Brussels (6-8 sept)
6/9
Arrived at brussels airport at abt 9.10 am, on schedule. the plane ride was pretty ok. the long ride on qantas had rather decent entertainment, at least the movies could be started and paused anytime u wished. food was ok too, not fantastic, but not too bad. had no problems with the transit cuz contrary to what i thought i din have to switch terminals, so there was no problem getting there on time at all. and to think i have been worrying abt missing the connecting flight those few days before i left... it was totally unnessary.
so i arrived on schedule at 9.10 am and sat at Quick until 1.30pm, listening to mp3, looking at my travel material, planning my itinery for the days ahead. left for Gare Centrale at ~1.30 pm. got on a train but could not get a seat :(. reached Gare centraal at 2.15 pm and met up with YS at 2.45 pm. made our way to Youth Hostel Bruegel, with some help from a friendly guy from a travel shop (which states 'no tourist info'). checked in at 3 plus. hostel was not too bad, we have a bunk bed in our room and our own private shower but had to use a common toilet. after brief rest, we went out in search of the Musee Instrumental.
Had a hard time navigating initially cuz the roads were not perpendicular, and the traffic was really quite messy, cars seem to be turning in from anywhere, we kept rotating and rotating the map to get our bearings... really couldn't get use to the map at all. finally we found the musee instrumental but it was already closing by then. made our way to the famous Grand Place (not pronounced as place, but something like plah, according to YS) & Grote Mkt. sat in the middle of the square surrounded by the Town Hall, King's house and other old old buildings. enquired at the tourist office. hop-on-hop-off bus was a good option but was pricey (16 euros). not worth it unless u want to see a lot of places in one day. we went back to the hostel for dinner and came out again to walk after that. we saw many interesting eating places -- and immediately regretted eating at the hostel. it was expensive (8.60 euros) and was very typical fare when we could have a more interesting meal at easily any shop and even dessert at much lower prices. we decided: no more dinner at hostel any more from now on. a lot of nice looking chocolate too, even got free sample to try :))
on the whole, weather on the first day was quite hot, slightly cooler at night.
7/9
Cold day!! Had breakfast at hostel. then set off for Gare Centraal. Weather was a big contrast from yesterday. bought a one way metro ticket to Heizel / Heysel for 1.50 euros. Took the 1A line. there's 1A and 1B line, so have to go to the correct side of the track. only 1 min between stations. alighted at Heizel and went to Atomium. Atomium, kinepolis and mini europe were all part of the theme park called Bruparck. Could not find our way at first, but met a nice lady who brought us there, although that was not where she was gg.
Atomium was the crowning glory of Belgium. B
uilt in 1956-58 for some technological expo in 1958. Documentary showed how the builders put on pc by pc of the 'Atom', they claimed no accident was recorded during those 3 years (?!). when up to the top and had a nice view of the surroundings (see right). lunch at a quaint restaurant along the way to Bruparck. we had mixed grill whcih was all right, but had too many fries. so i declared to YS, no more fries for me for the rest of the trip. couldn't decide between Brugges and musee instrumental to spend the afternoon. finally decided to take a 1h train ride to Brugges but the train ticket certainly cost us a bomb (11.80 euros for one way, X2 for two way). on the way to Brugges, saw farmhouses, cows, horses... At Brugges station, talked to a bochap guy at the tourist info centre who wasn't interested to help unless we bought the map from him. we went to another tourist enquiry centre which was tucked in a small corner and met another lady there who was much more helpful. she gave us a free map and told us what are the main attractions to see in two hours and even helped us to trace out a route to take and told us what bus to take. what a contrast in attitudes!
we took the bus to the Markt and walked round the perimeter of the square. a lot of buildings and little streets and shops to see. then went on to the Burg and saw more churches, old buildings, and saw the occasional horse carriage. we dun even know what are some of the buildings we took photos of. anyway the weather was ever changing, at times it could be nice and windy, at times it could be sunny prompting us to take off our jackets, and all of the sudden the wind becomes biting. sometimes the wind was so strong that our hair covered our eyes when we were taking photos and we will make the 'Paul Twohill' joke...
on the way back, we met a strolling couple who gave us very clear directions back to the train station. caught the 7.57 pm train back to Brussels Centraal.
