Four Cities in Four Days Part 1: Brussels and Antwerp

On Sunday the 24th, I said a tearful goodbye to Valencia and hopped on a flight to the capital of Europe. And even before I get this story started, I must establish the following:

Travel Tip #3
Do NOT leave important things to be done on Sunday. Unlike the states, not many places are open on Sundays.

Also...

Travel Tip #4
When flying into Brussels through Ryanair, just an FYI, it's a 13€ and 45 minute bus ride before you actually get to Brussels.

So yes, the capital of Europe. An exciting place for a young student of business like myself. But as soon as the plane touched down, I realized I was certainly not in Kansas anymore. It's been a while since I've experienced proper culture shock, so maybe I was overdue. Firstly because I noticed the ominous grey clouds outside and looked around the plane at my fellow passengers to see people wrapping themselves in sweaters and scarves while I sat like a fool in my skirt and sandals. Secondly getting off the plane and getting smacked in the face with French and Dutch. That was quite a shock for me-not that I wasn't expecting to be greeted with a different language, but because I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd been in a place where I didn't speak or understand the language. I guess I'd forgotten what that was like. Suddenly I very deeply empathized with my friends who went to Spain and didn't speak Spanish.

Anyway, a 45 minute bus ride later, I made my way to Brussels Central Station, where I was to meet an old sister of mine, Birgit (who shall be called B from now on, as it's much easier on my English speaking brain). B is from Holland, and studied abroad at UNCW for a year, where she became a sister of Alpha Xi Delta, which is how we came to be friends. When I contacted her via facebook to let her know I was in Europe, she very enthusiastically responded with an exciting trip through Belgium, to Holland with a stop in Amsterdam before going back to her hometown of Leeuwarden.

So there I was, lugging my 9kg duffle (sorry I don't have access to a converter right now, but 9kg is in the neighborhood of 16lbs), frazzled after about an hour more of travel than I had expected, and I hadn't been in Brussels Central Station for longer than 2 minutes when a suspicious looking man approached me and asked how much it would cost for a week of sex. At this point I think this may be appropriate:

Travel Tip #5
If a strange man approaches to tell you he thinks you are beautiful, he is not being nice. He is trying to purchase you.

So I very quickly fled that scene, and it wasn't long before I saw B. We took an expensive bus ride (2.50€!!!!) to the Van Gogh Youth Hostel, where we settled in. Then we left to find a cheap place to eat. Along the way, as if to excuse myself while squeezing past a gentleman on a particularly narrow sidewalk, I gave him a half smile and walked on. To which he began to cat call me in French! Luckily I don't understand French or I might've been offended. I know I've already said it, but it bears repeating: It's difficult for people like me, products of southern united states, where we very often greet complete strangers we pass on the street, but unfortunately this may carry mixed signals. I don't want to make sweeping generalizations, but if you're a young woman and you smile at a European man, you will almost certainly be propositioned.

Okay, I'm obviously joking, and I certainly don't mean to ascertain that all my observations are 100% accurate across all of Europe, but I'm simply sharing said observations. It seemed much less likely to be approached by a man in Spain than it did here. If you made eye contact or-god forbid-smiled at a man in Spain, you might, perhaps, maybe get a playful "Hola, guapa," but it was always with the air that he didn't expect any further response. In stark contrast, the men in Brussels, it seemed to me, go beyond simply trying to talk to you or "hit on you," and just try to buy you. Just...you know, a warning.

Okay, enough about the creepy men in Brussels. In our first morning, we first went to a Brussels-wide famous restaurant for none other than Belgian waffles. It was in a structure that I think either used to be a train station or was built to look like one (good thing I did my research first before writing this blog, right?). Then we walked around the whole day, neither of us being particularly skilled with a map. We found ourselves in the museum area, where everything was, woefully, closed. Here we go again...

Travel Tip #6
Most stores and museums in Brussels are closed on Mondays. If you're going to spend a day in Brussels, make sure it's not on a Monday.

