Four days in Brussels was probably too much time. Had I not gone to Ghent and Bruges, and just spent the entire four days here I'd have been very bored. Don't get me wrong, Brussels is a nice place and I'm happy I got to see it but two days would have been enough.
Yesterday I slept late, until about 10:30. Now that would not be late at home, but ever since I got off the plane I've been getting up early and heading out almost immediately. I had no plans yesterday, and nothing really to do. After hanging around the hostel for a bit I went out in the city and decided to hit some of the major landmarks that I hadn't yet. These included the European Parliament, the Belgian Parliament, and the Congress pole(that can't be what it is actually called). These were all a serious walk from my hostel, and it just happened to be cold, raning, and windy today. I must be crazy. The European parliament was so underwhelming I didn't even take a picture, and I couldn't get in. The rest of what I saw was cool in it's own right, very reminiscent of images in my head of 18th century Europe.
The day wasn't so great, but last night was a different story. I met some cool Americans who invited me to out with them. A bunch of us met in the common room of the hostel and went to Celtica and the Delirium Cafe, both really cool bars. It was a virtual meeting of the Anglosphere(if such a thing exists). Americans, Canadians, Irish, Australian, and a Croatian thrown in for good measure. The mood was great, I laughed pretty much the whole time. Most fun was the hating on our neighbors; the Australian laughed at the idea of anyone wanting to New Zealand, the Irish spent the whole night trashing the English, and we took shots at the Canadians with them coming back at us after each one. I also impressed the Canadians and Australian by being able to name all of the states, provinces, and territories of their countries. I became the breaker of American stereotypes, a role I happily play.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Despite what Collin Ferrel may say Bruge is incredible
If anyone has seen the movie "In Bruges" you've heard the famous quote that goes; "If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded Bruges might impress me. I didn't, and I'm not, so it doesn't". Nothing could be farther from the truth. Bruge is my favorite city I've been to so far, it really is like a "fairytale town" as other characters describe it in the movie.
I woke up this morning with no plan and toying with the idea of going to Amsterdam, which I'm still somewhat considering. Getting there is rather expensive though, so I chose to go to Bruges instead. It was much closer and much cheaper, I guess that's what happens when you stay domestic. I left Brussels around 11am, and the hour train ride was quite interesting. The train conductor collected tickets and gave mine a puzzling look. He said something in French, to which I gave no response. He than asked "Espanol?", I guess my Chilean relatives were right and I look more like a Chilean than American. He switched to English, and told me I was in first class with a second class ticket. I was kicked out and made to go to the back of the bus, somewhat embarrasing haha. Some dude asked me something in French and pointed to my ticket and then to the conductor, he seemed angry. I assumed he was mad I got kicked out of first class when there was virtually no one there. Once I sat down in second class, some guy sat next to me, and sat way too close the whole time. It was weird.
Stepping out of the train in Bruges was like stepping into a time warp. The modern, ugly look of Brussels was nowhere to be found, in its place a fully intact mediveal city. Cobbled streets, brick buildings, narrow winding footpaths, massive churches, and a large city square made me jealous of Europe. The US has no such cities, and in most of the American cities I've been a central public space is nonexistent. I saw many fascinating landmarks, most notably the clock tower and the Holy Blood Chapel. The clock tower is part of a larger administrative complex that housed all of the economic reserves of the city as well as documents and records. 366 steps to the top, and not for the faint of heart. The steps get more narrow as you get higher, in addition to getting steeper. A real claustrophobic or fear of heights nightmare, it was totally worth it though. The view of the city from the top of the tower is incredible, and the bell at the top is larger than I thought possible. In the movie the tower features prominently, and it is rather dominant in the city aesthetics. The Holy Blood Chapel was very strange but also extremely interesting. According to legend a vile of Jesus' blood, his actual blood, was taken from the Church of the Holy Sepulcure by crusaders. In this church there is a vile of blood that claims to be the literal blood of Christ. The custom is to give a small donation to the church in exchange for touching the vile of blood. I did this of course. At a certain time each day the vile is displayed and apparently it turns to liquid, displaying the true power of Christ. Unfortunately I missed that ceremony. The whole experience was weird, but also really cool.
