August 13, 14, 15th 2010

August 13, 14, 15th 

First off, I would like to apologize greatly to you strict followers of my blogg (Nany and Nany. Lol). The past three days in Brussels has been a lot of fun but has a little twist thrown in at the end. We will get you there soon enough, but allow me to pick back up in Bath. 

13th
Emily and I woke up to have our first real hot breakfast in Europe. She had French toast while I enjoyed a loaded omelet. We ate in the restaurant in the hostel. It cost us about €3 each. It was a great deal. After breakfast Emily was on a journey to find herself a new straightener since she blew her last one up. I still don't know how she managed to do that. When we finally found Boots and got Emily her straightener and a package of every adapter you need for around the world, we headed for the train station and en route to Brussels. We had to go back to London and catch the chunnel train to Brussels from there. That train hauled some serious ass! We were flying! I slept the entire time we were under water and a lot of the remaining trip. We arrived in Brussels just as the sun was setting and darkness quickly following. The only information we wrote down, besides the name, was the address and the bus number from the underground station. We were so lost. Only a select few signs were in English. My French has never been better, but it just wasn't cutting it. I know about 3 words and 1 phrase from the Mulan Rouge and that wasn't going to get me anywhere in this situation. Lol. After walking in circles with no map, no idea how to pronounce anything and being in what I would consider a bad part of town, we hailed ourselves a taxi. Luckily the hotel was close and didn't cost us much. We checked in and headed up to our room in the smallest elevator I have ever seen. It had a 3 person maximum and I would have to agree. The best part is, when we arrived at our floor the elevator doors opened, but there was a big blue wall that had the number 5 on it. I soon figured out that it was a swinging door we had to open. It was the most bizarre thing. Emily and I were laughing the entire time and even more when we saw our room. The description of our room said one room and two separate twin beds. It sounded perfect. It worked out just fine, but I just thought it was funny how they said two "separate" beds, because they were pushed right up next to each other and looked more like one king size bed. Lol. It was nice to have our bathroom, that's for sure. The downfall of being in a hotel room versus a hostel is there isn't anyone at the front desk who speaks good English and our age who we can ask about what to do. At the hostels, there are posters and hand made bulletins that have upcoming events and highlight what to see in that given area. We did our own research that night and I sewed on my two patches from England and Ireland, before heading to bed. Weather is cold, but not raining. 

14th
Emily and I were both very shocked when we realized it was past noon when we got up. I even told her when I woke up and saw she was up, "your up early." little did I know it was half twelve. While still in disbelief, I had myself a shower that stayed running. The ones in our last hostel had a timed push button. It felt great to step out and not have to walk across the building to my clothes. We both got dresses quickly and headed out after a quick stop at the front desk for a map. We saw some sweet looking buildings and statues, most of which were built during the gothic era of architecture. We past many chocolate shops with one in particular taking my the pocket change of euros. We continued on in search of breakfast, well at this point it was lunch. What better than some good ol' Belgian waffles! They were soo good. I had mine with strawberries and ice-cream. We continued on sight seeing but still had no idea what all these great statues meant, so we hopped on the first "hop on hop off" tour bus we saw. We stayed on that for a good three hours or so and drove past this huge structure called Automium. As we got closer, I noticed there was someone on top. I thought, maybe they were doing maintenance until I saw someone slide off of it. They were zip lining from the top!!! A 250m descent!!  Emily and i both said that we would do it, if the price was right. We continued on the tour and saved it for the next day  Emily and I were both hungry after the tour and we spent the next couple of hours finding a place and sitting down to eat. We both ordered a pizza at a kittle hole in the wall down a skinny street full of other little other restaurants. Apperently here, one person eats an entire pizza to themselves. I had seem a couple people around me finishing up their last bites of their pizzas, so I was determined to eat all of mine. When I got my pizza, I didn't think it could be done. The pizza was delicious, and I finished it. Lol. It wasn't as bad as I thought. When we were through it took our server a long time to get us our check. I have noticed this a couple times now. We were going to try and make it to this park Emily read about called, Mini Europe that has a firework show every night. Tonight was their last night, so I was in a hurry to get there. When I asked Emily if she recalled the time of the fire works she said 7:30 and it was a quarter to seven at the time. We decided we were not going to make it, so walked around some more down town and came across a huge flower display called, Carpet of Flowers. It was laid out in the town square, which was surrounded by amazing buildings. Some covered in gold and all very Gothic looking. It was a great sight. Emily and I decided we should head back and get a good nights sleep so we don't sleep in again and are able to get up and see mini Europe and the Atomium. On our way back I stepped into a little shop and got me a Belgium national flag patch to add to the collection I have on my pack. I was downstairs making phone calls, and as soon as I got off the phone with Ellie, 4 English speking gentleman who looked my age looked like they were going out. I asked them and they responded with a yes and an invitation to join them. Knowing it was Saturday and I had only had one beer from this city that is known for their great beer selection, I told them of course. I went up stairs to change and invite Emily out. She wanted to stay in, so it was just us guys out on the town with no idea what was a good spot. We went into one bar that looked good, right in the town square, but they were super expensive. I read about a dance club disco that is supposed to be the biggest in Brussels. We asked these two girls sitting by us if they knew where Fuse was. They didn't speak English and we were not going to waist our money on this over priced brew, so we left. As we were walking down the street, one of the guys spotted a group of girls and approached them to ask the same question. One gal spoke very good English, Mathilda is her name. She threw her head back and told us ohhh, well that is 30 min away by car. So we asked where the good bars were around here and after a moment of French jibber jabber between her friends, she told us to follow them. All us guys looked at each other with an expression as to say, Score!! The first place we went into served over 2,000 different kinds of beer from all over the world. The two I had were very good. We all then. Went to a hooka bar where I of all people had to smooth talk the bouncer to let the girls in because they were 17 and you have to be 18. Only 16 to drink though. When we were done there, the guys ditched me and the girls. When we got outside, they were gone. It was supposed to be a girls night for the girls and the plan was for us guys to go somewhere else. Now that I couldn't do that, I waited through a longer conversation of French jibber jabber and Mathilda finally said it was ok if I went with them. We went to a dance club where they played some good electronic and where the girls had a lot of friends. I pretty much sat with a few of the girls while the rest danced. I tried my luck at their version of dancing and I was just getting laughed at the majority of the time, so I kept it to the table. When all the girls left, I walked with them to get a cab and thanked them very much for being so friendly and letting me tag along. I then spent the next hour hoofing it home in the rain, because I am too cheap for a cab. I made it home, no problem, and hit the sack hard. I was regretting getting up in the morning.  

