Luxembourg to Brussels
After waking up, checking for new wrinkles and profiting from a generous buffet breakfast, by preparing lunch as well, it was off north to Belgium and the capital Brussels.
Tips for young players:
1. book hostel via guide book;
2. take map from said guidebook;
3. arrive in Brussel central station;
4. find hostel!!!!!!!!!!!
This becomes exponentially more frustrating when carrying your entire house on your back for each and every intersection!!!
After meeting up with two Scottish boys from the last hostel we set off trying to find our hostel….and tried and tried. In fact all we managed to find was a gay bar and ourselves very, very lost….Damn, forgot my latex!!
After we eventually found the hostel, dumped our bags and went searching for the two most famous things about Belgium:
1. beer; &
2. chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of chocolate there was no lack of choice. Mind you, neither was there any lack of choice for beer either.
As suggested, we made our way towards the Market Square. If you get to Brussels, you definitely should start there. It’s very easy to find: head towards the largest spire in town and when you need to pick your jaw from the pavement, you’re there!
The largest building in the square is the Hotel de Ville (town hall). It was the only building to survive a sustained cannon barrage (by the French I believe) which was funny since the only thing that they were actually aiming at!! The building is a massive gothic structure with an immense spire that dominates the entire city. However, no less impressive , are the other buildings which make up the rest of the square. Accompanying the Hotel de Ville are buildings representing the various guilds.
As usual, there was something obstructing the complete picture, in this case what looked to be stages set up for the finish line of a marathon. As we wandered through the old town it was hard not to notice the litter everywhere. This place was fairly filthy. After eventually stumbling across the Royal Palace, we resolved to return the following day to have a look inside.
Finally, with our stomach acid self-digesting the insides of our stomaches, we made our way out in search of food. There are literally hundreds of restaurants in the old town and despite the competition between places, the plates were reasonably sized and the prices cheap. Eventually, however, we decided on Vietnamese and ended up in the Western part of the city in a less touristy area. Once settled, we then started at the top of the list and began with a Kreik™. This beer was a surprise. It was red and tasted more like a cherry beer but went down well with the food. After the Duvel™ that followed we were well into the Brussel’s experience.
Randomly, we ran into a friend from Paris and so met up with her after dinner for after dinner drinks. One of the best beers was called Kwak™ and part of the novelty was that you drank the beer from a test-tube like glass that rested in a wooden holder. In fact, you had to pick up the both in order to drink it.
After breakfast the following morning, where “Soup-Nazi” ensured nothing extra left the breakfast room, we raced back towards the palace via the famous “Manneken Pis” (a fountain of a boy pissing). When warned that the Mona Lisa was small, I was pleasantly surprised at actually how big it was. Therefore, when warned that the pissing boy was small, I expected…….well I didn’t think it would be that small!! Located next door was a chocolate shop, complete with a cut out where you could pose as the boy…including a place for your left hand!!
After wandering through the Royal Palace, in awe after each room only to be smacked with the stupid stick when we entered the Ballroom. Finally we left but not before appreciating one of the more bizarre sculptures ever. Three ceiling roses and a full sized chandelier covered in Thai Jewel beetles, 1.4 million of them in total. Not even a photo (not that we were allowed to take photos) could capture the eerie feel of walking under the chandelier covered with beetles. It felt like, at any moment, the bugs were going to come alive and descend on us.
After negotiating ourselves back to the old town, slipping between runners in the marathon, we sat, enjoyed a coffee and clapped the runners as they hit the last turn before home. Eventually we grabbed our stuff and head off towards the station for our next destination, Bruge.
Tips for young players:
Whilst in Belgium, realise that church bells etc bare absolutely no correlation to the time. If you hear bells, the only thing you can be sure is that it is NOT on the hour, quarter past or to, or even half past. The result seemed to be a continuing melange of bells, going off at random times.
Tips for young players:
1. book hostel via guide book;
2. take map from said guidebook;
3. arrive in Brussel central station;
4. find hostel!!!!!!!!!!!
This becomes exponentially more frustrating when carrying your entire house on your back for each and every intersection!!!
After meeting up with two Scottish boys from the last hostel we set off trying to find our hostel….and tried and tried. In fact all we managed to find was a gay bar and ourselves very, very lost….Damn, forgot my latex!!
After we eventually found the hostel, dumped our bags and went searching for the two most famous things about Belgium:
1. beer; &
2. chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of chocolate there was no lack of choice. Mind you, neither was there any lack of choice for beer either.
As suggested, we made our way towards the Market Square. If you get to Brussels, you definitely should start there. It’s very easy to find: head towards the largest spire in town and when you need to pick your jaw from the pavement, you’re there!
The largest building in the square is the Hotel de Ville (town hall). It was the only building to survive a sustained cannon barrage (by the French I believe) which was funny since the only thing that they were actually aiming at!! The building is a massive gothic structure with an immense spire that dominates the entire city. However, no less impressive , are the other buildings which make up the rest of the square. Accompanying the Hotel de Ville are buildings representing the various guilds.
As usual, there was something obstructing the complete picture, in this case what looked to be stages set up for the finish line of a marathon. As we wandered through the old town it was hard not to notice the litter everywhere. This place was fairly filthy. After eventually stumbling across the Royal Palace, we resolved to return the following day to have a look inside.
Finally, with our stomach acid self-digesting the insides of our stomaches, we made our way out in search of food. There are literally hundreds of restaurants in the old town and despite the competition between places, the plates were reasonably sized and the prices cheap. Eventually, however, we decided on Vietnamese and ended up in the Western part of the city in a less touristy area. Once settled, we then started at the top of the list and began with a Kreik™. This beer was a surprise. It was red and tasted more like a cherry beer but went down well with the food. After the Duvel™ that followed we were well into the Brussel’s experience.
Randomly, we ran into a friend from Paris and so met up with her after dinner for after dinner drinks. One of the best beers was called Kwak™ and part of the novelty was that you drank the beer from a test-tube like glass that rested in a wooden holder. In fact, you had to pick up the both in order to drink it.
After breakfast the following morning, where “Soup-Nazi” ensured nothing extra left the breakfast room, we raced back towards the palace via the famous “Manneken Pis” (a fountain of a boy pissing). When warned that the Mona Lisa was small, I was pleasantly surprised at actually how big it was. Therefore, when warned that the pissing boy was small, I expected…….well I didn’t think it would be that small!! Located next door was a chocolate shop, complete with a cut out where you could pose as the boy…including a place for your left hand!!
After wandering through the Royal Palace, in awe after each room only to be smacked with the stupid stick when we entered the Ballroom. Finally we left but not before appreciating one of the more bizarre sculptures ever. Three ceiling roses and a full sized chandelier covered in Thai Jewel beetles, 1.4 million of them in total. Not even a photo (not that we were allowed to take photos) could capture the eerie feel of walking under the chandelier covered with beetles. It felt like, at any moment, the bugs were going to come alive and descend on us.
After negotiating ourselves back to the old town, slipping between runners in the marathon, we sat, enjoyed a coffee and clapped the runners as they hit the last turn before home. Eventually we grabbed our stuff and head off towards the station for our next destination, Bruge.
Tips for young players:
Whilst in Belgium, realise that church bells etc bare absolutely no correlation to the time. If you hear bells, the only thing you can be sure is that it is NOT on the hour, quarter past or to, or even half past. The result seemed to be a continuing melange of bells, going off at random times.
posted by santas walkabout at 12:54 am
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