No Mussels in Brussels

We were supposed to spend two nights in Brussels but Liz had some bank trouble and we weren't able to leave until Thursday afternoon. The first thing we had to do was figure out how to play the Amsterdam train station game. We stood in several lines and walked around confused before finally figuring it out. We learned that you have to go to a special kiosk, type in your destination and take a number and then depending on whether it's a domestic trip or an international one, wait in two separate areas with several hundred other people crowded around a screen waiting for their number to be called all the while eyeing the clock to make sure we weren't going to miss our train. It was like some twisted mixture of BINGO and Survivor. Then, despite the fact that we were holding a number for an international destination we were called to a domestic desk where of course they didn't take credit cards!!! But such is our trip! So after a very long, very cramped train ride we arrived in Brussels. The Brussels train game entailed the decoding of five different Metro maps. One was a giant X, one was an X with a circle in the middle and the most fun part was even if you found your stop on the map on the platform, when you got on the train it would suddenly be a new map and your stop was no where to be seen. By the time we arrived at the hotel we were absolutely exhausted! But no rest for the weary! We left right away to meet Vicky, a friend of Tommy's who Liz met on her trips to Germany. Vicky is currently studying to be a French translator in Brussels. We met her under the giant Christmas tree in Grand Place, the center of Brussels. She and her friends took us to a Belgian beer hall that served over 2000 different kinds of beer from all around the world. The girls all opted for the cherry beer Kriek, while Ian went for something a little stronger, namely a 12% ABV monk brewed delight. After that we met another friend and tried to walk around the Christmas market. We got hot spiced wine and looked around all the little craft booths and it would have been lovely had it not been for the torrential downpour that began the second we stepped outside. So we ditched that idea and went to several bars around the St. Catherine district. The next morning we went back to Grand Place to find the famous Mannequin-Pis. The fountain of a little boy peeing that has become the symbol for Brussels. We were delighted to find that the city had dressed him up in a tiny Sinter Klaus costume! After that we walked around the Christmas market some more and enjoyed a delicious chocolate covered Belgian waffle... not a breakfast food at all! Then we went to the Godiva factory and each got a truffle and some chocolate dipped strawberries and bananas... at least we're eating some fruit!

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