We did find things to do and see, however. We made our way to a lambic brewery that was on the other side of the city, stopping along the way to see various monuments and important buildings. Lambic is a kind of Belgian beer that uses what's called spontaneous fermentation, which I couldn't explain if I tried, but I'm sure wikipedia could be helpful for the curious. Anyway, at the end we got to try some, and boy is it awful. It's really sour, and usually about twice as alcoholic as normal beer. Also all the bubbles have gone during this "spontaneous fermentation" process, so it's not fizzy and there's no foam. All these things kind of make it taste like 1 part flat beer, 1 part white wine. For some of you, that may seem like your jam, but I was happy to have tried it once (for the cultural aspect only) and never again.

We walked back toward the center and stopped to get Belgian fries, which are kind of like American fries, or Spanish fries, or any other kind of fries, really, but with mayonnaise. They were delicious.

We returned to the hostel for a break, and to set a plan for the following day. For dinner we went to a place recommended to us by a map that's part of a series called Use-It Europe. It's a budding company that uses volunteers to make maps for tourists, so all the maps are made by locals and have tips and suggestions. It's pretty cool, and I would suggest them (they're free and usually available at hostels or info centers) if you're ever in Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Leuven, or Mechelen. Just don't use them as your bible though; they tend to leave out a lot of the bigger tourist attractions (probably because the writers assume you already know about them).

Anyway, the locals' suggestion was good, but pricey. The service was quite slow, but it's okay because B assures me it's not like that in Holland.

After dinner, we went to Delirium.

Yes, I made it to the bar that everyone had been urging me to go to, what was once a tiny bar on a tiny street is now a whole street of bars boasting a wide selection. We picked one that was particularly "poppin" as the kids say, but we were overwhelmed by the number of choices and neither of us had the slightest idea of what to pick. So I closed my eyes, pointed to the menu, and ordered. I can't remember the name of it, something with "gold" in the title. Anyway it was pretty vile, as most Belgian beers are, but I was about a third of the way through it when I saw on the label that it was 10%. That's dangerous for a young sprout like myself. Anyway, after that we decided to go to one more bar to try one more drink. We picked a tequila bar and guess what we had our shots with!! Orange slices and cinnamon!! These crazy Europeans, lemme tell ya.

After tequila, we went back to the hostel to get in bed relatively early because we were catching an early train to Antwerp in the morning.

We arrived at the Antwerp Central Station, 4th place winner of Newsweek's most beautiful train station award. Actually I don't think it was an award so much as just a rating. Anyway, it's pretty. We walked to our hostel, which had a really creepy atmosphere, like you were in a dark and creaky attic no matter which floor you're on. We checked in and grabbed a map and headed for our first destination: to get food.

After that we walked through the city from one side to the other, and circled back around. On the way we saw the Olv Kathedraal, which is a really old and impressive cathedral. We didn't go in because you start to get cathedraled-out, and it didn't seem worth it at 5€.

We walked on and saw the Stadhuis, which is the city hall. It's also really impressive and also marks the tourist classic Grote Markt, which, um, I'm not really sure what it translates to. After that we walked to the riverside, where stands a fortress called 'T Steen. A for real fortress! After, it functioned as a prison, and until 2008, it was a museum. Since then, it's been a "pop up party spot." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I think I can infer.

Anyway, then we walked on to our intended destination: the 360 view museum. It's only a euro to enter if you're under 26, and the exhibits were decent, but the coolest part was the terrace on the roof. It was a great view of the city and it's harbor-the second biggest in Europe.

Our next stop was Spoor Nord, which is a former-wasteland-turned-park. There are two big fountains and all the girls come to sun bathe, the boys come and play soccer in the nearby field or skate in the neighboring skate park, and all the kids come to play in the water. There's also the Cargo Zomerbar, an old abandoned train station that's been turned into a restaurant and sometimes a concert hall. It was bright and sunny at this point, and it gave the feel of a neighborhood block party.

After eating, we took a leisurely stroll back to the hostel, but not before stopping to look at the somewhat famous "graffiti forest." This is the underpass of a bridge where there is some truly impressive graffiti. Pictures on facebook (in a month)!