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Geo: 50.8371, 4.36761
Today I sadly said good-bye to Brugge after spending three wonderful days in this beautiful city. This morning I wandered to some of my favorite places and also through a small park I had not visited before. It was nice to walk along the canals before the boat tours were out as I was able to see the reflections of the buildings in the water. I had to check out of the hotel by 11, but left my bags as I had no specific timetable for catching my train to Brussels.
I wandered into a chocolate shop and bought a small sampling to try. They require a minimum of 5 pieces so that is what I got. I tried passionfruit, coconut, violet, orange and tiramisu. Some were milk chocolate, some dark chocolate and some white chocolate. I think the violet was my favorite! For lunch I bought a sandwich with camembert cheese that was delicious. After one last look at the beautiful Market Square, it was time to head back to the hotel and on to the train station.
It was a rather warm day so the short walk through the park to the station felt like more of a hike
than it was. It isn't easy pulling a suitcase over cobblestones, especially one that is heavier than when you arrived!
I only had to wait about 20 minutes for the next train to Brussels. They run fairly frequently and there are a few different routes. I chose a train with only one stop in Ghent before arriving at the various stations in Brussels. The landscape began to change after we pulled out of Ghent. The flat land gave way to small rolling hills. There were still a lot of farms, but you could no longer see them stretching out to the horizon. Gradually the farm land turned to houses and then more houses until we reached the city of Brussels.
Brussels is Belgium's capital and the center of the EU. It's a large city and is a lot grittier looking than my previous stops. I got off at the Central Station and could not find a tourist information booth anywhere. I asked at the Belgium train information desk and they said I had to go out and down a hill and somewhere. I had a map of how to get from the station to my hotel, but I did not know
which way was which so I sucked it up and took a cab. Now that I am at the hotel and have a map, I see it was very easy but the station is also uphill so I will check out the metro for getting to the airport with my luggage!
My hotel is a Novotel so a chain, which means the rooms are more standard. This hotel has a pretty modern feel to it and my room is very large. There is a nice chaise lounge for reading, a comfy bed, a toilet in its own little room and a rainfall shower. I am most excited about the shower as it is large enough to do more than turn around in and has a small ledge that holds all my stuff! Way better than the last two. And the rainfall shower is very nice!
I did leave the hotel to walk to the Grand Place, which is the market square of Brussels. My hotel appears to be in the oriental section of town as there were all kinds of different Chinese and Thai restaurants. Anyway, the square was easy to find and the town hall is pretty impressive! The number of
carvings must have taken forever to complete. These buildings are bigger and grander than Brugge, but I still like it better.
A nice gentleman asked me to take his picture and then he offered to take one of me. Then he seemed to be following me so I wandered into the information center and did not see him again. I got some information about free walking tours that I think will be the best way for me to see Brussels tomorrow.
For dinner, or an early snack to the Europeans, I ate at one of the cafes on the square. I had a delicious plate of fish and chips and the price was actually cheaper than Brugge. I also got to use my limited French to order and converse with the waiter. They do speak English, but it seems French is the go to language so I am happy to try and use it.
My current plan is to visit Brussels tomorrow and Ghent on Sunday. I don't think I need to spend two days in Brussels, but that could change after the walking tour. The Rick Steves guidebook says it is low on sights but high on ambiance. It also says it
View from my window
The hotel is built around an old tower. I'll have to walk around and check it out!is seedier than many European cities, which I have already found to be true. Many people sitting and begging or lying on small mats in corners, which I did not see in my previous stops. So I will try the walking tour first to see how comfortable I would be walking around in the main areas on my own. Certainly a change from Brugge and even Amsterdam and Krakow!
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MOM
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Nice gentlemen taking pictures....better to watch out for them. If there hadn't been the information center you could have found a shop to go into. Maybe I'm paranoid but it's best to be careful. Have fun on your last two days!! CU Mond
ay. Izzy will be thrilled to see you.