4 August 1988 - Houffalize, Belgium

On our way back to Schiphol airport to return the rental car, the car we had just bought broke, again.  We spent the night in Houffalize as a result.  The next day we returned the car drove to Bremen, spent the night there and then headed for Scandinavia.

28 July to 3 August 1988 - Setting up in Dijon

Things that we had to figure out included getting our Carte de Sejours and find an apartment.  Below is our apartment building - we were on the top floor and had a 3 bedroom apartment, more on that later.  We rented it as of August 1st.  We left everything that we didn't need and on 4 August headed off to travel for the month before school started.

Here is our car that took us all and all our gear.  We purchased it from a professor who was finishing up his sabbatical year.  This was quite an adventure as he left his wallet in it and had to come back for it and it broke down right away and needed to be repaired.  This is the photograph he had sent us (no  idea where it was taken.)

27 July 1988 - We arrive in Dijon

We arrived in Dijon and set up at the camp ground.  Where they had very good fries - on which I subsisted for much of the first few weeks.  There was much to do and we (read my parents) got down to getting us set up in Dijon.  Here was the tent that the five us spent much of the year living in.  Yet to be acquired were the table and chairs that everyone good European family lives with.

26 July 1988 - Metz

My parents had settled on Dijon, France as where we would spend the year.  It was centrally located and in France so that we would have the opportunity to learn more French.  So on July 26th we headed from Enkhuizen south.  We spent the night in Metz.  It was our first night camping in Europe and it was quite an experience.

First of all we were still tired from the time change and being sick.

Secondly, we hadn't quite figured out camping in Europe after a while we got the routine and all of us loved camping - as you will see as the year goes on.  The book in the photo became our indispensable companion for our travels as we searched out camp sites.  But this first night was an experience.  We were not quite prepared for the difference in washrooms and whether these were particularly bad or we got used to it after a while I can't say.

Third, Metz had two clocks near the camp ground that chimed every quarter hour but they were not in sync so first one chimed then the other.  My Dad especially was kept awake by this.

25 July 1988 - Zuiderzee Museum

Mom, Jane and Andrew who were not sick made it to the Zuiderzee Museum.