As we leave Dijon for the highway there seem to be more and more cars heading north. We are in the last weekend of the summer vacation. To the north of Dijon lies Nancy, Metz and Luxembourg. Arlon is located only 30 minutes over the border into Belgium. I am not over enthousiastic about long trips in the car, but having split the journey into 2 parts makes it more bearable.
Traveling in Europe, even if there are no official borders left, knowing that you are crossing over into another country and is a feeling I enjoy alot. I have always been quite curious about borders since I began traveling. Wondering what lies ahead, what is different in the next country, the customs, language… Soon we are in Belgium and have found our way to our friends place in Arlon.
Alain and Dirk (long time friends of Jacques) have been living together for years and have recently bought an old house of 3 stories in the center of Arlon, which they just had renovated. Since it is too big for them alone, they decided to use 2 floors and rent out the upper floor. The rooms are huge with high celings and lovely wooden floors. Dirk enjoys decorating and has great taste in turning every room into a unique place. We spend a while looking at catalogues and the different possiblites. They have a big terrasse on the 2nd floor which will eventually be filled with bushes and flowers. Next to the terrasse is big winter garden to let in as much alight as possible over the darker and rainy months of the year.
In Belgium it is quite common for most people to own their own house. In Switzerland on the other hand it is the opposite, most people rent appartements and know that they will probably never own anything themselves unless they can inherit, have a huge salary, are expats, work for one of the international organizations, etc.
Arlon is not a very big city with its 26'000 inhabitants. As we walk around visiting the town everyone stops to say hello to Alain. He seems to be known by everyone! He has grown up nearby and has taken over the funeral home that has been in the family business for the past 3 centuries. On the bottom floor of his house he has an office and a flower shop run by a friend. It is the first time I know anyone in this profession… Of course this job like any other, but I guess not everyone can handle deaths daily with everything that goes with preparing the bodies, coffiins, etc.
We spend the day and evening with them. The next morning we move on as they are off to Ireland for a vacation.
Traveling in Europe, even if there are no official borders left, knowing that you are crossing over into another country and is a feeling I enjoy alot. I have always been quite curious about borders since I began traveling. Wondering what lies ahead, what is different in the next country, the customs, language… Soon we are in Belgium and have found our way to our friends place in Arlon.
Alain and Dirk (long time friends of Jacques) have been living together for years and have recently bought an old house of 3 stories in the center of Arlon, which they just had renovated. Since it is too big for them alone, they decided to use 2 floors and rent out the upper floor. The rooms are huge with high celings and lovely wooden floors. Dirk enjoys decorating and has great taste in turning every room into a unique place. We spend a while looking at catalogues and the different possiblites. They have a big terrasse on the 2nd floor which will eventually be filled with bushes and flowers. Next to the terrasse is big winter garden to let in as much alight as possible over the darker and rainy months of the year.
In Belgium it is quite common for most people to own their own house. In Switzerland on the other hand it is the opposite, most people rent appartements and know that they will probably never own anything themselves unless they can inherit, have a huge salary, are expats, work for one of the international organizations, etc.
Arlon is not a very big city with its 26'000 inhabitants. As we walk around visiting the town everyone stops to say hello to Alain. He seems to be known by everyone! He has grown up nearby and has taken over the funeral home that has been in the family business for the past 3 centuries. On the bottom floor of his house he has an office and a flower shop run by a friend. It is the first time I know anyone in this profession… Of course this job like any other, but I guess not everyone can handle deaths daily with everything that goes with preparing the bodies, coffiins, etc.
We spend the day and evening with them. The next morning we move on as they are off to Ireland for a vacation.
