Was it coincidence or was it fate? Somehow, our detour towards Kerkrade led me to a awesome find for the house. As you may or may not know, one of the things which I have taken back with me from the United States is a love of junk food - burgers in particular. One of my favourite burger joints in the US was and still is Burger King.

Unfortunately, Belgium has some sort of border which makes it unable to acquire many of the American junk food that its neighbours have adopted. In the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, one can find Burger Kings, KFCs, and many other delights from the US. So, as one of my Christmas presents, I managed to get my partner to agree to drive me to the nearest Burger King in Dutch Limburg. As my partner's parents live in Belgian Limburg, this didn't represent an outrageous drive.

So, BK Day arrives, and we drive to Kerkrade, and we notice opposite the Burger King that there's a hardware/home improvement shop (Hornbach). I'd heard on web forums that flooring was cheaper in France, and I was just curious to see whether it was also the case in the Netherlands. We enter this huge hardware shop, and come across this floor which is on special offer. For 5,95 eur/m2, I can aquire a parquet which has a dark colour, is 8mm thick, and is a class 33 (suitable for heavy residential, moderate commercial use). In Belgium, for 5,95 eur/m2 you get a 6mm thick, certainly not class 33 floor, and never a dark finish.

The Floor is a Tarkett Select 833:



For 50m2, with the underfloor mat, my total bill is less than 400 EUR!

It was an awesome offer by Belgian standards. Despite having driven here with a Clio, I am sold, and I think my partner is too - we buy the flooring on the spot, without having a clue how we're going to get it back to Belgium.

Anyway, my partner and his father are now on their way to pick it up with another car - but I'm still amazed that just crossing the border really can make a huge difference on your purse. Might even be able to get that custom built table done now!