Weekend in Belgium
I got back from Belgium on Sunday...and I thought I should finally make a post about it:
I left Well with four other girls at 3pm Thursday...almost right after class. We caught the bus to Venlo and got off at the train station. The whole train system can be very confusing when you can't speak the language everything is in. Apparently, we got on the wrong train...it was still taking us to Brussels, but according to the man checking tickets we were supposed to be on a train that went through customs or something. I don't know...I still don't understand. There was a lot of waiting and the entire trip took over six hours. It was nearly 10pm when we arrived at our Bed and Breakfast. This place was called the Albert Inn, though is was actually just someone's home with two rooms set up as a place for travelers like us to stay. The house was very nice (loved the shower) and we got a great breakfast...all for a cheap price.
The first thing we did the next morning in Brussels was go to the art museum. Surely not as impressive as the Louvre will be, but I stilled enjoyed it and took a few pictures of sculptures. Instead of lunch, we decided to simply eat waffles and crepes...because of course we were in Belgium. The rest of the day was spent mostly walking around and taking pictures of the city. At one point, we stopped at a playground and climbed the ropes. Seriously. But it was so much fun. :D
After returning to the B&B, we headed out to meet several other friends at a pub called L'Muerte Subite (Sudden Death). We circled half the city (while eating Belgian fries) trying to find the place and we actually ended up running into our friends before we got there. But there were still more people meeting us (it was a group of 15 or so), so we finally found the pub and had a drink. After the pub, we all decided to go to an acual restaurant since a lot of people were hungry.
Before I continue, I should mention one thing I hate about Europe is that there seems to be uneven steps everywhere I go. I don't know how many times I tripped at the Castle. I knew I was bound to actually fall sometime...and it happened to be on the streets of Brussels. My foot caught a bump in the middle of the road and before I knew it, I was on the ground. I skinned and bruised my knee pretty badly (it's still very sore), but I think I was more embarrassed about the fact I totally ate pavement in front of tons of people than I was hurt. But most of all, I was just pissed off that I ripped a hole in my favourite pair of jeans and severely scuffed my boots. I mean really...favourite jeans are so hard to replace.
I tried not to let my fall ruin the rest of my night, which it didn't. Though I didn't eat at the restaurant from the combination of feeling stunned and not being that hungry anyway. After dinner, most of us wanted to go clubbing...but we couldn't find any good places to go to that were open yet. We tried to go to an absinthe bar, but they were all way too crowded. So we all decided to return to Sudden Death for more drinks. I had a beer there I wasn't terribly fond of...but I made myself drink it since I paid for it. It was a big drink and I think I was a bit tipsy afterwards (I hardly drink alcohol, so a little goes a long way). Our other friends still wanted to go clubbing, but the five of us were tired and took a taxi back to the B&B.
Late the next morning, we checked out of the B&B. Before getting on the train, we stopped for over an hour at the musical instrument museum. It was a really neat audio and visual experience....knowing Flemish and French was not necessary since music is a universal language. After the museum, we all got on a train to Bruges.
We arrived in Bruges a little after 3pm. This tourist city is a major contrast to Brussels and it's very pretty with it's narrow streets as well as some canals. All the museums and such were closed by the time we got there, so we just took the evening to look around. I found a restaurant called De Hobbit in my travel book and I was very excited to eat there....unfortunately when we found it, we discovered the owners were on holiday. So I didn't get to eat at De Hobbit, but I still took a picture of the sign... In Bruges, we ran into a lot of students from the Castle...some even staying in the same hostel, which was interesting. Before the end of the night, we stopped in a bar full of local rockers briefly, then went to bed.
The next day, we were originally planning to visit a couple of churches which featured special stuff...but since it was Sunday, things weren't opening until early afternoon. My group was exhausted and ready to be back at the Castle, so we decided not to wait and headed back on the train. Again, there were many connections and some confusion, but we did manage to make it back in Well in time for dinner.
So that was my trip. It was lots of fun...this traveling thing is becoming quite the experience. I took lots of pictures and I promise to upload them when I'm not so tired. Right now, I'm more frustrated with figuring out future plans than anything. There's a lot more to say on that subject, but I'm half-asleep currently, so I'll have to explain my travel frustrations later...
