On The Road Again….

(On the bus from Frankfurt to Brussels via Luxembourg) Dawn comes late in Northern Europe in January. Our bus came early. At seven am, our bleary-eyed group stumbled out in the dark to the coach waiting in front of our hotel. With a quick “Auf Veidersen” to Frankfurt we headed down the Autobahn toward Luxembourg. The students all seemed impressed with our transport: comfortable seats, a beer tap and coffee maker (neither were functioning), a bathroom…and a private sitting area in the back. A group of the boys commandeered the sitting area.

Everyone had enough energy from morning coffee to swap notes on what they did on the last night in Frankfurt. Most went out for dinner in the downtown area or in the more up market part of the city on the other side of the river. They did some shopping, some wandering about or met some locals and expats in the pubs near the train station. It was a successful trip, best summed up by one student who declared, “I got my schnitzel.” After that it was surely time to leave Germany.

It wasn’t long before the bus grew quiet as we continued on in the morning darkness past fields and farms. One notices the number of wind turbines jutting up from farm fields, supplying cheap and clean power to nearby houses. After about one hour on the road, there is a church outlined in the pale reddish glow of the rising sun as the nearby village lights fade into morning. We are making excellent time as we push through the bucolic countryside. Being ahead of schedule means we can stop for coffee.

It wasn’t exactly the Vince Lombardi rest stop on the New Jersey turnpike but the place we stopped had good coffee, clean bathrooms, a convenience store where we could stock up on water and cookies and, of course, a Burger King (thankfully closed). Well, maybe we were closer to Jersey than we thought. It wasn’t long after our stop that we pulled into the European Court of Justice.

The ECJ is not a place one would stumble upon. It is in the new, European Community area of Luxembourg. It is here where disputes among corporations and individuals in united Europe are adjudicated. We sat in one of the smaller courtrooms, surrounded by booths where interpreters sit translating proceedings between 23 different languages. A clerk to one of the justices talked with us for more than one hour on the intricacies of the European Union judicial system. After our talk, it was time for lunch in the court canteen. Typically, there was a very wide variety of dishes from all over Europe—pasta, pork, beef dishes—as well as salads, deserts and, of course, beer and wine by the bottle or glass. It was the lunch hour rush so the students were forced to split-up and sit with strangers—as one does in Europe. It was a great experience for them as they spoke to people who worked at the courts and swapped life stories. Before we left, we were given a big packet of information about the court, including the annual report. The packet was rather heavy. How heavy you wonder? One of our women students remarked that it “weighed more than my shoes.” We left the court with enough time to head to the center of old Luxembourg and spend 40 minutes exploring this wonderful old historic town that could be the picture postcard for the stereotype of what so many of us might imagine Europe should look like. After a few souvenirs, some pictures and some pastries, the bus headed down the road toward Brussels. The Belgium border was a mere 10 minutes away.

It was just after five by the time we arrived at the hotel in Brussels and the sun was already setting. The hotel is a typical European city three star…clean, comfortable…and in a great location. After dropping luggage in our rooms, Dr. Morgan took us on a tour of Brussels. We saw some grand old ruins, some churches and the old market area and guildhalls. Terrific sites but the highlight…for the students and us…were all the chocolate stores! Chocolate to the left of us…chocolate to the right…in front and in back of us…and all wonderful. It sounded like dinner to many of us but we did get proper food at a wonderful, typical Belgium restaurant in the old market area. Many of the students tried the local specialty—mussels. The food was great. On the walk home we had to stop by the waffle shop for Belgium waffles with chocolate. Some how, we managed to waddle back home: tired, full, happy…and with wonderful chocolate stained clothing. Three countries in one day…topped by chocolate. It doesn’t get much better.

Tomorrow: The European Parliament and the European Commission.