Driving

There are amazing parts of this experience and then there are the parts that scare you a bit. I would have to put driving in the latter category for me. The city streets are very narrow, there are trams running down the middle of the road, you have your typical city drivers, and then of course you have the bikes. Luckily, the Belgians drive on the same side of road as we do in the US.

Street on the Side of Our Building

Two Way, but two cars can't go at the same time - and this is not narrow by Antwerp Standards

Our car, quite smaller than our Mazda Cx-9. It is a Mercedes B-Class. No complaints - we all fit and gas is included. It takes almost 60 euro in diesel gas to fill up - almost $84 dollars. No gas attendants, so this Jersey girl now pumps her own gas!

Our Garage - that is our spot right after you come down the ramp (the same ramp that you go up to exit). What you do not see is that if you were to drive straight out of the garage you would hit a pole. It is VERY tight. Our NJ car would not fit. For those who have ever seen me try to parallel park, this is really way beyond my skill level. I tried to get away with NEVER parking there and only using street parking, but when Hugh was in the US I had to do it. I was pretty impressed with myself. That self-confidence quickly faded when I then got locked in the same garage for 30 minutes with Liam. The garage door opener to get on the street was dead and I had left the keys to get back in the building with my mother. When you see Liam, just ask him about when mommy got stuck!

We have had to learn all new signs. That is not as easy as you think when things are written in another language. This is a do not park sign with specific instructions on when it will be enforced.

This is a Do Not Enter sign, except for Bicycles. As I have mentioned this is a very sophisticated bike riding city!

With all the scary parts, I must say that we are actually doing pretty well driving around Antwerp and the rest of the country. The best part of our car is by far the GPS - in ENGLISH!