After Bruges I returned to Brussels and just took it easy. I've been walking a ton the last few days. Three cities in three days will do that to you. I've also not eaten much, been too busy, I guess that contributes as well. I still have not decided if I'll go to Amsterdam tomorrow, but leaning toward not. An easy day in Brussels might be nice before I continue into Germany.
I woke up this morning with no plan and toying with the idea of going to Amsterdam, which I'm still somewhat considering. Getting there is rather expensive though, so I chose to go to Bruges instead. It was much closer and much cheaper, I guess that's what happens when you stay domestic. I left Brussels around 11am, and the hour train ride was quite interesting. The train conductor collected tickets and gave mine a puzzling look. He said something in French, to which I gave no response. He than asked "Espanol?", I guess my Chilean relatives were right and I look more like a Chilean than American. He switched to English, and told me I was in first class with a second class ticket. I was kicked out and made to go to the back of the bus, somewhat embarrasing haha. Some dude asked me something in French and pointed to my ticket and then to the conductor, he seemed angry. I assumed he was mad I got kicked out of first class when there was virtually no one there. Once I sat down in second class, some guy sat next to me, and sat way too close the whole time. It was weird.
Stepping out of the train in Bruges was like stepping into a time warp. The modern, ugly look of Brussels was nowhere to be found, in its place a fully intact mediveal city. Cobbled streets, brick buildings, narrow winding footpaths, massive churches, and a large city square made me jealous of Europe. The US has no such cities, and in most of the American cities I've been a central public space is nonexistent. I saw many fascinating landmarks, most notably the clock tower and the Holy Blood Chapel. The clock tower is part of a larger administrative complex that housed all of the economic reserves of the city as well as documents and records. 366 steps to the top, and not for the faint of heart. The steps get more narrow as you get higher, in addition to getting steeper. A real claustrophobic or fear of heights nightmare, it was totally worth it though. The view of the city from the top of the tower is incredible, and the bell at the top is larger than I thought possible. In the movie the tower features prominently, and it is rather dominant in the city aesthetics. The Holy Blood Chapel was very strange but also extremely interesting. According to legend a vile of Jesus' blood, his actual blood, was taken from the Church of the Holy Sepulcure by crusaders. In this church there is a vile of blood that claims to be the literal blood of Christ. The custom is to give a small donation to the church in exchange for touching the vile of blood. I did this of course. At a certain time each day the vile is displayed and apparently it turns to liquid, displaying the true power of Christ. Unfortunately I missed that ceremony. The whole experience was weird, but also really cool.
After Bruges I returned to Brussels and just took it easy. I've been walking a ton the last few days. Three cities in three days will do that to you. I've also not eaten much, been too busy, I guess that contributes as well. I still have not decided if I'll go to Amsterdam tomorrow, but leaning toward not. An easy day in Brussels might be nice before I continue into Germany.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Adventures with Arthur
Waking up at 8am is usually not an enjoyable activity for me, but today I did just that. I had planned the night before to meet up with my friend Arthur in Ghent in the morning and needed to catch a train. Finding the train station was quite the challenge, in fact I still have no idea where the main entrance is. An elderly Australian couple approached me on the street while I was looking at my map and asked where Brussel Centraal station was, which is the same one that I couldn't find. They eventually spotted the metro part of the station, which I thought was the train station. A cashier at the ticket counter told me he didn't speak English, but he called over a co-woker who laughed at me and pointed me in the direction of the train station. At first I thought he was an asshole, but then I realized I was trying to get to a city 45 minutes away...on the subway. Waiting for the train I met a bunch of British guys who were cool and recommended the Jazz Festival to me upon return to Brussels.
I got off the train in Ghent and took very little time to find Arthur. Apparently that was fortunate because I would not have been able to call him, as his phone was out of minutes. Arthur and I hadn't seen each other for two years, when he was in New York. It was great to see him, and have someone with me who knew at least a little bit about the city. We walked around what seems like the whole city, often going in circles(Ghent is pretty small both in physical size and population). I had never seen a city like that before, well intact mediveal architecture, canals, and small winding streets make for a really beautiful urban space. The construction going on only detracted slightly from the aesthetics. We sat at this cool cafe on the canal and enjoyed some delicious Belgian water, which I had to pay two Euros for. Who charges for water, seriously what the hell. Belgian waffles were next, and everything you've heard about them is true. I could eat nothing but waffles the rest of the time I'm here. After much persuasion, Arthur convinced me that I could not come to Belgium and not at least try Belgian beer. It was horrible, I doubt I'll ever do that again. Oh and apparently Stella Artois is the cheap shitty beer in Belgium haha. Ghent is in my opinion much nicer than Brussels; the city is beautiful, has more history(the treaty that ended the War of 1812 was signed there, among others), and the Flemish people are generally more approachable and more willing to speak English.
