The next morning we checked out, and made our way to Sixt to pick up our car. We had reserved a BMW 1 Series. A friend had reserved a similar car from them, and when they were out of that he was upgraded to a BMW Z4. While I harbored no hopes of getting a Z4, it would have been cool. Well, they were out of the car I reserved, but what they gave me was a Mercedes B class. "Cool!", I thought. "Mercedes!" Alas. I drove across Germany in the autobahn in a Mom car. Well, it was comfortable. The autobahn was pretty heavily traveled when we were on it, so I only really managed to get the car up to 110 mph a few times -- I really wish I had a sportscar, though. Some beautiful looking rocket sleds were passing us on the road, and it just looked too fun. The German countryside was pleasant and relaxing, we had good driving weather, and only got stuck in one traffic jam due to road construction. We saw a lot more Jesus fish on cars than I expected, in that I expected none. I thought that was a US-only thing, but it we saw about 6 or 7. Upon arrival in Brussels we found our hotel, checked in, and made our plans for the evening. Fill up the car with gas, return it to the rental place at Gare-Midi (south train station) and do dinner at Bier Circus. Finding a gas station proved next to impossible. Well, I mean, we found them, but couldn't use them as they were all automated and wouldn't work on credit cards without PINs. Take note, people, everyone is going that route except the US. Canada began its conversion last year. In our quest to find a gas station that was open around the train station, we were driving in a decidedly seedy part of town. I pulled off to the side to consult a map on the iPad, and just as I was about to pull away, this guy starts knocking on the passenger side window and pointing at our rear tire. I pulled away, and noticed the car making some funny noises. Sure enough, the rear passenger tire was flat. I drove around briefly in the belief a service station was nearby, but eventually didn't feel comfortable going any further and pulled off next to a Metro (subway) station. I called the customer assistance line and explained the situation, they said someone would call back. Within a half hour I got a call from Mercedes roadside assistance who estimated someone would be there within 30 minutes. During those 30 minutes, various people kept coming by and offering travail (work) for money to change the tire. Now, I'm capable of changing a tire myself, but I wasn't comfortable in this part of town, so I kept shooing them away. After about 30 minutes, the guy who I'm convinced punctured the tire came by and again offered to fix it. "How much?" says I. "Five Euro". "Done." I'm principled, but eventually my comfort comes first. We go to the back of the car and pull out the spare, but can't find the jack. The spot where it looks like it should be doesn't contain anything. After a few minutes of checking every compartment (but not checking the owner's manual -- foreshadowing), I send them on their way saying we can't do it without a jack. After an hour of waiting, I got a call saying it would be another 45 minutes at least before someone could be there. It was getting late, and we were tired (still hadn't eaten supper), but we waited still. In the last call, however, the dispatcher told us where the jack was (in a secret compartment behind the passenger rear seat). So, about an hour after the last call, and after getting more visits from the same cast of characters who don't seem to understand they weren't getting anything out of me, we decide I'm going to change the tire. I get out of the car to look for the jack, and just at that very moment, the mechanic pulls up. 5 minutes (if that) later, he's done -- wonderful what you can do with a proper car jack and an impact hammer. We head back to the hotel and decide to handle the car return in daylight. By this time it's after midnight. No beer, no dinner. On the upside, though, our room has air conditioning (a rarity in the places we've been staying), and the bed is comfy, and the room is nice, so we're going to sleep it off and start fresh. Hooray!