We welcome a new addition to our ever-growing family!

Good news! Caitlin and Ciara are no longer alone, and have the little "brother" they have always wanted.

His name is Caramel and he joined us yesterday. A two-year old rabbit with good manners and a happy face. What more can we want. I think he will settle in very quickly :)

Central & Eastern Europe - July 2000

Looking through my old pictures, I found memories of our trip to Germany, Hungary and Poland.

We visited Aschaffenburg, Vienna, Györ, Budapest and also the Puszta.

We also went to the Salt mines in Poland, visited Krakow and ended up in the East of Germany

In the pictures Mariann, Zsolt and Gary

Looking for schoolfriends from Sint-Joris Instituut

Hey hey, I am looking for the names of my old schoolfriends from the Sint-Jorisinstituut in Brussels.

I am notoriously bad at remembering names, so I hope somebody recognizes them.

Here is the picture: (sorry for the blood hehe)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Pascal Van Obbergen
12.
13.
83.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
29. Frank Van Den Block
22.

Understanding the Norwegian language

In the Summer of 2015 I am planning a trip to Norway. And normally I always try to learn at least a bit of the local language. I tried so with Estonian (failed dismally), Hungary (a bit more luck) and Turkey (long forgotten, but at least I didn't starve when I went across the border.

And now I will start to learn Norwegian. Which is a bit problematic, as I don't know *which* Norwegian to learn. According to wikipedia, they have Bokmål, Nynorsk, Riksmål and Høgnorsk.
I understand that some are for written use, and others for talking, although apparently most Norwegians write one thing and speak another thing (often dialect).

So which one should I learn? It helps to say that I have a basic understanding of Danish vocabulary and pronunciation (but not grammar), so something that would use that as a basis might be practical.

KSJ Grimbergen

My daughter recently joined KSJ Grimbergen, a Flemish Catholic youth movement for kids aged 6 or older.

Best Hot Chocolate at The Apple Tree

On my way to Liverpool I was invited by an old friend and ex-colleague from Pirelli for a harty breakfast at The Apple Tree Coffee Shop in Barton Under Needwood.

The place has an excellent reputation, having received UK's best Hot Chocolate Award and many other prizes. Naturally I had to try their famous "Hot Chocolate" with everything on top, followed by the famous Staffordshire Oatcake.

As you can see from the picture, they really put everything on top!

The taste was smooth, strong, very aromatic and spicy with touches of cinnamon

Klasgenoten Grimbergen 1973 - 1974 gezocht!

Ik ben op zoek naar klasgenoten die samen met mij in het schooljaar 1973 - 1974 in het eerste leerjaar zaten op de gemeenteschool van Grimbergen, bij juffrouw De Win (klaslokaal gelegen op de hoogste verdieping van het bureau voor toerisme).

Hieronder een vergeelde foto waarop alle 15 jongens te zien zijn. Klik op de foto om een hogere resolutie te zien

1. Kris Van Thillo
2. Patrice Van Hauwermeiren
3. Geert Cauwelier
4. Frank Van Den Block
5. Philippe Van Hoeymissen
6. Ivan Tersago
7. Filip Jans
8. Patrick Bruylandt
9. Ludwig Ducuroir
10. Marc Van Campenhoudt
11. Luc Van Hemelrijck
12. Patrick Vanderborght
13. Didier De Vinck
14. Hans Vander Perre
15. Patrick Vandersteen