A short trip to Belgium on broken trains

We have a saying in Germany: “Die schönsten Geschichten schreibt das Leben” and I can definitely confirm that life comes up with the most beautiful stories. At least as far as this weekend is concerned, I had a really awesome time visiting good old friends for a small reunion in good old Belgium! The only hitch? Well, the ride to and from Belgium was delayed by 30 up to 40 minutes each due to technical problems on the train, people on the track or both at the same time, at least for the ride to Brussels on Friday.
Nevertheless, I got paid back with a delightful weekend with wonderful company, so what does a delay of 40 minutes more or less actually matter if you have a direct connection and can additionally look forward to an awesome time with awesome people? Nothing to me really, and as long as I actually arrive at my desired destination, there’s no need to be angry, about anything in my opinion.

On Friday evening, I was picked up by Mai-li, Dries and their taxi driver and went to Wortel to stay at Mai-li’s place for the first night.
The morning after, we went to Leuven to stow our luggage at Julien’s place before we went to the train station to meet Hanne, Age and Thomas.

We had a great time wandering around the city and, during the course of the day, got two surprise-guests dropping by for a little while (Youssri and Vlora).

All in all, it was a bigger reunion as we expected; but especially for me, it has been a pleasure to see so many people, as I was supposed to go to Belgium for newyear’s eve but couldn’t go in the end because I got sick at the last second.
Furthermore, except for organizing assistance in Frankfurt, there was nothing much to worry about this time. Mai-li, Dries and Dave picked me up in Brussels on Friday, and they also dropped me off in Brussels. Sure, there was a delay of 30 minutes on my way back as well and I missed my train to Marburg; however, the train I eventually took was faster than the train I was scheduled on, so I just arrived about 15 minutes later.
Therefore, thank you all for such a great and easy-going weekend, and I am looking forward to seeing you soon again!

The picture was taken in the park of Leuven, where we stopped for a little chill-out.