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Published: July 30th 2006
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(August 18th through the 20th 2005) A little more confident and assured about doing this on my own, I leave Luxembourg behind midday on a Saturday. Excited to go to a bigger city gets my blood pumping, and all I can do is just see the scenary the ride offers. I get into Brussels around mid-afternoon, and head out of the station to find the hostel I have chosen--from my travel guide of course.
Getting out of the Gare du Nord is a bit confusing, and as I wonder around, I find my self in a shopping mall, trying to find an exit to the street. A bit awkard I felt carrying my bag on my shoulders in the middle of this place. Finally I find the street and get out onto Rue D'Argent, the shopping district I would say. I wonder around the streets around, when I finally have to stop, to eat something, and try to head in the right direction. The people in the restaurant don't know where the hostel is, so I figure out the best direction and head that way, and luckily I found it.
Sleep Well was nice. A bit expensive, and it had more
of a feel of a hotel than a hostel. It could have been because the hostel rooms were taken and only the single hotel rooms were available--though even the lobby was quite and non-welcoming, atleast to me. I dropped my stuff off and head out, once again in the evening, and see the part of town that I can. I head south towards the Grand Place. I get lost in the side streets, where it is extremely congested with tourists, and restaurants right on top of each other to the point which they all look alike, and it is a matter of which one has seats open. See the arcade, Galeires St. Hubert, and finally get out into the beautiful plaza. I was lucky enough to come in on the week when various music concerts were playing around the city. It was a nice atmosphere, the music and the architecture really made me feel extremely nice. Two euro drafts were being sold in by stands, so I had a few and enjoyed my self into the night. I left early in the night and walked back to the hostel for some rest to head out the next morning and see
the rest of the city.
The first thing on my list was the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinee, the cartoon museum. The day was dreary and rainy, so once the museum open, I took my time looking around. If you have an hour or two to spend, it is nice to check out, but nothing to go out of your way. From there I headed to the Parc de Brussels, and walked around there, the rain was letting up, just a few drops. Walked all around, from the north to the south, and saw the Palais Royal. I get my camera to take a picture, but I run out of batteries. I do have to say, over two weeks, and over five hundred pictures, I didn't have to change batteries. No plug, but the Engergizer Lithium's are made for digital cameras, and I do have to say they work like magic. To top that off, the rain picks up once again as I head back to the hostel. I am drenched, switch my batteries, get a sweatshirt to catch the rain, not me, and wait a few minutes to see if the rain lets up. It doesn't, so I
say be it, and go back to the Palais Royal. Get drenched, to get my picture, and head into the Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts, to not only see the gallery but to dry my sweatshirt and wait out the rain. I take my time, see some videos, and a new gallery they put up. I actually really liked the artist and what she presented--sorry it escapes my mind, and then when I forgot to write it down.
I leave, the rain has let up, sweet, and head southwest, to Musee Bruxellois de la Gueuze. A brewery that is a staple of Brussels, or atleast the beer they make. Get there an hour before they are about to close, sweet, and walk the brewery. Not impressive. They give you a paper in which ever language you may want, and place the a pin on a map from the part of the world you are coming from. One can do the tour in 2 minutes. What is worth the money you pay is the beer that they let you sample, that doesn't taste anything like beer.
I head back norht, already late afernoon, and decide to go to the line of restaurants
I had seen the night before. I choose a random place, as they are all practically the same. I get a pizza, and a Duvel. Really good beer, lots of foam but that is why it is good. Get another one. And then a third. And finally a fourth. I look at the label. With 8.5% alcohol percentage, got me a good buzz. Like always, I had a train to catch early Saturday morning, so I decided to rest and go to sleep early. From here it was onto Den Haag.
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