Blog ≫ 2022 ≫ Midlife Eurotour part two - Brussels
Again writing this up a couple of weeks later, from the dictation and auto-transcription I did with my phone. I got the Eurostar into Brussels. Had a hostel booked there, plan is a few beers walk around, stay over, then off to Cologne the next day.
Here starts the actual dictation, maybe I should put it in as a quote or something? Let's try that... On reading it back there's stuff missed at the beginning, so trying to remember the full experience. Arrival in Brussels was fine, Eurostar is all good and seamless except for the initial airport security type bit. I had my meal on the train, was all fine, and it came with wine, and even the wine was marked as vegan, is it not all vegan then? I saw someone else ask for another drink, so I did two, so two little bottles of wine with my lunch here, and I probably could have asked for more! I will do this "premium upgrade" thing again.
Brussels Midi station was sort of familiar, we have done this before. I used Citymapper to find the best way to where I was staying. Not a particularly salubrious walk, along a road called Abatoir Slachthuis. There was a big long fairground all along one side, but it was not open or busy yet.
The hostel complex looks quite good, a bit arty, lots of street art type stuff around. There was a little queue to check in, and there signs to the kitchen and breakfast room, games room, bar, bathrooms, and then rooms. I asked about a locker, I heard there are lockers, and was told yep, there's a locker in your room but you have to bring your own padlock. I did not bring my own padlock. It would be OK.
I got to the room, it's a dormitary that I would be sharing with strangers. I've not stayed in one of these for a long time, since a stag do, and then we were in a group and took the dorm over. This time I would be with an unknown number of strangers. I thought they'd all be like me, well younger of course, but just empty bunk beds, maybe some claimed already. When I got in the room was fully lived in, there were clothes and shoes and food scattered about and toiletries all over the place.
Of course it must be some backpackers who have been here a couple of days, but odd to be untidy like this I would have though. The room is lockable and they feel secure leaving their stuff about, even knowing someone new might be joining the room. There are two single beds and then bunkbeds, so there are three people staying here other than me. There are small shoes on the floor and a hairdryer and suspiciously pink deoderants in the small bathroom. I know it is possible to book an all female dorm, but I surely could not have done this could I? I called Clare and the boys from here, a video call to show them round the room, and then headed out. This is where my dictation probably picks up, though I don't mention below that I went to a great Belgian (duh) beer bar where they had about twenty beers to choose from and were playing full albums of heavy metal.
I picked three at random and sat and a table gently banging my head and listening to he conversations around me. Most of the other people seem to be American. I went in a couple of record shops here too, making me even more enthusiastic about the vinyl. I have no more notes now, the history of the chat with my friends has been erased and I have nothing in my chats with Clare until breakfast the next day. From my pictures though I do remember seeing the Manekin Pis fountain, I deliberately sought this out as thing two was asking about it. It's very small in real life.
Also an awesome Yellow Submarine record deck1 in one of the shops On with the dictation, and stumbling across a beach volleyball tournament.
Oh and also the locker situation resolved itself; there are lockers in the room you need to bring your own lock for, but there are paid for lockers outside of the room. Five euros for twenty-four hours, that will do me. The big bag goes in there and I can leave my running stuff and wash bag on my bunk. Nope, no change of clothes, I'm proper stinking for the next coupleo of days! Plan is to wear these old clothes until I can bear it no more and throw them away. I'm wearing pants that are way past their best and an old freebie conference t-shirt. Onwards:
Slightly crazy night in Brussels. It started off with a nice walk around the city. Heading towards grand place which is really impressive. The buildings are amazing all around and the whole of the middle of this central sqaure is taken up with a huge carpet of flowers, so very very busy there. Lots of people taking pictures and stuff including me.
I wasn't intending to have a sit-down dinner there, I thought I just get some chips. Traditional Belgian but then I noticed a place I've walked past called Sisters, a sibling restaraunt to another place called Brothers which turned out to be nearly all vegan so I sat down there. Had a lovely dinner actually and a flight of four organic Belgian beers, and at this point my phone battery ran out so I don't think I have any pictures from there. I did my little write up with a pen and paper.
