Random Differences 2

Weather - It rains almost daily! So far, never enough to ruin the whole day but lets see how the winter/spring go.

Public Bathrooms - 1. Bathrooms all have full doors, no looking under the stalls at peoples feet. I am told that this is one complaint people have when they go to the US. 2. In direct contrast to the first point which emphasizes privacy, there are random urinals in the city, no doors on them. Odd - but helpful for a recently potty trained 3 year old! 3. if you use a bathroom at a cafe or even at the mall, you may have to pay to use it. Hugh paid 50 cents yesterday.

Bread- the bread here is really good! People go to bakeries almost daily to get bread. Even in a supermarket, you pick out a loaf and then put it in the slicer. Bags of bread, like Wonder, are available but called "American" bread and not very popular.

Safety - there does not seem to be as many rules regulating personal safety. Example 1 - Bike helmets are the exception not the norm - even for children! Example 2 - I had to get a blood test the other day and the technician did not wear gloves.

Doctor - Liam had an ear infection and we had to use the healthcare system for the first time. It is more common to go to a general practice rather than a pediatrician. The whole experience is different. You take a number and watch the board to see when it is your turn and then you pay the doctor cash in his exam room/office for the visit. It was 30 euro for the visit, pretty reasonable. I only paid 19 euro for the 3 medicines we had to get. This is all without any insurance contributions, you submit it after you pay for it. The medical diagnosis/treatment part was solid. Our big issue was that we happen to get the Belgian version of Dr. House. He was very rude to us. It was one of those "what are we doing here" moments. Those moments are far outweighed by the "I am so glad we did this" moments, but I would be lying if did not say they happened!