Grand Place |
I left Hilversum at 5h58 on the train to Amsterdam, which arrived at 6h24. I proceeded to go to the platform 14, where the Thalys would arrive a few minutes later. I found my seat ("aisle, damn, won't be able to sleep" I thought...) and at 6h56 the train left. We went to Schiphol, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Antwerpen and then Brussels South train station, at 9h35.
From there, I was a little confused as to where I had to go to get to the center. I thought with the metro, but then saw that it was impossible for me to figure out! So, I walked back to the main hall, where I had seen a information centre. I asked the lady (in French, yay!) how to get to the town center. She explained that with the Thalys ticket, I could just use the local Belgian train to get to the Central Station on platform 4. So, that's what I did. After about 10 minutes waiting,the train arrived. From the outside, they are not very nice, but inside they were very clean and spacious. The train had an annoying loud sound before closing the door, to alert the passengers to watch out. I thought the Dutch whistle blowing was way less annoying. I arrived in the center, and it was very confusing to find my way. The belgian street names are not on posts, but on the side of buildings. So, once I found two street names, I was able to see exactly where I was on the map and oriente myself. Still, this was a little bit of a challenge throughout the day...
I made my way to the Grand Place, it was very nice. So early in the morning it wasn't too busy yet. Next, I saw the Maneken Pis and walked towards the Bourse. I decided to stop and have an early lunch. I choose Le Grand Cafe (www.legrandcafe.be). I sat but it took a while for the server to come to see me. I did not know if I had to go to the counter or what. I finally ordered a belgian waffle with fresh fruit and a hot chocolate. It was very nice, for 5.90€. I ate while reading a bit of my book, in a very nice decor, and then left to continue my tour. I saw the St-Hubert galery and the Bouchers street. I walked up hill towards the Cathedrale Saint-Michel-et-Saint-Gudule. I then tried to find the Belgian Comic Book Centre (www.brusselsbdtour.com). The entrance fee was 6.20€, a rip-off. The museum was old, and did not feature many fun things, but mostly old comic strips in frames. The most interesting part of the museum was free as it was in the hall and up the staircase before you buy your ticket (the figures of Tintin in astronaut suit, his rocket, his head in a sculpture, the Smurfs figure and one of Lucky Luke). I was really dissapointed by this visit. I walked towards Grand Place where I bought chocolate for my friend (6.50€) as well as a Milou small teddy (from Tintin, for 9€).
I then planned to visit the Royal Neighbourhood. I walked on Eperonniers street up to the St Jean place the Hopital street, Lebeau street to the Grand Sablon place. It was quite a walk... and up-hill too! The church was being renovated so I did not see it properly. I the went on to the Regence street and saw the different nice buildings of the neighborhood: Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg church, Place Royale, Palais royal, Palais des Académies, Parc de Bruxelles, etc. I stopped in the park to rest on a bench and to write a postcard for my mother. Afterwards, I took the metro for the first time. From Parc to Centrale, only one station away, but it was worth it! At this point, I was so tired of walking...
I then walked to the Bouchers street to the Chez Léon restaurant (www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr). I sat outside, at a nice table. I had the Moules Speciales (special mussels), which came with fries, with a 7up. The mussels were delicious. After eating, I read a bit before paying for my dinner and going to explore more of Brussels.
I walked to the Theatre royal de la monnaie. I was looking for nice shops, but in the shopping center I found the post office! Finally! I did not know where exactly I had to go (different colored tickets for different services, so I asked a guy and he told me to take a blue ticket and go to the blue zone. I had to wait a few minutes. I bought one stamp for Canada and the teller was nice enough to take the postcard and forward it for me as I did not know exactly where I had to put it. I then went outside and found the shopping street, Neuve street. I walked around, looking for shops I did not know. I went in these to see what kind of clothes they had. I did not buy anything though. I was way too tired to try things on. There were so many beggars everywhere in Brussels, especially in the shopping street. They were often women with children. I thought it was stupid to use the children to ask for money.
I then took the metro one station further again, from De Brouckere to Centrale. I took the train to Brussels south. There, I bought a magazine, and went in the Thalys waiting room. When it was a bit more closer to the time to depart, I went up to the platform. A guy recognized the Canadian flag on my backpack and we chatted, he was Canadian too! The train left at 20h25. Once again, I had an aisle seat, but someone was sitting in mine already. I offered him to take the window seat, and he agreed. I was happy, since that meant I could mayble sleep a little bit. During the train ride, the Thalys personel came to check our tickets. There was one lady in the row of seats before me that did not have a valid Thalys ticket. The man had to explain to her that she needed a real Thalys ticket, with an assigned seat, but the lady did not want to understand it seems... She was screaming at one point, and the guy said: "Miss, you do not have to speak so loud, I am not even 3 feet away from you." I thought that was funny! He gave her the choice of getting of in Rotterdam (the next stop) and paying the ride from Brussels-Rotterdam, or continue on to Amsterdam and pay Brussels-Amsterdam, which she did. At 23h06, once in Amsterdam, I ran onto the platform 8, and arrived just 2 seconds before the train closed its doors. By 23h45 I was back in Hilversum.
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