I left Well with four other girls at 3pm Thursday...almost right after class. We caught the bus to Venlo and got off at the train station. The whole train system can be very confusing when you can't speak the language everything is in. Apparently, we got on the wrong train...it was still taking us to Brussels, but according to the man checking tickets we were supposed to be on a train that went through customs or something. I don't know...I still don't understand. There was a lot of waiting and the entire trip took over six hours. It was nearly 10pm when we arrived at our Bed and Breakfast. This place was called the Albert Inn, though is was actually just someone's home with two rooms set up as a place for travelers like us to stay. The house was very nice (loved the shower) and we got a great breakfast...all for a cheap price.
The first thing we did the next morning in Brussels was go to the art museum. Surely not as impressive as the Louvre will be, but I stilled enjoyed it and took a few pictures of sculptures. Instead of lunch, we decided to simply eat waffles and crepes...because of course we were in Belgium. The rest of the day was spent mostly walking around and taking pictures of the city. At one point, we stopped at a playground and climbed the ropes. Seriously. But it was so much fun. :D
After returning to the B&B, we headed out to meet several other friends at a pub called L'Muerte Subite (Sudden Death). We circled half the city (while eating Belgian fries) trying to find the place and we actually ended up running into our friends before we got there. But there were still more people meeting us (it was a group of 15 or so), so we finally found the pub and had a drink. After the pub, we all decided to go to an acual restaurant since a lot of people were hungry.
Before I continue, I should mention one thing I hate about Europe is that there seems to be uneven steps everywhere I go. I don't know how many times I tripped at the Castle. I knew I was bound to actually fall sometime...and it happened to be on the streets of Brussels. My foot caught a bump in the middle of the road and before I knew it, I was on the ground. I skinned and bruised my knee pretty badly (it's still very sore), but I think I was more embarrassed about the fact I totally ate pavement in front of tons of people than I was hurt. But most of all, I was just pissed off that I ripped a hole in my favourite pair of jeans and severely scuffed my boots. I mean really...favourite jeans are so hard to replace.
I tried not to let my fall ruin the rest of my night, which it didn't. Though I didn't eat at the restaurant from the combination of feeling stunned and not being that hungry anyway. After dinner, most of us wanted to go clubbing...but we couldn't find any good places to go to that were open yet. We tried to go to an absinthe bar, but they were all way too crowded. So we all decided to return to Sudden Death for more drinks. I had a beer there I wasn't terribly fond of...but I made myself drink it since I paid for it. It was a big drink and I think I was a bit tipsy afterwards (I hardly drink alcohol, so a little goes a long way). Our other friends still wanted to go clubbing, but the five of us were tired and took a taxi back to the B&B.
Late the next morning, we checked out of the B&B. Before getting on the train, we stopped for over an hour at the musical instrument museum. It was a really neat audio and visual experience....knowing Flemish and French was not necessary since music is a universal language. After the museum, we all got on a train to Bruges.
We arrived in Bruges a little after 3pm. This tourist city is a major contrast to Brussels and it's very pretty with it's narrow streets as well as some canals. All the museums and such were closed by the time we got there, so we just took the evening to look around. I found a restaurant called De Hobbit in my travel book and I was very excited to eat there....unfortunately when we found it, we discovered the owners were on holiday. So I didn't get to eat at De Hobbit, but I still took a picture of the sign... In Bruges, we ran into a lot of students from the Castle...some even staying in the same hostel, which was interesting. Before the end of the night, we stopped in a bar full of local rockers briefly, then went to bed.
The next day, we were originally planning to visit a couple of churches which featured special stuff...but since it was Sunday, things weren't opening until early afternoon. My group was exhausted and ready to be back at the Castle, so we decided not to wait and headed back on the train. Again, there were many connections and some confusion, but we did manage to make it back in Well in time for dinner.
So that was my trip. It was lots of fun...this traveling thing is becoming quite the experience. I took lots of pictures and I promise to upload them when I'm not so tired. Right now, I'm more frustrated with figuring out future plans than anything. There's a lot more to say on that subject, but I'm half-asleep currently, so I'll have to explain my travel frustrations later...