I was at a party last night where some friends told me about their following the moblog of our trip to Dublin and Belgium. What I didn’t realize was that my last post from the gate in Brussels was a bit of a cliffhanger! So here’s what happened to Mark and Michael during those last harried moments at BRU.

> I handled the rental return while Mark and Michael *ran* to the ticket counter to check in. They made it with 30 seconds to spare, and just barely got their boarding passes. But that’s not all…
> Michael almost succumbed to the task of dragging his 35 beer-filled suitcase to the gate (which at BRU seems like a 1 mile hike from security to the gate). Thankfully Mark ran ahead to let the gate personnel know they were coming.
> The overstuffed suitcase was almost impossible to extract from the overhead bin, as it was heavy, and got caught on the inside edge of the bin. Even Mark’s hanging all of his body weight on the bin couldn’t dislodge it. Somehow it was removed without resorting to a c-section, but not before the *entire* aircraft was deplaned.

So now the story has a happy ending!

We left Hasselt at 710 this morning to make the 80km (50 mile) trip to the airport. Little did we know we would run into a 40km (!!!) backup on the A2, and sit in traffic.

GPS to the rescue.

We took backroads, single lane roads, and even a tractor path to get to Zaventem. After 2 hours and 20 minutes, we made it to the car return.

Mark and Michael ran to their check-in, so I hope they made their flight. I am ready to board now.

For my nightcap, I am enjoying a “Margriet”, a special blonde ale from the Mechelen brewery we visited on Friday.

This one has a honey-like residual sweetness balanced by a subtle hop bitterness. I am quickly becoming a fan of this beer.

I *do* like my draft Saison Dupont.

Proost!

We are now at the Weekend of Belgian Beers sponsored by the Limburgse Beer Club.

Pictured here are the tokens used to “purchase” beers. It’s 25 Eurocents for one token — reds are worth 10 tokens. Beers range from 7 tokens for draft beers, to up to 60 tokens for a special vintage champagne beer.

We’re starting with some draft Saison Dupont for now.