Brussels, Belgium

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I am once again going to take a trip of a lifetime. I have been very fortunate to be able to go to Europe now for five consecutive years. I can't explain how lucky I am, but I embellish each and every moment, for this one day will probably end.
I fly into Brussels Belgium to start on this adventure. The plane ride was relatively smooth, and I met a nice young lady from BYU named Heather who was sitting beside me. She was meeting her friend from Washington DC, and then taking off on an adventure to Paris and Rome.
When I departed the plane, it seemed like it took forever to go through passport control. Once through, I told Heather goodbye, and it was time to start my own adventure. I went to the ATM, and I wanted to take out 300 Euro. My transaction was declined. I thought, "No worries" I will just get money at another ATM. I tried and same result. Transaction denied. Great! What a way to start. I decided to not chance it, so I went to one of the money exchangers. They gave me 250 Euros, but I had a 3 Euro fee and not to mention whatever the Visa charge will be. I wanted 300 Euros; however the fee would be 12 Euros. Go figure.
I purchased my train ticket to get from the airport to the Central station, and after about twenty minutes, I was in the center of Brussels. Now...where do I go? I asked a local for directions, but he did not speak English very well. So this is not going so well I thought.
I made my way to a tourist information office, and they helped me with a map and told me about how to find my hostel. Crap...my hostel was a pretty good hike from the main section of town. I walked and walked and walked. My backpack was getting heavy, and I still did not where I was going. Finally, after more than an hour of walking and lugging that heavy backpack, I found my hostel.
When I did finally arrive, I could not check in for check in time was 3:00 pm. What to do? I stored my luggage in the basement (locked of course) and off I go. I had a list of things to see, so I did my best to try and find them. I went first to the Grand Palace. What a sight to behold! It was a magnificent building, and I just stood in awe. After several photos, I really wanted to find the Mannequin Pis. This is a little statue that is dressed up in different costumes daily and looks like a little boy peeing. I don't know why this is so popular, but it drew a crowd every time I went by it. I went by it several times because I got lost so much. That is a different story. I started to get really hungry, and something smelled really good. It was Belgiun waffles. I had to have one. I got one with chocolate and powdered sugar on it. Delicious!
Next, I really wanted to see the Atomium. I asked a local how to get there and he told me it was necessary to take a bus. I really did not want to do this, however I thought it would be a good idea to get on a Hop on- Hop off bus where I could see more of the sights. I proceeded to do so (20 Euro) and this took me to all of the important sights. After riding for about twenty minutes, I was at my destination. I got off of the bus, and was amazed at the sight I was looking at. The Atomium was huge and breathtaking. It is made of 9 steel balls and is shaped like an atom. I had to go up to the top. I paid 11 Euro and off I went. You had to ride an elevator to get to the top, but it went quite fast. I walked around the top, took several photos, and down I went. I was next going to Little Europe which is miniature statues of the popular sites in Europe, but I really did not feel it was worth another 11 Euro to see, for I hope to one day see the real things anyway. I made my way back to the Hop-on Hop-off bus, and back to town I went. Once back in town, it was time for me to check into my hostel. Of course I got lost again trying to find my hostel, but finally I arrived at the front door. I was on the third floor. One of my roommates was in the room. He was from Brazil. It turned out that my other roommates were from France, another guy from Brazil, and a guy from Russia. I had a lot of fun speaking with them. I think they really had to listen to me to understand what I was saying. It was fun communicating none the less. I went back to the city center one more time right at dark to see what the Grand Palace looked like at night. I snapped some photos, and I decided I wanted to get some of the famous Belgium fries. I order some with ketchup (not mayonnaise), and chowed down. Tomorrow is a new day, and I leave pretty early for Amsterdam. Time for some sleep!

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