK. He has nothing against the English, mind you…

Saturday was…wet. The rain was persistent and it was cold and windy. So naturally, it lent itself well to pub hopping. It seems that much of the city had the same idea, which wasn't apparent until later that evening when we were heading out to dinner. The number of people who were absolutely pissed (to use the local vernacular) at 7PM was impressive. 

On Saturday we (meaning me) did a couple of Scotch tastings. One lesson learned from this is that if you tell the scotch purveyor that you don’t really have a budget in mind and that you are interested in something rare, they will pull out some scary expensive bottles of scotch for you to taste. As in all trade-offs in life, you get to taste some amazing Scotches but the flip side is that you will be purchasing one of these beauties as well. At least it didn’t break on the trip back to Brussels.

Our next trip should be drier and warmer. Next weekend we head to Phoenix. One of the biggest conferences for my work will be there next week and it gives us a great opportunity to visit the Sun Devil.