Whirlwind tour between trains

Trip Start Apr 08, 2007
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Trip End Oct 01, 2007


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Saturday, April 28, 2007

Well, due to some necessary itinerary rearrangements, Mayu and I have had to basically eradicate the Belgium plans. Originally we were going to spend several nights in Bruges and try to take in a few other places from there. But with her needing to go home early for work, we had to cut something in order to fit in Spain, Italy and - most importantly - Greece. So, out were the four to five nights in Belgium and Luxembourg and up came Spain before Paris in early May.

But if we have to do such a long hike down to Madrid after Amsterdam, I didn't think it'd be a whole lot of fun to do it as one long stretch of train riding. Therefore, we did cram in a bit of Belgium: about five hours in between trains in Brussels! Not perhaps the best way to see a country, but it beats sitting and watching the countryside pass by all day. As for Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent or whatever else, that'll have to be another trip Miniscule Mannekin Pis
Miniscule Mannekin Pis
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In all honesty, I didn't particularly like Brussels the first time I visited, years ago. Perhaps it was the miserable rainy weather, but I found it to be boring, light on attractions and fairly ugly. Now that I've come back for a second visit, I've come around some. The suburbs are still terribly unappealing and there is a lot of bland EU-steel-and-glass modernist architecture. But, the Grande Place really is one of the most impressive historic squares in Europe. Seeing it under blue skies and warm sun makes a huge difference. There are a fair number of intriguing churches about, and the town center is riddled with some very pretty Flemish buildings. And the food is fabulous! Mayu and I indulged in the mandatory moules vin blanc avec frites along with a fine Belgian beer for lunch, then followed up with a gaufre (Belgian waffle) for dessert. Scrumptious! So there are definitely some nice aspects to Brussels.

I still maintain that it's not one of Europe's finest capital cities though. And Mannekin Pis is a joke! Talk about the tiniest sight in Europe (vying perhaps with Copenhagen's Little Mermaid).

Anyhow, we're off to Paris now on the Thalys high speed train. Once there we have to change to Gare d'Austerlitz and catch our overnight connection to Madrid. The one concern is where we're going to stay - we have no reservations for Spain yet and it's Labor Day weekend in Europe. Cross your fingers!
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