When I returned to Brussels I checked out the Jazz Festival. It took place all over the city, but the biggest part was of course in Grand Place. Free outdoor music is always great, so it was nice for sure. However, the crowds were crazy and it took a long time in between bands. I found a place that claimed to be New York style pizza and it was pretty good, and I guess about as close to New York as I will find in Belgium. All in all it was another good day in Belgium.
I got off the train in Ghent and took very little time to find Arthur. Apparently that was fortunate because I would not have been able to call him, as his phone was out of minutes. Arthur and I hadn't seen each other for two years, when he was in New York. It was great to see him, and have someone with me who knew at least a little bit about the city. We walked around what seems like the whole city, often going in circles(Ghent is pretty small both in physical size and population). I had never seen a city like that before, well intact mediveal architecture, canals, and small winding streets make for a really beautiful urban space. The construction going on only detracted slightly from the aesthetics. We sat at this cool cafe on the canal and enjoyed some delicious Belgian water, which I had to pay two Euros for. Who charges for water, seriously what the hell. Belgian waffles were next, and everything you've heard about them is true. I could eat nothing but waffles the rest of the time I'm here. After much persuasion, Arthur convinced me that I could not come to Belgium and not at least try Belgian beer. It was horrible, I doubt I'll ever do that again. Oh and apparently Stella Artois is the cheap shitty beer in Belgium haha. Ghent is in my opinion much nicer than Brussels; the city is beautiful, has more history(the treaty that ended the War of 1812 was signed there, among others), and the Flemish people are generally more approachable and more willing to speak English.
When I returned to Brussels I checked out the Jazz Festival. It took place all over the city, but the biggest part was of course in Grand Place. Free outdoor music is always great, so it was nice for sure. However, the crowds were crazy and it took a long time in between bands. I found a place that claimed to be New York style pizza and it was pretty good, and I guess about as close to New York as I will find in Belgium. All in all it was another good day in Belgium.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Brussels: The city that encourages its citizens to urinate on churches
This is my first update from the other side of the Atlantic. I flew out of Newark yesterday, at least I think it was yesterday, on a JetAirways flight to Brussels. JetAirways is an Indian airline and the plane was continuing on to Mumbai after Brussels, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to stay on and go India haha. The flight was an interesting experience to say the least. When I first walked on I saw spacious seats, TVs, a Super Nintendo ripoff controller, and a pillow and blanket at each seat. Apparently American airline companies are cheap as hell because I've never seen a plane this nice, not to mention it was the cheapest ticket I found. The personal TV kept me occupied most of the flight. By the way Avatar was such a piece of shit, so glad I didn't see it in the theaters. The vast majority of the passangers were Indian, or of Indian descent, I only noticed one other American and a few Europeans. All of the signs and announcements were in Hindi first, English second if I was lucky. The meals were Indian too, I had some very spicy chicken and that was even the least spicy meal option hahaha. A side note: I don't know where they recruit the flight attendants but I need to go there. All of the women were goregous.
After touching down in Brussels and gettting out of the airport I got a taxi to my hostel. The taxi driver was really cool, and told me to get the hell out of Brussels. He also spoke perfect English and laughed at my French pronounciation, which in reality is laughable. The hostel's check in time is 4pm, I got there at 9am. Fortunately I was allowed to leave my luggage there, which later turned out to be hilarious. With nothing really to do and no room for many hours, I just started walking around. The map in pocket served no purpose until I tried to get back to the Hostel, I just wandered around. It was really fun actually, I stumbled upon some major tourist attractions like Grand Place/Grote Markt and Mannekin Pis. I also found the Royal Palace and some other slightly less known attractions, I found out later that the square in front of the Royal Palace at night becomes a haven for public gay sex! My favorite place I saw today though was the St. Katelijne church. It is clealy old, I'd guess early modern period but I don't really have any idea, and quite nice inside. However, on the outside wall there is a public urinal set up! The wall of the church is meant to be pissed on, I've never seen anything like that before. Yes, I did use it. When I finally checked into the Hostel I crashed for like 4 hours, I didn't get much sleep on the plane and was beat from walking all day. Just now I had dinner at a Belgian fast food place simply called "Quick". It was surprisingly good, and I managed to order without using English. Pointing is universal, and I somehow know how to count to 10 or so in French.