So now I'm in Brussels, I've got no phone so I got no map. Got no way of finding my way around. I tried to guess it for a while, but by the end had to give up and get a taxi. I've walked as far as the train station. Didn't know the way from the train station. There were taxis at the train station so did that, and got back to her to the hotel. Well I say hotel, back to the hostel and this is where I meet my roommates for the first time. Turns out it was just three girls, and all from Panama. What must they have thought when I turned up 50-year-old guy sharing their room? But they were backpackers too2 traveling around so they know what to expect. They know they didn't have a private room. As I came in to go to bed they more or less went out again. They were heading to the kitchen to prepare some food. I didn't see them come back in again ago. Then I fell asleep. I didn't hear them come back in. I put my earplugs in so they didn't disturb me. I hope I didn't disturb them too much.
I woke up early this morning. Luckily I didn't set an alarm which ould have disturbed everybody. Anyway plan was always to go for a run, so I went left out of the hostel, about 3km up the canal, and then 3 km back down the other side. So not very far, and not very fast, but so it was hot. Went back and showered after the run, and said an awkward hello and goodbye to my roommates again. Didn't really say very much. I left my bag in the locker for the rest of the day so I'm glad that worked out and I didn't have to carry my stuff around constantly.
I had another walk around. I walked back into Grand Place and I went back to Sisters cafe for breakfast. Had a nice mixed juice and fruit toast and a good coffee and I liked it. Then more walking around. I went in a good beer shop, bought a couple of beers for the next train and a fridge magnet gift for a friend at work. I thought of buying gifts for the boys, but it's just more stuff for us to carry on this holiday, so we'll wait and buy them something in Italy. Then I went back, picked up the bag. Had quite a hot walk, well it's all been hot. A hot walk back to the station just to get my bearings, and from the station I went to find a pub. I saw one that got a really good reviews called The Little Lion. It was nearly a kilometer away to the pub from the station so I walked up there. I was a bit nonplussed at first. It didn't look very impressive, particularly as I'd walked past some quite nice places, but once I'd settled into it I really liked it. I realized it was a locals bar. It's the local equivalent of the Inn Doors. There are a group of middle-aged men sat around the end of the bar, just like me and my friends. There's a pool table though, and games machines so not like the Inn Doors. I just have one beer then back to the station to see if my train is up. The train was not up.
I had a bit of excitement when I went to check with the information people. I said I've got a ticket to Cologne and the guy said "all intercity express services are canceled today, there's a problem". Now luckily my ticket is not in "intercity express" it's Thalys. Thalys is running, at least as far as I know... I was still really early so I went for another drink and some snack treats 3. Still got quite a while to wait, so I headed out to the bar just outside the station. Really really slow service in that place right outside Brussels Midi station. But it was okay just sitting there watching people. When I got my bill they thought I had had two drinks, no mate, I just had to chase you up after half an hour for the original drink! Fixed that. I'm back at the station now and I'm still early for my train. I'm on the platform. Other people are starting to arrive now. I hope it will go smoothly. I've got a first class ticket for this one and it's funny, it feels like this is a really short little hop on a train because it is short compared to my other journeys, but it's still one hour and 50 minutes. That's still twice as long as my commute which I would complain about and try not to do. I don't think I get any free food or drinks on this one so I stopped up at the shop here and got some water. I got a couple of beers in a shop in Brussels. I'll go there for the next train really. I just had some juice and a coffee from Pret to just to keep me going. Yeah I've got beers ready for the for tonight's journey because that is a long one. That's my sleeper train. That's the one that I don't have a bed. Just a couchette could be quite an uncomfortable journey, but it could be fine...
Out of the dictated part again now. I missed out that between returning to the hostel and going to the room I sat up in the bar chatting with some other backpackers for a while, until it closed. Was nice to hear their experiences, they sound like they do this a lot but that's how backpackers talk...
Was the couchette on the sleeper train fine? We will have to see. It looks like I don't have any other dictated notes for two more countries, and I want to give them some time and quality content so won't rush ahead. I'll pick up again next time over the border in Cologne, Germany.
Estimated 502 cups of coffee from my barista pro1 probably comes to £2.04 a cup (including actual coffee and now servicing1 but not the 'leccy).
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- Oh I consider myself a backpacker here, and not just a middle-aged man with a bag.
- Originally transcribed as "fruits not fruits. Chips treats struggling to dictate freaks"...