15th

It was hard to get this morning but I did it. Emily and I went down stairs to get directions to mini Europe and while she was talking to the receptionist, I heard some silverware being clanked around and wondered if there was still some breakfast left even though it was after 10. There was, and the lady working was so sweet. She noticed I cleaned up the rest of the meat and cheese so she asked if I would like some more. I told her no thanks because I am leaving soon. Not even a minute later, she brought out a plate of ham and cheese and some coffee. I thanked her dearly, threw my meet and cheese on a croissant and hit the road. We took the underground to mini Europe and the Atomium, which was right next door.  It was time to look into zip lining prices!! Only €25 each!! So we did it and it was awesome. It was kind of scary at the top, with the wind blowing hard, and by far the highest thing I have ever gone off of. I got some pictures of Emily and a short video of me, but you can't see much. After the ride, we went through the exhibit portion of Atomium. It didn't take us long and I was getting tired. Since we were as closest we were going to get to the only Starbucks in Brussels, Emily told me she would pay for the cab there so she could get their souvenir Brussels mug. €50 later, we were at the airport. Emily got her mug and we grabbed a coffee. I was so shocked at how much the cab ride cost. I couldn't believe it. When she was getting more money out I asked a teller how to get home via transit. €5 each and two train rides later, we were home. Lol. I felt so bad. I was dragging and pretty tired. Tonight is our last night in Brussels, before heading to Berlin for the next 3 days. I told Emily I wanted to get up early to catch the train, since it is about 9 hours of train riding to Berlin. It was only 8:30 but I laid down anyways to rest. With no plans tonight, I figured I would just try and sleep through the night and get some good rest. Around 10 Emily asked if she could use my iPod and skype to call her mother, and I said of course. I fell back asleep until Emily came back in the room. She asked if I was awake, because we. Needed to talk. I thought, now I am but asked her what was up. She told me her mom is flying into Paris in two days and that she won't be continuing on to Berlin with me. I found this shocking. I had no idea there was any possibility of her mom coming over. I asked her if there was something she needed to tell me or If there was any other reason why this came about and she said no. I can only assume the trip was not going as she expected and maybe was getting home sick, because it is a totally different experience traveling without family. I understand and just have to move on. I just hope I didn't offend her in anyway while we were together. I wished it could have worked out. With me wide awake now, I went downstairs to make some phone calls and sent off some post cards. Around midnight I finished up and headed back to bed. The plan is to get up at 6 am tomorrow. It has rained the majority of the day and is poring right now. Tomorrow I make my long journey to Berlin. 

Hope all is well and I know the sun is shining back home. Enjoy it!!

Sincerely,

Kurt