Brussels

After a night of ridiculous insomnia and a misunderstanding of the Andalusian bus system that resulted in me missing school, it was time for the grand trip to begin! I headed to the Sevilla airport, checked in at the obnoxiously strict Ryanair kiosk, and strolled to our boarding gate. I ran into a friend at the airport who was heading to Rome (lucky girl!) and chilled with her until Rebecca and Julia got through security. The security in Sevilla was frighteningly lax – they didn’t make me take out my computer or check anything very thoroughly. We boarded the plane – there are no assigned seats but we were early in line so we all got to sit together. Ryanair flights are like being in a mall. They were literally advertising some product for sale during the entire three hour flight. So much for catching up on lost sleep! The ride was pretty smooth, and I only freaked out when I thought I saw fear in the flight attendant’s eyes. Luckily, it was just my imagination. We landed safely and they played a song because we arrived 5 minutes early. Woohoo! We waited in a freezing and very long line to get shuttle tickets to actual Brussels (the airport was one hour outside of the city). My footwear was not by any means appropriate for the weather, and I could barely feel my toes by the time we got on the bus. When we arrived at the train station in Brussels, we tried to get a taxi to the hostel. There was an impossible to understand system for getting a taxi – in the end, it seemed like taxi drivers got out of their cars and approached you. One guy finally offered us a ride but said it would be 30 euros. Umm, no thank you. We ran to catch the closing metro and made it to the hostel for free.

We stayed two nights at Hello Hostel – it was very underwhelming. There were not many options when we booked the hostel and it was about what I expected it would be. My bed was like a gymnastics springboard that sunk in so I essentially slept in a nest. There was a decent breakfast the next morning though. When we arrived after midnight, we met an Australian guy who was living in London and all went to get kebabs. Eventually, I had a decent night’s sleep.

The next morning, we headed into the center of Brussels. We walked through a shopping district that had H&M’s like America has Dunkin Donuts. We ended up at a small but beautiful Christmas market with stands of mulled wine, waffles, hot chocolate, and cheeses. While the market was cute, it was pretty disappointing, and I later learned from people at the hostel that there is a much more elaborate Christmas market in a square that we didn’t go to. I learned this information way too late, but we might make it there on Sunday before I leave. We went to Grand Place, a big square with beautiful buildings around the entire thing and a huge Christmas tree and nativity scene in the middle. It was absolutely freezing so much of the day was spent indoors at cafes. I had a delicious sandwich at a café and talked to the waiters. I had no idea until recently how much I love French accents. They kill me. Julia and I ventured back out into the freezing cold to see Mannekan Pis, a small statue of a boy peeing. It was pretty underwhelming but something I had to see. It is very famous and there are chocolates in the shape of the sculpture all over the city. Before we saw the sculpture, we went on an H&M shopping spree to warm up. I bought a much-needed hat and sweater tights to go under my jeans. I was actually quite warm after all that. H&M truly was facilitating my warmth yesterday.

We picked up Rebecca at the café and ended up finding the strangest and most fun event going on in the streets. There were endless college students dressed in funny hats and white lab coats covered in writing all with beer steins or measuring cups filled with beer. And there were countless open back trucks blasting music and serving these kids beer. We had to find out what was going on, and someone told us it was an event for all the universities in Belgium. It was wild! We tried to find a cup and ended up meeting three guys who helped us out. They were really nice but terribly drunk. One of them was quite crazy and turned around to tell us, “We all have girlfriends but want to show you Belgium!” It was hilarious! They got us some beer from the trucks and we chatted for a while, but then it got too cold and we went in search of food. We got French fries at Fritland and devoured this typical Belgian food. They were yummy but way too much fried food. Then we moved on to another café. I got a Belgian waffle with chocolate and ice cream. It was pretty good but the waffle was not as soft as I hoped. We sat there for hours before it was acceptable to move onto a bar. Josh had recommended that I go to a bar called Goupil Le Fol. We had read reviews of it that called it a mix between an opium den and a 1970s porno set. It used to be a brothel, and that atmosphere definitely remained. It was soooo cool. The walls were covered in interesting paintings and records and artwork of all kinds. The building was filled with steep stairs and many rooms with couches. We sat downstairs and were surrounded by people on dates. Whoops. We had incredible sweet wines – raspberry, strawberry, and nut flavored – and chatted for hours about mystical thinking and less philosophical topics. It was amazing. Thanks for the recommendation, Josh. Rebecca never wanted to leave, but we wanted to make it back to the hostel before the metro closed and get a good night’s sleep for the next day. But I would love to go back there if I ever find myself in Brussels again.

We went back to the hostel, met some girls from northern Spain in our room, and went to bed. On Friday morning, we got up and went to the train station to go to Ghent. I am currently on the train there, thoroughly enjoying the Belgian villages along the way. If it wasn’t so cold, I think I’d move here. We have been spoiled by Sevilla and have vowed never to complain again about the weather there.