Brussels or Bust...
Trip Start
Dec 07, 2008
1
Trip End
Dec 10, 2008
Brussels, Belgium
Sunday, December 7, 2008
As I was walking through the doors of the train station, I headed straight for the destinations marquee. There were so many choices that I didn't know where to begin. I decided the best thing to do since I really didn't care where I was going, was to choose the next train leaving. And just like that, I was on my way to Brussels
ICE Train
.The ticket was fairly inexpensive, (unbeknownst to me that I would later pay handsomely). I had about 10 minutes before the train's departure and lucky for me, I was leaving from the first platform which was about 30 feet away from the ticket counter. I quickly claimed a seat facing the direction of travel, and started my normal train riding rituals. Get the book out, get the iPod out, and ride. The ride was really fast (as I was riding the ICE train), picturesque and beautiful. After about half a book, two cappuccinos, and a baguette I was there.
Because I had not really planned, the first thing I had to do was find a place to stay. As luck would have it, there was some sort of sporting event going on. So there I went from hotel to hotel and everything was booked solid. I was surprised to see how rude the hotel receptionists were in that every time that I asked for recommendations, or help, it seemed as if they would go out of their way to be as rude as possible. I'm not that faint of heart so I didn't let this bother me. I walked around for about three hours before I started to get that defeated feeling, and decided maybe it would be best to have a beer and regroup, and then see about finding a place to stay
Buildings as Art
.After about three Belgian beers I was again in good spirits and decided to continue my search. I got in a cab and asked him if he knew of any places that were available. To my surprise, he said of course. I thought great, take me there. Funny that as he was driving, I noticed that he took me back to the place where I started right outside the exit of the train station.
At first glance, the place seemed small and there was definitely something in my gut telling me that this was not such a good place to stay. By this time I really didn't care what the place looked like I was more concerned with getting some rest. I checked in and paid a lot more than I normally would have. I found myself in what seemed to be a broom closet with a bed. You could literally open the door to the room, open the door to the bathroom and brush your teeth all from sitting on your bed. That's not the best part; the shower was right beside the bed! That's right; you get out of bed and pull a plastic curtain so that your bed won't get wet, and shower. I cut my losses and went to a local bar. While there I got to mingling with some expats living there and mentioned where I was staying. After a couple of chuckles, I was mortified to find out that the place I was staying in was not merely a hotel, but a rendezvous hotel!
After about 5 hours of sleep I was out again in the city. There was an unbelievable amount of people in the city. I'm talking populations that you only think would exist in China or India
Buildings as Art
. Like little small islands in the oceans of people, food stands were strewn around the city selling everything from pretzels to Indian samosas. The food there was great. You had every nationality selling their nations best.One of my favorite things of Brussels was the art. Everything from artists setting up mini-galleries along the street to buildings with enormous murals painted on them. Whimsical paintings of comic strip characters were all over the city. Almost all the buildings had some neat feature to them. Whether it be art, facades, or gargoyles but all had something to offer the visual senses.
I didn't have a map so I thought the best thing to do would be to follow the tourist. I found myself in what seemed to be the center of the city. The architecture was amazing. Large facades, gold plated buildings and in the distance, a huge church with flying buttresses.
After two days of walking around, hitting the local bars, and just basically wandering and taking in the city it was time to go. With nothing but a grunt from the woman behind the desk I checked out of my rendezvous hotel and was on my way. The train station was across the street so I crossed and had a smoke and went in the station.
This is where everything went a little sour
Nightlife
. As I walked up to the counter I was signaled to wait a moment. This "moment" that I waited turned out to be 28 minutes, (I know because I was checking my watch). In this time, he managed to take a call on his cell phone, laugh and joke with a co-worker and then take another call. When he finally got to me, he said that he didn't speak English, and that if I didn't know French, then I would have to wait in a different line. As another 10 minutes went by, a younger girl approached me. I was a little annoyed but I figured that since I didn't know French, it was ok for me to wait for someone who spoke English. With a sharp tone she said "where are you going"? I told here where I was going and I literally had to hold my jaw to stop it from dropping when she told me that the ticket was going to be 175 Euros. (Being that I paid only 38 Euros to get there). I asked her why it was so much as I paid much less two days prior. She ignored my question and replied "this is the price of the ticket; if you don't want to pay then you can stay in Brussels".
I paid the ticket and couldn't do anything but laugh. I couldn't help but wonder "how could a city that holds such beauty and culture be filled with so many nasty people"? As with most of my trips I had no regrets. The city itself was beautiful. It was so different than what I was used to living in Qatar that even with all the fiascoes, I was still incredibly pleased with my trip. I learned a lot about myself too. I learned that I'm a really hard person to get down, that I love playing things by ear and that I really love people. And I also learned that when taking a short trip from Germany, buy a round trip ticket!