Kebap for dinner. u will be surprise how common kebap is in Europe. anyway it was relatively cheap and very filling (3.50 Euros). bought chocs from a chocolatier. was wondering whether to buy more but YS said we will prob see more chocs in Germany, and anyway it will be silly to buy too many things at our first stop cuz we will only add to the weight and bulkiness of our backpacks. point taken. At Grand Place, saw a display of music and lighting up of the Town Hall / King's House (not sure which is it but it's the building with the tall tall pointed roof) in diff colors - quite cool!
8/9
Left Brussels for Amsterdam this morning on the 9.50 am train. (train ride: 2h 48 min)
On the whole, met more nice pple than horrid pple in Brussels, e.g. the nice lady at the tourist info corner at Brugges, the nice couple
who gave us clear directions to the station, the nice guy and lady on the bus on the way to the Markt who told us where to get off. the nice old man on the train on the way back to Brussels Central who told us where to get off. the nice salesgirls at the chocolatiers who gave us free choc to try. on the whole the guys at the train station were all pretty willing to answer questions. were called koreans by a group of guys at the Grand Place, but we ignored them. was already 10+ at night but the place was still crowded. anyway, not good to be out so late on the street at night for 2 girls, cuz alot of the streets are actually quite dark and secluded already. but at least YS managed to get the night shots she wanted so badly.
Language there isn't exactly English friendly. french and Flemish are still their main languages. on trains, announcements are made in French only. sometimes when u ask for directions, language can be a real barrier. but when u find someone who speaks English, u feel so relieved!
the weather is ultra unpredictable. on thursday, me and YS were freezing after we got back from our Brugges trip. the wind was biting! we couldn't wait to get behind tall buildings to get some shelter from the wind. just a day ago, we were complaining abt the weather. i think the weather must have heard us and decided to punish us...
Arrived at brussels airport at abt 9.10 am, on schedule. the plane ride was pretty ok. the long ride on qantas had rather decent entertainment, at least the movies could be started and paused anytime u wished. food was ok too, not fantastic, but not too bad. had no problems with the transit cuz contrary to what i thought i din have to switch terminals, so there was no problem getting there on time at all. and to think i have been worrying abt missing the connecting flight those few days before i left... it was totally unnessary.
so i arrived on schedule at 9.10 am and sat at Quick until 1.30pm, listening to mp3, looking at my travel material, planning my itinery for the days ahead. left for Gare Centrale at ~1.30 pm. got on a train but could not get a seat :(. reached Gare centraal at 2.15 pm and met up with YS at 2.45 pm. made our way to Youth Hostel Bruegel, with some help from a friendly guy from a travel shop (which states 'no tourist info'). checked in at 3 plus. hostel was not too bad, we have a bunk bed in our room and our own private shower but had to use a common toilet. after brief rest, we went out in search of the Musee Instrumental.
Had a hard time navigating initially cuz the roads were not perpendicular, and the traffic was really quite messy, cars seem to be turning in from anywhere, we kept rotating and rotating the map to get our bearings... really couldn't get use to the map at all. finally we found the musee instrumental but it was already closing by then. made our way to the famous Grand Place (not pronounced as place, but something like plah, according to YS) & Grote Mkt. sat in the middle of the square surrounded by the Town Hall, King's house and other old old buildings. enquired at the tourist office. hop-on-hop-off bus was a good option but was pricey (16 euros). not worth it unless u want to see a lot of places in one day. we went back to the hostel for dinner and came out again to walk after that. we saw many interesting eating places -- and immediately regretted eating at the hostel. it was expensive (8.60 euros) and was very typical fare when we could have a more interesting meal at easily any shop and even dessert at much lower prices. we decided: no more dinner at hostel any more from now on. a lot of nice looking chocolate too, even got free sample to try :))on the whole, weather on the first day was quite hot, slightly cooler at night.
