I started the engine of my Duck that April
morning and hit the road. It was a long way
to reach Utrecht and it wouldn't be done
in a single day. Wiesbaden in Germany was
the destination for the 1st day. But the
first stop was after 130km, where P. lived
and waited to get on-board. A whole-day drive
across half of Europe is surely much more
pleasant with a passenger like P. Infinitely
nicer than driving alone! In my not so humble
opinion, she could be just the right passenger
also for much longer trips... Anyway, getting
off the Autobahn near Nuernberg due to terrible
traffic jams, reaching Wiesbaden in the dark,
meeting up with my uncle & aunt, falling
asleep right away... and proceeding towards
Utrecht next morning. The business part of
the trip starts. Hotel is just nearby and
it does look a bit weird. Days spent in the
company, evenings out in the town... P. and
I are off to Amsterdam one night, getting
lost in the red light district and in the
coffeeshops. We return to our hotel at 4am...
And next morning, we should drive to Brussels
to meet up with our friends. We get out of
bed just in time for the proper check-out
and it's clear that we'll be seriously late
in Brussels. A phone call to friends: "We're
coming, don't worry, but not before the evening."
There's still time to see a few things before
the meeting. We circle the motorway ring
around Brussels and spot the Atomium signs:
sounds like a nice way to kill time! 
P. is a strong girl, isn't she? And obviously
she had loads of fun in the mini-world! Every
now and then, I watch the video tape I did
in the mini world: she is fun to watch, not
without acting talent.
The evening was near and we had to head to
La Hulpe to see our friends. We drive among
the rabbits and arrive at the reception,
but they're not there yet. A phone call,
they'll arrive in a minute. A little later,
Ronny & Jeanne are here! We greet each
other enthusiastically, this is our first
meeting in person. Up to now, we only communicated
through business e-mail. But there's one
more person to join us: Brigita, who's making
her way directly from Slovenia right now!
She should be close to Brussels by now, I
manage to get in touch with her and Ronny
helpfully explains where on the motorway
it would be best to meet her. I leave for
the meeting point while the others wait for
us. I don't even have to wait a lot, Brigita
arrives after just a few minutes. She's a
little tired after a long journey, but ready
to go out this night!
Ronny knows the places in downtown Brussels
and first we go for a lovely dinner in a
Spanish restaurant. And bar-hopping comes
next. After a few rounds of beers in a place
filled with coffins, skulls & candles,
we end up in an Irish bar. And return home
at 4am again...
Next day, we set off to Brugge. A lovely
town, and a place where we meet another familiar
face, Nicolas. A boat tour along the canals
of Brugge follows and then we sit down for
a drink. And before we know it, it's evening
again and time to return to Utrecht. Thanks
& see you next time, friends!