A taste of Belgium

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"Do you mean I can have 4 days off?" I said to my boss after double checking the roster. Sounds good to me I thought, perfect time to get away for a couple of days. After looking around at my options I decided to take the Eurostar to Belgium for 4 days. Some chocolate, beer and waffles would do me nicely.

So after spending Thursday evening with my friends in London (also for the last time at our house in Avenue Rd), I boarded the early Friday morning service from London to Brussels where I then connected on a northbound train to Antwerp. My first impressions were obviously "grand" after arriving in the magnificent Central Station. Wow, what an impressive building. The "OLD EUROPE" feel was balanced with an Art Deco lego block with the letter 'A' scattered around the station...obviously the tourism committee were inventive with the logo of Antwerp.

The first impressions of my hostel was "This is a house not a hostel" as I tentatively rang the doorbell. Technically speaking it was Bridget and Greg's family home with a few side rooms for rent. Bridget had travelled when she was younger and upon settling down in Antwerp she opened up her home and made it a hostel 2 years ago. Its in a nice quiet neighbourhood with a large North African community in the surrounding buildings and only a short walk to town. She quickly circled all the best bakeries, restaurants and all the little squares with bars to make it slightly easier to get around.

I wandered around the historical centre in the afternoon and popped my head into the Cathedral of Our Lady. During the middle ages this cathedral housed famous Flemish paintings and after many years of conquests and change a temporary exhibition adornes its inner walls today. It wasn't hard to see why Antwerp was an attractive place for tourists to visit: beautiful buildings, nice restaurants and lots of different beer to sample. And don't forget The Red Light District which was surprisingly busy for a Friday lunchtime: lots of punters spending their Euros wisely.

I spent the evening in Dageraadplaats square where I had some dinner and did some people watching. This was a nice spot out in the neighbourhoods and alot of families and young couples were unwinding their working week with a few beverages and some nice food. I ate at the Egyptian Restaurant Amon which served up a spicy meal of meat, salad and sauces for around 8 Euro. Kids were playing football in the middle of the sqauare whilst a few musicians entertained the hoards of mealgoers backdropped against a romantic cathedral...this is why I love Europe.



My first stop Saturday morning were the markets under the giant roof of the Theaterplein. Olives, breads, fresh meat, seafood and flowers were all on offer in the traditional Begian style. I couldn't help myself sampling all the olives and ended up ordering a wrap that included every antipasti ingredient they had on offer. Also add 200ml of oil....oh man I nearly had a heart attack after but it was so delicious. I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to write down what it was called. Just call it a death wrap. It was also the first place that I saw a "standing champagne/oysters bar". Its a great idea and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves even at 10am in the morning.

Afterwards I wandered further south of the city landscape and into the antique district along Hoogstraat. Amongst these were lots of coffee shops and after having found a good one on Oever St, I revisited later on in the afternoon for another hit of caffeine. And this is when I stumbled into Sint-Andriesplaats square where a few tents and some tables and chairs were set up on the football court...whats this?? I looked around and saw a sign that said "moossel festival". PERFECT!!! A big pot of freshly caught, cleaned and steamed mussels for only 11 Euro. Someone was playing the acoustic guitar for entertainment and the beer girls were busy keeping everyone happy. So after devouring a decent size pot I took out my book and enjoyed the serenity so to speak for another couple of hours. And after eating all morning I needed to stay still for a while to aid digestion.

I was so slow walking back to the hostel. My heels were starting to crack again after three months respite...I just love wearing flip flops when on holidays, even when its raining. A few more people were hanging around the lounge room in the hostel and after watching Reservoir Dogs we walked down the road to check out a little festival being held on Kerkstraat square. A band was playing and the little square was overwhelmed with people hanging around the white beer tents. It was free to get in and after buying some beer tokens we settled in for the music. The first band was a mix between funk/death metal and at sometimes was utterly bizarre. But the second band got the crowd going and and little kids dancing up the front. It was a beautiful evening with a clear sky as well and it was the perfect way to wrap up my time in Antwerp.



It was pouring rain Sunday morning as I made my way to the train station bound southwards for Brussels. Gabriel bought me a Duvel beer (9%) at the end of the evening which tipped me over the edge slightly and left me with a slight headache to deal with. Belgium beer is nice, I think we sampled 6 different beers: lagers, bitters and dark beers. But stronger compared with the 4-5% that I am used to. The rain definitely looked set in as my train pulled into Brussels Nord. I checked in and briefly walked around Central Brussels seeing the Grote Market before I succumbed to the bad weather and turned back to the hostel. On first viewing it didn't seem as pretty as Antwerp but maybe that would change when the sun came out.

I hadn't eaten Vietnamese Pho noodles for a few months and after randomly passing a Vietnamese restaurant I couldn't help myself. Even the owner noticed my enthusiasm whilst I scoffed every last drop of stock and noodles down in a frantic 10 minute session...I would eat it everyday if I could cook it properly. The sun came out for the evening and despite most of the shops being closed it was nice to sit in the Marche Aux Herbes Grasmarkt eating some fries with bearnise sauce watching everyone potter about.



I was ready to jump back on the train to London this morning but I had to wait until my train at 5pm. Was really in the mood to lay on a comfy couch and read a book but things were pretty hectic in the hostel that I didn't really see it as a possibility. The sun was shining outside and so to pass the time I walked up to the Arc De Triumph (how many countries have an Arc de Triumph???? France, Laos, Belgium.....please let me know of any other ones, I could end up doing a tour of the Arc's maybe). As Brussels is the European capital all the offical EU buildings were around this district that smelt of officialdom. High rises, nice hotels and full business suits donned on the street despite the hot weather.

Unfortunately it was Monday which meant that the Museums and the Royal Palace were closed. I wasn't too fussed and continued my unhealthy eating with some more chocolate and french fries. Warandepark Parc De Bruxells was a nice place to spend a few hours reading and soaking up the sun. The view of the city up here was great, all the spires of the cathedrals could be picked out amongst the more modern buildings.

Its funny watching other tourists be so entranced when they see a statue in a foreign city. Suddenly it becomes of utter importance to get a photo next to the statue no matter how ubiquitos it is. To the point where people just see a statue and think "oh, lets climb all over it and get some cool shots." I don't know if this was the National Day for Climbing over statues but every corner I turned there were people all over them being as creative as possible. I nearly fell into taking a picture of this act but thought this would only encourage it. Its funny the behaviour a sculpture can induce in some people.

Brussels....I think its a gorgeous city but I found Antwerp to be more charming. Obviously I need to visit the canals in Brugge and get out into the Belgian countryside but this was a nice taster of what the country had to offer. I think my parents would enjoy it here more...I need to go to Spain for my next short break, some sun and a little bit of craziness. The Adriatic is next however: Croatia here I come.

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