7/9
Cold day!! Had breakfast at hostel. then set off for Gare Centraal. Weather was a big contrast from yesterday. bought a one way metro ticket to Heizel / Heysel for 1.50 euros. Took the 1A line. there's 1A and 1B line, so have to go to the correct side of the track. only 1 min between stations. alighted at Heizel and went to Atomium. Atomium, kinepolis and mini europe were all part of the theme park called Bruparck. Could not find our way at first, but met a nice lady who brought us there, although that was not where she was gg.
Atomium was the crowning glory of Belgium. B
uilt in 1956-58 for some technological expo in 1958. Documentary showed how the builders put on pc by pc of the 'Atom', they claimed no accident was recorded during those 3 years (?!). when up to the top and had a nice view of the surroundings (see right). lunch at a quaint restaurant along the way to Bruparck. we had mixed grill whcih was all right, but had too many fries. so i declared to YS, no more fries for me for the rest of the trip. couldn't decide between Brugges and musee instrumental to spend the afternoon. finally decided to take a 1h train ride to Brugges but the train ticket certainly cost us a bomb (11.80 euros for one way, X2 for two way). on the way to Brugges, saw farmhouses, cows, horses... At Brugges station, talked to a bochap guy at the tourist info centre who wasn't interested to help unless we bought the map from him. we went to another tourist enquiry centre which was tucked in a small corner and met another lady there who was much more helpful. she gave us a free map and told us what are the main attractions to see in two hours and even helped us to trace out a route to take and told us what bus to take. what a contrast in attitudes!
we took the bus to the Markt and walked round the perimeter of the square. a lot of buildings and little streets and shops to see. then went on to the Burg and saw more churches, old buildings, and saw the occasional horse carriage. we dun even know what are some of the buildings we took photos of. anyway the weather was ever changing, at times it could be nice and windy, at times it could be sunny prompting us to take off our jackets, and all of the sudden the wind becomes biting. sometimes the wind was so strong that our hair covered our eyes when we were taking photos and we will make the 'Paul Twohill' joke...on the way back, we met a strolling couple who gave us very clear directions back to the train station. caught the 7.57 pm train back to Brussels Centraal.
Kebap for dinner. u will be surprise how common kebap is in Europe. anyway it was relatively cheap and very filling (3.50 Euros). bought chocs from a chocolatier. was wondering whether to buy more but YS said we will prob see more chocs in Germany, and anyway it will be silly to buy too many things at our first stop cuz we will only add to the weight and bulkiness of our backpacks. point taken. At Grand Place, saw a display of music and lighting up of the Town Hall / King's House (not sure which is it but it's the building with the tall tall pointed roof) in diff colors - quite cool!
8/9
Left Brussels for Amsterdam this morning on the 9.50 am train. (train ride: 2h 48 min)
On the whole, met more nice pple than horrid pple in Brussels, e.g. the nice lady at the tourist info corner at Brugges, the nice couple
who gave us clear directions to the station, the nice guy and lady on the bus on the way to the Markt who told us where to get off. the nice old man on the train on the way back to Brussels Central who told us where to get off. the nice salesgirls at the chocolatiers who gave us free choc to try. on the whole the guys at the train station were all pretty willing to answer questions. were called koreans by a group of guys at the Grand Place, but we ignored them. was already 10+ at night but the place was still crowded. anyway, not good to be out so late on the street at night for 2 girls, cuz alot of the streets are actually quite dark and secluded already. but at least YS managed to get the night shots she wanted so badly.Language there isn't exactly English friendly. french and Flemish are still their main languages. on trains, announcements are made in French only. sometimes when u ask for directions, language can be a real barrier. but when u find someone who speaks English, u feel so relieved!
the weather is ultra unpredictable. on thursday, me and YS were freezing after we got back from our Brugges trip. the wind was biting! we couldn't wait to get behind tall buildings to get some shelter from the wind. just a day ago, we were complaining abt the weather. i think the weather must have heard us and decided to punish us...
posted by WeiYun at 9:59 AM
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