Brussels - 9-14 to 15-2010

Tuesday morning we set off for the coastal resort town of Knokke to the east of Wenduine to see another piece of Belgium and do a little shopping.  Because of the weak dollar against the Euro, combined with the European 19.7% tax on goods (you can get this back on amounts of 126 Euros or more) nothing in any of the countries is inexpensive so we restricted ourselves to a breakfast and a thank you gift for Geert's parents.  Not that we weren't tempted.  Those of you who know me know that I am not a clothes-hound.  However, the clothes in the Belgium fashion districts are beautiful.  There were quite a few pairs of boots that looked quite appealing but the $300 price tag was just too much for me to stomach.

We then headed back to the apartment to get ready for Geert who was going to pick us up and take us to Brussels for the night.  However, first we stopped at a convenience store selling internet access and Rick quickly checked for the Steeler's score, happily discovering that they won in overtime.

European Union HQ

Geert showed up around 2:30 pm and we took off to check out Europe's financial center of Brussels (second to London ).  Waiting to pick up Misty after her work day ended, Geert took us on a quick tour showing us some highlights of the city including the Royal Palace, residence of the king (Belgium is a constitutional monarch), a number of churches, Brussels' equivalent of embassy row, Justice Hall, the Ministry of Defense (and we even saw the defense minister himself), ending at a bar just across from the headquarters of the European Union.  So Brussels is the headquarters of the European Union.  Did not know that.

Rick and Beer

Town Hall in Grand Square

I had a taste of Belgian beer, Stella and Leffe, both of which I liked but not as much as wine.  We met up with Misty, and Geert whisked us off to the Grand Market which contains the Town Hall and the House of the King.  It is truly a stunning area, especially when lit up at night.  Hard to believe that this is the "pit" of Europe as some call Brussels.  We then had a dinner of tapas, beer, sangria, and great Flaminco guitar.

Then it was back to our hotel, the Hilton Conrad, which is remarkably plush for just using Rick's accrued travel points to secure the room.   We luxuriated in the king bed, having been in doubles so far.  It was a little over the top in some ways (carrera marble bathroom, turn down service complete with a $10 bottle of water and slippers) but we definitely appreciated the space . . . and the wireless access.

Royal Palace

Old Town Brussels

Brussels seems more cosmopolitan than Paris because there is an astounding array of languages being spoken on the street.   Geert, in some ways, is a microcosm of Brussels, for, while conducting business over the phone, he can switch from Flemmish, to French, to English in a heartbeat.  You never know what you are going to hear or encounter.  Also, Old Town definitely has the old world feel much like Brugge, with narrow cobblestone streets, colorful housing facades, and box flowers.  Brussels does feel a bit grungier than Paris with seedier bars and establishments that I would take pains to avoid.  However, this might just depend on where I have spent my time in the two cities, so it is not a fair comparison.

On Wednesday morning, I did some sorely needed updating of the blog from the Hilton's business center.  Call me cheap but to access the wireless from our room at 25 Euros seemed  a little outrageous so in my pjs and slippers I hung out with the German, French, and English businessmen instead (not really).

St. Hubert Royal Galleries

Flower-boxes of Grand Market

We then headed down the Waterloo Blvd know as the fashion district resplendent  with Armani, Louis Vitton, and a host of other design stores as we made our way back to the Grand Market again which was well worth a second look.  We also checked out the beautiful St. Hubert Royal Galleries.  Curious how today it seemed as though everywhere we went, everyone spoke only French.  Then we headed on back to the hotel, checked out, and headed to Brussels Central Station to take a train to Amsterdam.   Much to our taxidriver's frustration, we incorrectly told him to take us to the Midi train station which actually refers to Brussels' South Train Station.  I thought it was an understandable error, wouldn't most people think of "midi" as "mid" or "center"?  Well the taxi driver, neat and tidy in his suit jacket and tie was not understanding and very annoyed at having to change directions in mid-trip.  Not sure why.  It wasn't as though we weren't going to pay him.

Anyway he got us there safe and sound and we managed to get on the correct train (not as easy as one might think), in the correct car and in the correct seats.  Score.

Belgian Chocolates in Royal Galleries

I'm beginning to get the hang of the Eurail Pass.  It seems to be that the general rule of thumb is that if you don't take the high speed rails (ICE), you can hop on anywhere at any time.  No need to stand in line and purchase tickets.  Just go straight to the correct, I repeat correct, platform.  There is a spot on the pass where you fill in the date, time, train number and start and stop locations, that is verified by the conductor in the form of a stamp.  You can do this up to the number of travel days and traveled countries that you purchased with the pass.  We purchased, for each of us, five travel days for four travel countries (Belgium and Netherlands is considered one country).  There are five date slots on our passes and once those are filled in, we are done using the pass.  Hope I get to keep the pass as a souvenir.