A few things I've learned about Brussels in just one day:
Most people speak French, but Flemish and Arabic believe it or not were also commonly heard by me.
Cars always have the right of way, I was nearly run over more times than I care to count.
Brussels is not a beautiful city, in fact much of the design looks like it was thrown together with no plan. It does have a certain charm though.
American culture is rather pervasive, Chi Chi's, Subway, and Mcdonalds are within 5 minutes walking from my hostel. Hollywood movies featured promintently in store fronts. American music was heard among the local stuff.
Tomorrow the plan is to go to Ghent, I have no idea what to expect.
P.S. I can't upload pictures on the Hostel's computers, but I'll get them up as soon as I can.
After touching down in Brussels and gettting out of the airport I got a taxi to my hostel. The taxi driver was really cool, and told me to get the hell out of Brussels. He also spoke perfect English and laughed at my French pronounciation, which in reality is laughable. The hostel's check in time is 4pm, I got there at 9am. Fortunately I was allowed to leave my luggage there, which later turned out to be hilarious. With nothing really to do and no room for many hours, I just started walking around. The map in pocket served no purpose until I tried to get back to the Hostel, I just wandered around. It was really fun actually, I stumbled upon some major tourist attractions like Grand Place/Grote Markt and Mannekin Pis. I also found the Royal Palace and some other slightly less known attractions, I found out later that the square in front of the Royal Palace at night becomes a haven for public gay sex! My favorite place I saw today though was the St. Katelijne church. It is clealy old, I'd guess early modern period but I don't really have any idea, and quite nice inside. However, on the outside wall there is a public urinal set up! The wall of the church is meant to be pissed on, I've never seen anything like that before. Yes, I did use it. When I finally checked into the Hostel I crashed for like 4 hours, I didn't get much sleep on the plane and was beat from walking all day. Just now I had dinner at a Belgian fast food place simply called "Quick". It was surprisingly good, and I managed to order without using English. Pointing is universal, and I somehow know how to count to 10 or so in French.
A few things I've learned about Brussels in just one day:
Most people speak French, but Flemish and Arabic believe it or not were also commonly heard by me.
Cars always have the right of way, I was nearly run over more times than I care to count.
Brussels is not a beautiful city, in fact much of the design looks like it was thrown together with no plan. It does have a certain charm though.
American culture is rather pervasive, Chi Chi's, Subway, and Mcdonalds are within 5 minutes walking from my hostel. Hollywood movies featured promintently in store fronts. American music was heard among the local stuff.
Tomorrow the plan is to go to Ghent, I have no idea what to expect.
P.S. I can't upload pictures on the Hostel's computers, but I'll get them up as soon as I can.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Europe or bust!
It's now a few hours past midnight, which means I leave for Europe in just over two days. The fact that this trip is so close is starting to sink in, it feels real for the first time since I began planning this trip in December. To think that I'll be in Brussels eating Belgian waffles Thursday morning is exciting and maybe a little nerve racking. However, I really can't wait. This should be one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
This brings me to the subject of the blog, which I've decided to call the Average Yank Travel Blog. My trip to Europe, which will last about a month and take me through multiple countries, will be a set of experiences of a 20-something American tourist, hence the name. I go not as a student or for work; I go without a rigid itinerary or sizable amount of money to spend; essentially I will be a less than noteworthy American in Europe. I don't know if my travel stories will be particularly interesting, but the purpose of this blog is to document my experiences for anyone interested in following my travels as well as for myself.
While in Europe, it is not entirely clear how readily internet access will be. I'll try to update this blog as often as I can, but it will not likely be every day. So check back during the coming weeks for sporadic tales of travel, cuisine, intrigue, culture, and humor; with a large amount of pictures accompanying.
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