Off to Amsterdam

Right now we’re on the train to Amsterdam. We hope. We were instructed to change trains because there was some rail work being done. We’ll see where we end up. Other than that, our trip’s going very smoothly. We’re sad to leave Brussels, and wish we could have stayed a little longer.

We arrived in Brussels on Tuesday, and quickly got a taxi to our hotel, the Warwick Barsey. The hotel was amazing, with beautiful décor and great service. It was a 5 star hotel that we got for $200 American dollars, but we found out that our exact room normally goes for $500 euro, around $750 dollars! Needless to say we got an amazing deal on Travelocity. The men at the front desk were very helpful, and gave us books and maps of great restaurants, shops, and attractions. They even gave us a free upgrade to a larger room. We took the elevator up to the sixth floor to our room, and were blown away. It looked exactly like a luxury room from the states. After taking a little time to enjoy the room, we got ready to go explore the city.

We took the tram, which was conveniently located across the street from the Warwick Barsey. We were confused about how to pay for the tram, because no one else was paying as they got on, and there wasn’t a person going around checking tickets. We later found out that the tram and metro services are on an honor system, and people rarely pay. The tram took us strait in to a huge square, where there was amazing shopping and home design stores. There were also little cobblestone side streets with small cafes and restaurants. We were hungry after our train ride, but it was kind of an awkward time to sit down and eat, so we stopped by a small sandwich shop. Austin got ham, salami, and cheese on baguette and Quincey got tuna salad on baguette. They turned out to be the best sandwiches we’ve had yet, and our entire meal with drinks only cost 9 euro! After eating our food in the square, we decided to try and find some of the sites we had planned for.

Our first stop was the Royal Palace of Brussels. It was enormous and beautiful, and as we walked up we noticed armed guards lining the outside. Apparently there was an event going on because there were people dressed extremely nice entering the gates with invitations in hand. We both felt underdressed even to be walking outside of the Palace. After taking a few pictures, we crossed the street to walk through a beautiful park shaded by many trees and fountains. After crossing through the park we came across a huge Romanesque style catholic church. The organ in the church was enormous, and the ceilings and architecture were ornate.

After leaving the church, we set our for the Grand Place, Brussels main tourist site. The square was unlike anything we’d ever seen, and was everything we hoped Brussels would be like. There was so much detail on every building, which included the Town Hall, a museum and more. There were street vendors and a market in the middle. Every cobblestone side street leading out from Grand Place had quaint restaurants, chocolatiers, waffle stands, shops and bars. It was the most amazing area, and every shop took on its own life the way they were decorated inside. After a little, it started to rain so we caught a taxi and headed back towards to hotel. We stopped at a market on the corner across from the hotel and grabbed some crackers, salami, cheese, and little cups of ice cream for dinner.

The next morning, we took the metro to go see Mini Europe and Atomium. Mini Europe has little replicas of all of the most famous buildings and sites in Europe. We had a great time walking around to each site, and all of them looked exactly like the real thing. After Mini Europe we walked across the street to Atomium, which is a 300 meter high statue that looks like a giant atom. We bought tickets to go to the top, where there is an amazing view of Brussels. From there you can go down stairways or escalators to the different parts of the Atom, all of which represent a different continent. Antarctica was our favorite. It was dimly lit with blue lights and a cold breeze blowing through.

After leaving Atomium, we set forth to visit the Grand Place again because it was so great the day before and there were many more streets for us to walk down. After window shopping for a little while, we found the bar that we had been told to go to from many friends in the states who have been to Brussels. It’s called Delirium and has over 500 kinds of beer. Feeling thirsty, we decided to stop in at around 1 in the afternoon for a quick beer or two. There were two levels to Delirium, and we sat down at a table (barrel of beer) in the downstairs area. The bar was decorated with tons of beer pariphanalia. We first tried “Choofe” which was recommended to us by one of Austin’s friends as being the best beer he’s ever had. It definitely lived up to its reputation. Because we loved our experience so much, we decided that we would return to Delirium that night when it was busy, because apparently Wednesday nights were the social nights in Brussels due to the fact that no one works on Thursdays. After returning to the hotel, resting our feet, and cleaning up to got out, we traveled back to Delirium at 11pm.

The bar was packed with people our age, and we immediately made friends with a group of Americans who went to the University of Florida, Bucknell, and Drexel. The boy that went to Bucknell was from Chicago and was in Brussels for a study abroad program, while the two girls from UF and one boy that went to Drexel who was from Philly were passing through on a eurotrip just as we were. We all got along great, and were having the best time when Frank (the boy from Drexel) decided to step it up a level by ordering “Das Boot”, an enormous glass mug the size of a real life boot filled with any beer of your choice. Excited by the concept, Austin decided to follow his lead and bought one for us to split, while Kathy and Delicia did the same. We were definitely feeling the beer, and before we knew it, it was 1:30 in the morning. Having to wake up for the train the next morning, we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep in. We were so glad that we had struck up a conversation with that group, because it ended up being the best night of our trip yet!