Hard way to Brussels by train

To Brussels by train (the hard way)

Today we move on from Brussels to Amsterdam.  The reason for our visit is so that Kim can fly back to Singapore (for New Zealand) on a confirmed reward ticket at much lower taxes compared to Amsterdam and other European cities.

We basically applied the savings for the taxes towards the train and accommodation.

The Brussels to Amsterdam direct train journey is supposed to be about 2h only.  But with power outage on the high-speed line beyond Rotterdam, the high-speed services (including to Paris and London) were all cancelled.

We had to take three intercity trains plus the short ride to the airport to start the intercity journey (which we always had to do anyway).  It was inconvenient but worse things can happen when travelling.

We woke late, around 0800 and left around 1000 for the airport to commence our journey.  We had the longest wait of about 30 mins at the airport before starting our three intercity rides of about 1h, then 30 mins and then about 1h05.

The journey took us through connecting cities of s-Hertogenbosch (20 min) and Breda (16 min).

There was a bit of stress compared to the direct service because:

• the first intercity train ran about 10 mins late
• there was one ride with a rowdy beer-drinking crowd and screaming naughty kids, and
• we had to compete with the crowds to get a seat as these train services don’t offer reserved seats (not that we rebooked our tickets anyway, since they were valid).

We crossed the border into Belgium around 1315.  The scenery changed from gleaming offices and farms to older homes.

We arrived at Brussels Midi around 1400, an hour before our original direct train and found our way to the metro to take us to the Bedford Hotel.

Surfacing from the underground station, we found a kebab shop called Baraka, which appeared popular and reasonable.  We fed ourselves there for slightly less than Amsterdam prices before settling in at the hotel around 1500.

Exploring Brussels

We headed out about 1700 to re-explore the places we had visited 12 years ago.  The Manneken Pis statue was only a couple of minutes away. The pissing boy dates from 1619.  However, the existing statue is a replica from 1965 and is used to deter theft, something that has happened multiple times through history.  The original is sitting in the museum.

While we knew Grand Place was also nearby, we went with whatever caught our fancy instead and ended up at the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries instead.

We eventually found our way to Grand Place, which was flanked by ornate buildings on all sides, including the Town Hall and the Museum.

From there, we walked to St Catherine’s church where I pissed on the church wall (designated urinal spot).  The interior of the church wasn’t well restored with lots of peeling paint.

We had a Happy Hour deal nearby that offered cheap beer for EUR2.50 each.  Over our drink, we both agreed over our beer that Brussels was so much easier to enjoy when the NZD was stronger 12 years ago and prices probably much lower too.  I remember enjoying many proper restaurant meals.

On that note, we returned to Baraka for another meal at dinner time, opting for something different this time.  The shop was run by Moroccans and there were many Moroccans celebrating their victory over Canada (3-0) at the World Cup.