Journaling

I've never been a "journaler" and don't plan to become one, but since I don't post as much as I once did, I think this may become just that.

In our first year here, I posted nearly every day.  I have no idea how that happened.  Then it was about every other day and finally down to once a week.

Obviously the "new" has worn off our adventure here.  The experiences once considered interesting or frustrating or ridiculous are now commonplace.  We are traveling much less than we once did and our life here has become very routine. 

I'm not saying that's a bad thing!  But for the sake of continuing to chronicle our time here, I think my posts will become, perhaps routine too.  Fear not, I won't mention every morsel I consume or every thought that enters my mind.  Besides, I eat more than I should and I try not to think too much :)

But sometimes the highlight of my day is a walk in the park without my umbrella, squeegeeing off the patio or going to my new favorite place . . . 

the Container Park.

I can't believe we waited this long to discover it.  It's what we referred to as the "dump" when I was growing up.  Here, as with everything Belgian, it is very organized and orderly.  You don't just drive five miles out of town and shove everything from ironing boards to wheelbarrows off the back of a pick-up truck onto the ground, later to be covered up or burned.

This place is mostly concrete and it's barely a few hundred yards from a major commercial area.  

There are separate bins for every imaginable type of trash - flat glass, glass bottles, plastic, styrofoam, wood, metal, small electronics, bricks, cartons . . . even dirt.  And no one would even think of mixing any of these items.  Not here.

Your Belgian ID is required to enter - just scan it at the entrance like an ATM and you're good to go.

This is one busy place too.  This photo is taken on a Tuesday!  This is one row of four rows of containers for all those various categories of trash.  

In the event you have trash that doesn't fit any category - like our broken patio umbrella, for example - you just drive around the corner, scan your ID again (of course), and drive onto the scales.  Once your car is weighed, you can go wrangle your patio umbrella into the bin.  Then you drive onto another scale and calculate your payment.  That's right - don't think for a moment throwing away a broken patio umbrella is gonna be free!  It cost us 14 Euro to dispose of that!

Until next time . . .