Brussels is ugly (and we love it)

Lana refers to these as "cheater" entries - I guess it's about time I did one. I blame HI Brussels for charging me 1,5€ for an hour of internet. It's the first place (and thus far only) that has charged me for wireless. As much as I adore updating everyone, that hour was needed for more important things (like figuring out how to get out of Brussels). But on to the update!

Thursday cont. - Made it to Brussels in one piece after a WONDERFUL train ride. The comfort of the train made up for all of the garbage I had to deal with at the train station. For the first time I did what my rail pass is supposed to allow me to do - I got on the train I wanted and just sat in an unreserved seat. Easy as pie. The ticket checker got a big kick out of my last name and kept asking why I wasn't sitting in first class with a name like that. If we're related to the people who run the motor company I think we need to get on bugging them for alimony or something... Three hours later I went from a pleasant mild temperature to rain, rain, fog and some more rain. Welcome to Brussels. The instructions for getting to the hostel from the train station are a LIE! I had to ask no less than four people on my 45 minute journey because there are no signs, anywhere. It was nice to break out the French though, people were more than happy to lend me a hand if I asked nicely in French. One woman even walked me a few blocks asking about my trip and my family in Canada. Checked into a very nice hostel and was SO HAPPY to be in a room with just girls. Most of my europe trip (as I have complained a wee bit about) has been a sausage fest, it was a pleasure to not have to worry about covering every inch of my body when coming out of the shower or worry about sitting on a seat that has been peed on, or to wake up to the smell of stale beer and staler boy in the morning. :) I checked in, dumped my things and went off for a wander. The amazing thing about Brussels is the multiculturalism, it puts us to shame at home in Canada. The hostel was smack dab in the middle of the Moselm district - I walked past three mosques and a slew of market stands with things I could hardly name on display. It was beautiful and I was grateful to be wearing pants, a big jacket and a hat - lest I spurn the ire of someone for being a lone female walking the streets. I called it a night early after meeting Chile and Quebec (two other girls staying in my room). One other joy of hostel etiquette, it's okay if you can't remember anyone's name - calling them by the place they identify as home is perfectly acceptable.

Friday - Up early for quite possibly the best hostel breakfast I have ever eaten. The spread was incredible and the VARIETY had all of us talking and standing in awe at the food. Most of the time it's stale coffee, stale bread and an array of jams and butters, sometimes cheese and meat you can't identify. Most places I've been also had two kinds of cereal (granola something and cornflakes) and warm milk. They had yoghurt! New experience - honey in plain yoghurt is amazing. Parted ways with C&Q - they headed off to the Atomium and I cruised on over to the Museum of Army and Military History. Four hours - I walked around for four hours and didn't manage to see everything. There was a GIANT hangar full of airplanes from the 19th century onwards - as well as anything and everything they could get their hands on from both sides of WWI and WWII. The courtyard held artillery and armor - both displays together put the Canadian War Museum to shame. The museum then begins with a collection from the 16th century and moves chronologically onwards - I don't think I can describe the scope of the collection in each era and most of it was closed for restoration purposes as well. I took more pictures in that museum than I have most of the trip combined, it was stunning work that just blew me away. If you ever make it to Brussels you MUST go! The other bonus? It's free. Next stop was the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessiné. Not as good as the War museum - but I think the bar has been set pretty high after that experience. It was a wonderful museum with exhibits that made me want to be a kid again. Nothing on Astérix and Obélix that I could find, but halls and halls of Tintin, les Schtroumpfs, and Lucky Luke to name a few. I spent a lot of time taking pictures of comics that made my heart sore. Once I find a way to share the pictures on some form of program I'll get on that, I promise. When I made my way out of childhood-lane there was a downpour. It had been "misting" for the last day and I figured I'd be fine without an umbrella - I've made it this far with my super jacket. Boy was I wrong. I made it back to the train station (about a four block walk) and was soaked from head to toe. I stood outside under a ledge and tried to wring the water out of my pants as casually as possible. When the rain showed no sign of slowing I caved and bought an umbrella - it saved my life as I managed to sort of dry off on my wanderings as I was no longer constantly being showered as I walked. I made my way to an older neighborhood and sat down in a pub to have a beer and some Flemish stew. Good choice for dinner - I was the only person in there for a while and it made me feel very odd as the wait staff just seemed to be hanging around me because it was something to do. I know that feeling, I've been on the other end of it before. I like to refer to it as "happy puppy" syndrome; "can I help you? can I do anything? is there anything you would like?" (to be accompanied with bouncing and smiling) I headed back to the hostel after a lovely dinner to spend too much money on wireless internet and be harassed by a few random people before calling it a night. Alas, I am mostly a Belgian failure - there were no chocolates (I did have a Dame Blonde for dessert - which is melted chocolate poured over vanilla ice cream) and no waffles. Mind you, there was no cheese either - so in the end, I didn't do everything the guide book said I should. I would have loved to just wander and take more pictures of the city, there's a certain "post-war" charm that hasn't gone away - however the weather wouldn't permit for random photo snapping.

