Brussels! June 16, 2008

Written on the morning of June 17, 2008:

We are now on the train on the way to the castle!!! We have just pulled away from the Brussels Midi/Zuid station (South Brussels). We had quite a time trying to find out hotel yesterday. Kristi is probably already laughing. Go ahead.

We arrived in Brussels just before noon and set out to find a map of local public transportation to find our road and figure out how to get to our destination. This in and of itself was a struggle. The metro station was down and around a corner along with the bus and tram lines (and by around the corner I mean a good five or so minute walk while hauling all of Daniel's luggage). Once we found the public transportation center we had to figure out where we were actually headed. I found the street we wanted and decided bus #66 would do the trick. So we navigated to our bus area and boarded the next 66 line. The bus driver, and therefore our bus ride, was quite scary. We quickly vowed never to think traffic would stop for us once we were out on foot. There was an old lady seated near the rail I was pinned against while I tried to keep all of our rolling luggage from rolling across the bus. She went wide-eyed everytime I almost landed in her lap. Once we stepped out on the street we realized we didn't see the name of our street so we had to enter local shops to get directions. The young man I asked didn't speak English but recognized the street name and was able to point us in the right direction. Good thing gestures like pointing are pretty universal. I would have quickened our ability to reach our destination and thus stop dragging all of our bags across the uneven cobblestones had I not reversed the numbers (perhaps Daniel and the Patterson curse have caused me to become dyslexic as well). We were searching for a non-existant 23 instead of 32.

Regardless, we eventually found our destination and checked into the B&B Botanique. The gentleman was very nice and soft spoken and drew us a cute little handwritten map so we could reach the Grand Place on foot. We were told we were on the second floor only to discover that the house floors were numbered Roman style and that for each floor there were two flights of rickety, crooked stairs. So, up four flights to our little room. We were like little kids once we got upstairs and realized we could take advantage of the wifi for a few minutes – which is how you received my last post. I had difficulty uploading pictures, but will as soon as I can.

We spent the afternoon and evening wandering a good ten miles through the city. We were especially impressed by the parks that were tucked in between the busy streets. Per our host's recommendations we cut through the Botanique gardens and enjoyed a very leisurely stroll. I will also mention that it is still chilly here. I spent my whole day in Brussels wearing a long sleeve shirt and pulling on my raincoat in the shade and stripping it off in the sun. I am still baffled by their June weather and am already out of pants and long shirts to wear. Some of you may be laughing, thinking I look ridiculous amongst the locals because of my pathetic Florida blood – but most of the time they are wearing far more clothing that we are – often walking around in full denim jackets or pea coats.

After strolling through the Botanique Gardens we made our way towards the Grand Place and enjoyed a nice three course Belgian meal at a local restaurant. We had Woozoozii chicken and Flemish beef and borst vegetable soup. Very yummy. We spent the afternoon in the Grand Place looking at the fun, baroque architecture and savoring the delightful Belgian waffles that we have decided must be laced with crack...or something extremely extremely addictive. We actually went on a hunt this morning in the train station to get one last taste... mmmmm. We bought a box of Belgian chocolates – which are also divine. We walked up to St. Michael and St. Gudula's Cathedral and spent a long time inside looking at the beautiful stained glass windows and gothic architecture – and enjoyed finally having a camera that can take good pictures inside a church. They had a very distinctive art exhibit in the back of the church called Icons Transformed – mom you should look it up. It was by a collection of Russian artists who used various medias to modernize the messages of icons. The church was one of several participating sponsors of the exhibition which includes over 300 pieces of art. We wandered...and by wandered I mean hiked...to the European Parliament building and the EU headquarters. The history teacher in me really wanted to actually see the buildings. We headed down as rush hour hit and got to witness the vast number of business men and women leaving work and the five lane one-way roads filled bumper to bumper. We strolled through the parks and enjoyed the beautifully gardened parks behind the EU buildings, by the palace, and through the Botanique.

While Brussels was extremely pricey, the culinary offerings were divine. We were disappointed by the lack of availability of Belgian beers – most shops only had one or two local brands – not what you expect when you hear of the immense trappist selections available in Belgium. The city is a business city – and reminded us most of New York City or Washington D.C. as we approached the EU buildings during rush hour. I had never visited a country where French was one of the main languages, so I now must agree that it really is one of the prettiest languages to listen to. The people were friendly enough, but down to business.

What will we take from Brussels? The already partially eaten box of chocolates that will by no means make it back to the states and two tummies full of six, yes six, wonderfully delicious Belgian waffles.

We are off to check off one of those things from every girl's dream list – a night in a German Castle!!! :)

PS -- photo captions --
1. Botanique Gardens
2. Grand Place in Brussels
3. EU's Parliament Building