DAY 28 – THURSDAY, MAY 23, 1974 – FROM GERMANY TO BELGIUM

I woke up Thursday morning sore all over—from playing ping-pong, which had used a different set of muscles (specifically those needed to bend over and pick up the ball when I missed it).

About 9:45, Debbie and I went with Phil to get some folks who were going to spend the day (a holiday) with them: a woman who is the only other member of the church of Christ in the area and three little girls she takes care of. On the way, we saw some nice scenery and old half-timbered German homes, but didn’t stop to take pictures. On the way back, Phil drove us to an old castle.

When we reached the courtyard, it started raining and we got soaked before we could get back in the car.

It was close to 11:00 by the time we got back. The Nilands usually have a midweek service with the woman and another couple on Thursday nights, but we had it before lunch so our family could be part of it. We mainly figured out which church songs both Germans and Americans sing—and sang together.

After lunch, most of us took another walk. During the walk a little boy latched onto me and kept saying, “Dis ist mine fater,” or something like that. Had a hard time getting loose, but I must admit that I wouldn’t have minded having him as one of my own.

When we got back, we put our bags in the car, hugged everyone goodbye, and went to the station. Phil stayed with us until the train left for Koln. (In the picture below, Phil is on the far right.)

I had read that, in Germany, it is customary for guests to bring flowers. We hadn’t had the opportunity to do that earlier, so at the station, I bought some flowers for Phil to take back to Matilda. I also gave him a few marks to help with the cost of food (very little compared with what we ate).

I might mention that I had used some of our free time at the Nilands to bring our financial situation up to date. To my surprise, in spite of a number of unexpected expenditures, we were running about $400 less than we had budgeted to that point. I started feeling more confident that we would make it (!) and even began to hope that maybe we might save our travel fund a few dollars (!!!).

The train left for Kohn five minutes late. Since earlier we had only seven minutes to make connections in Kohn, this made Jo very nervous. But we made up a minute or two. And then, when the train from Hagen stopped in Kohn, the train to Belgium was waiting at the same platform, on the opposite side. We hurried across and got on just before it left.

We pulled away from the station with some regrets. Having spent the better part of four days in Germany, we had seen little except statues in Worms and what we could see from a Rhine steamer. Debbie (who was taking German in high school) was especially disappointed that we failed to get any German souvenirs.

My general impression of Germany? Of course we saw only the northern part, but practicality is the word that comes to mind. They do not seem so tied to the past as some of the other countries are—which, I guess, is both good and bad.

We ate our tea on the train. The day turned nice so we enjoyed the scenery as it flashed by.

When we crossed the border into Belgium, a man came by and asked for our passports. When Jo pulled them out, the man saw they were U.S. passports and motioned that he didn’t need to see them. People may badmouth America but it seems to me that U.S. citizenship is still considered one of the most precious commodities in the world.

We got into Brussels on time. I checked on the next step on our journey: the trip to Amsterdam (no reservations were needed). By the time I did that, the preacher at Brussels and his son had shown up (someone else gotten my letters!): Hans and Chris Enzenbach. Hans (50ish) speaks no English so Chris (30ish) was his translator. Hans has been working in Brussels twenty-six years. They are a lovely pair with a wonderful sense of humor. The friendliest welcome we have received from those who have never met us before. Dean Waller (preacher at Midwest City I mentioned earlier) worked two years in Brussels and told us that we had to go by and meet the Enzenbachs.

Hans had a VW station wagon so could not take all of us and our luggage. Angie, Chris, and I took the tram while the rest went with Hans. Chris took us by tram so we could retrace our steps to the train station in the morning.

They took us to the building where the church meets, which has rooms for visitors. It is an old residence between offices in the middle of town. It has been remodeled for their purposes and is owned by the church. On what we would call the 2nd and 3rd floors are rooms for visitors. They also have other rooms plus toilets on every floor. During one evangelistic campaign, they housed 40–50 and could have housed more.

Hans and Chris gave us a tour of the building, showed us a map that told how to reach La Grand-Place, and then left. It was almost dark by then (9:00). Al Waller had said we had to see The Grand Place so we set forth. We passed the king’s palace complete with guards, passed beautiful gardens and buildings. Everything was lighted and probably looked better than it would in the daylight. Our brief impression of Brussels was that it was a beautiful city.

I kept my eye on the high tower of The Grand Place. When we were almost there, the number of people increased and we came to two lace shops (for which Belgium is known). The girls bought some cute souvenirs there.

A few more steps and we were in The Grand Place. It is a cobble-stoned square surrounded by old tall buildings in an ultra-fancy style (baroque?)—all beautifully lit. (The picture below is a commercial shot of La Grand-Place during the daytime.)

In the middle of the square was a group of Belgian young people folk dancing in native costume. We watched a short while (we were freezing) and then retraced our steps to where we were staying. We got back to the building about 10:40 and were soon in bed.