Saturday - I was woken this morning by the Moslem call to prayer - it was a beautiful sound I never would have expected to hear in that part of the world - but there it was. After another wonderful breakfast, I hopped on the train and bid Belgium farewell. Alas, I didn't hang out in any "touristy" sections of town and therefore couldn't find a sticker for my cane. First country missed - ah well. The train was a fancy ICE train and was amazing - sure reserved a seat and then couldn't find it. Bah - sat down and had a short nap through the beautiful country side. My mind has problems switching back and forth between German and French - it keeps confusing the two languages and I wind up speaking this weird blend of both without being fully aware. I need to work on that... But hey - the moment we crossed the German border, wouldn't you know it stopped raining and warmed up by 15 degrees - I'm not kidding. My hostel was spitting distance from the train station this time, a blessing I am learning to appreciate more and more, however there are only stairs in this place. Lobby's on the third floor (which means the fourth floor at home) and my room is one above that. Anna and I would joke about our blogs - "Dear Blog, there are a lot of stairs in Europe", this is, however, the truth. Frankfurt is an amazing city - but definitely not for everyone. I checked in to discover there was a free pasta dinner that night and they'd set up a big screen for the first two games of the Euro 2008 tournament. Woot! Woot!

Sunday - Today was bliss! I listened to a lot of people in the hostel complain about Frankfurt at breakfast - they kept saying there was nothing to do here. Having wandered around all day - I can sort of understand what they're talking about. It's a good thing I have friends who know the city - I knew what to see and what to avoid; didn't get trapped in the endless cycle of museums. Instead I wandered through the old city and tried to get myself lost - again, can't happen here. Took a touristy picture of the GIANT Euro symbol in the centre of the city - after all, Frankfurt is the birthplace of the Euro. And then spent most of the afternoon sitting beside the Rhine. In my research for Roz I came across a few theatre companies that blew me away - one of whom was The Forsythe Company. I managed to get a last minute ticket tonight to see the show. I don't have the words to explain how incredible it was. A stunning piece of performance that lived somewhere between the worlds of art, dance, and theatre. I believe there are some videos on YouTube if you're curious (search William Forsythe) - stunning, just stunning work. I managed to make it out of the theatre to catch the second half of the Germany-Portugal game and sat with the mob on the street watching the Germans take their first win. It's a great climate to be in - walking down the street where all the televisions and screens have been dragged outside to permit for better viewing and the entire city explodes whenever anything even remotely exciting happens. The police, of course, are out patrolling like mad - but it's still a great experience. I should head to bed soon - I'm on the early train to Mainz tomorrow for an informal interview with a few faculty members with the IPP program and then will hopefully spend the day wandering through the renown Roman architectures and castles before heading back here to book my ticket to Paris. Apparently Germany just keeps calling my name and I can't seem to stay away...

Also - currently contemplating heading down to Barcelona - it may happen, I just have to buck up and make a decision or two. Will keep you updated. :)

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