When walking in Brussels, never make eye contact with anybody, as they will then stop you and ask directions. I think that asking directions is the Belgian equivalent of "Do you come here often?". My favourite, however, was about 5 years ago when a car pulled up by the side of the road. The driver wound down and asked me "Which way is it to Germany?".
If you are going to another country, surely you at least find out which motorway to head for before setting out.
So this story does not really surprise me....
"The daily Het Nieuwsblad reports the unlikely tale of a lady from Hainaut Province in Wallonia (Belgium), who wanted to drive to Brussels but ended up in Zagreb in Croatia after using her GPS satellite guidance system.
The woman identified by Het Nieuwsblad as the 67-year-old Sabine Moureau told the paper: "I was absent-minded so I kept on putting my foot down."
Sabine started her journey in Erquelinnes on the morning of last Saturday week. "I was going to pick up my friend in the Brussels North Station" she told the paper.
The journey should have taken just over an hour, but she ended up 1,450km from her starting point.
Sabine continues her tale: "I switched on the GPS and punched in the address. Then I started out. My GPS seemed a bit wonky. It sent me on several diversions and that's where it must have gone wrong."
"I saw tons of different signposts, first in French, later in German, but I kept on driving."
Sabine had to fill up twice and slept a few hours by the wayside, but claims she never really caught on to the fact that she might be on the wrong track.
"It was only when I ended up in Zagreb that I realised I was no longer in Belgium."
Meanwhile Sabine's friend had arrived at her home under her own steam. Her son too was dead worried. They were only reunited two days later after Sabine made the same journey in reverse. Her son has now made her promise never to rely only on her GPS!"
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/news/130113_driver_belgium_zagreb
No comments:
Post a Comment