Napolean and I both got smashed at Waterloo.

Well, this is the best title I could come up with to describe my situation on Sunday. I woke up early Sunday morning and worked out in the hotel fitness center, had a quick swim. I then spent about an hour catching up on emails and the blog which all got erased when their computer network went down. I decided to get dressed, check out of the hotel, and then head for the train station. I took the train out to Brussels airport where I picked up my rental car. I ordered an economy car, but the man was out of economy models. Therefore, he gave me a Cadillac. Now, this is not a cadillac like you might find in the states. It was certainly a nice car, but it was probably about the size of a ford tempo. I was not very delighted to get this so called upgrade because one of the things I have learned about traveling overseas is that I DO NOT want to draw attention to myself. Anyway, I also rented a GPS and then I was on my way. I had a few hours before the Brussels Bulls played their game, so I decided to drive the 20 or so kilometers out to visit the battlefields of Waterloo. I have a great interest in the American civil war and World War II, but I decided that a quick visit to Waterloo was a good way to educate myself about this time period in European history. Even with the GPS, the battlefield and memorials were difficult to find because I did not have a street address. I finally found my way around 12:30, so I parked my car in a tourist lot about 200 yards from the attractions. I had about an hour and a half to visit the small museum and walk up to the Lions head monument. I finished up with my sightseeing about 2 and headed back to the car. When I got back to the car, I could not believe my eyes. The rear side passenger window had been completely smashed out of my car and all my belongings were gone. My belongings included all my clothes, work papers, football folders, playbooks, and drill notebooks that I have collected over the last 6 years. The only things they did not get were my wallet, passport, and camera. I was in shock to say the least. I soon realized that 4 other cars had suffered the same fate as me. Some had lost handbags, cellphones, house keys, etc... An American man let me use his cellphone, so I called the rental car company right away and told them about the incident. They recommended that I get a police report. The police do not come out to you here unless someone is dying or dead, so I had to follow a Dutch couple to the police station in Waterloo. The first one was closed, so we had to go and find the other station. After we reached the station, the next problem soon revealed itself. The police station was in Belgium, but the officers at the station only spoke French. One of the victims spoke the language, so he was able to get taken care of. One other lady knew enough to get by so they took her back in the office next. Third in line was the couple from Holland. They spoke Dutch, English, and German, but not French. They were frustrated with the arrogance of the officers so they left to go back to the Netherlands. And then there was me. My French consists of a few basic words like rendevouz, Renault, frommage, and of course, fries. These words do not get you far in a situation like this. Basically, I did a lot of pointing and sign language to get my story across. After about 15 minutes of frustration, a guy who looked like Larry the Cable Guy came on duty. He spoke a little English and said he would take care of me. He led me up some steps into some large offices where I sat down to fill out a report. He was nice enough to contact my car rental company for me and explain what he knew of the story. The fact of the matter is that this kind of thing happens often in Europe. They do not have the proliferation of violent crime as we do in the states, but break-ins and theft are a major problem. Pickpockets on trains and in the city squares are especially problematic. I finally finished my report and realized I now had missed most of the football game in Brussels. I drove back to the car rental agency and picked up another car just before they closed and then drove out to catch the last quarter of the Bulls game. It was hard to concentrate and enjoy the game as my eyes were fixated on the car the whole time. Anyway, the Bulls won the game and I went down and congratulated Coach Moreels before heading off in another direction. I was now ready to drive down south to Bastogne. Hopefully, tomorrow would be a better day. There was only one problem going into the next day. When the thieves had stolen everything from me, that included my medication. My medication is the blood thinners which I have been taking for the past year. I wanted to enjoy myself the next day, but I knew I had to find a way to get some medication to help me cope with my blood clots. That would turn out to be another challenge. Lights out.