Thursday dawned sunny and beautiful. The sky was utterly devoid of clouds and promised a deliciously warm afternoon for both the Netherlands and Belgium. I carefully packed my trusty backpack with the things I would need during the one night field trip. I wanted to bring as little as possible because everything I brought I'd have to carry with my all day. After double checking and triple checking, and thinking things through again and again (everyone who knows me well is aware that I'm rather detail-oriented) I felt ready to go. I debated between walking to the university and taking the metro. 10 km is a fair distance to walk, but what a waste of gorgeous sunshine it would be to sit in the metro!
But then Kim made a generous and adventurous offer. We could ride double to university on her bike. This is something that people do more often in the Netherlands. One person pedals while the other sits on the back. All the bikes here have a flat trap thing over the back wheel to strap things onto, or occasionally to sit on as a passenger. This is easier said than done though. There's a certain balance required- one which is not instantly acquired. But after several shaky starts accompanied by laughter and loud exclamations we managed to get moving. Kim pedaled for the first half and then we switched. By the time we made to it university I'd say we were pretty good at riding double. A lot better than when we began, that's for sure.
After all the biking in the warm sun I figured we deserved a treat. So I bought a cinnamon frozen yogurt at the new university food court and we shared it. Delicious! Ice cream sure hits the spot on a sunny day (and actually on non-sunny days too).
Then we parted ways and I set off, alone but trying to remain confident. I was still a bit early, but eventually found the group. I didn't know anybody, but some of the people looked familiar since I'd seen them in the lectures for my classes. We were a group of about 20: 14 from the class, and 6 international students tagging along. We crowded into the bus, which had exactly 20 seats, and happily set off for Belgium.
The two hour bus ride gave me time to admire the scenery out the window, and become acquainted with two of the other international students- girls from Spain and Singapore. After some time I commented that I was very excited to go to Belgium because I haven't been in very many countries so far. Then I was told to my great astonishment and delight that we were already in Belgium! I never would have guessed, because there was no border guard or anything. It's sure a lot more efficient than going to the USA. And I have now officially set foot in five different countries (though Britain hardly counts because I was only in the airport).
We arrived in Brussels about half an hour early, and thus had a bit of time to stretch our legs before the lecture we were scheduled to attend.
I dutifully took some pictures as we walked. I am definitely not a photographer for three main reasons. First, I am not very good at taking pictures. Second, once I do take the pictures I don't have the technical skills to efficiently put them onto the computer and deal with them from there. Third, because I'm so excited to see new things that I often completely forget to take pictures of them. But I promised my family I would take pictures, so I did. And as much as I'm complaining now, I am glad I have pictures to remember my experiences here in Europe. I'm always glad I have pictures after I've dealt with them.
I walked with a group of five other people down the road for a bit, and then we saw this off in the distance and decided to walk to it. We're still not sure what it is, or what it's for, but it was indeed very beautiful.
We walked back to Maastricht University just in time for the lecture. It was by a Ukrainian woman who is involved in European politics. I learned a lot more about the social and political unrest that is going on there, as well as the sneaky tactics Russia uses to convince Eastern Ukrainians that the West is bad. Propaganda in a isolated part of the world is a scary and powerful tool indeed.
After the lecture we took the metro to our hotel. We had to walk down three stories underground! I wish there was a metro in Chilliwack. It's a lot more exciting than driving in a car. And you're allowed to stand up and hold onto a pole instead of sitting down with a properly fastened seatbelt. Pretty exciting!
The Meninger Hotel wasn't fancy, but it was very nice, and just the thing for a group of students. I was in a room with four other girls. The top bunk was the least popular, so I happily took it since I didn't mind at all. A bed is a bed whether it's two feet above the ground or six.
After dropping our stuff off in our rooms, we all met in the foyer. We had already been applying the parliamental knowledge we'd learned that day by concluding that a 20 person democracy makes it difficult to make decisions. We were free for the evening, but there were still so many decisions: where to go, what to do, whether to stay together or split into smaller groups. But despite a lack of quick decision-making we all were having a lot of fun getting to know each other better. We decided eventually to walk to the city centre and get some dinner there. I was already past 7:00 and most of us hadn't eaten anything since lunch time before we left the university. So we were pretty hungry, and some of us were on the verge of grouchiness due to rumbling stomachs.
Once we reached the city centre we split up and agreed to meet again at 9:30. I went with a group of girls to buy some Doner Kebabs. It's not specifically Belgian since they also have them in the Netherlands, but it was cheap, fast delicious, and one of the things on my bucket list of things to try.
It's basically a wrap with veggies and meat in it. And, much to our surprise, fries. The meat is rather interesting. It's on a spinning stick thing inside the restaurant and they cut slices off it. Here's a picture of the spinny meat stick thing:
I was very puzzled the first time I saw one of these. I had no idea what it was until I finally asked someone. It tastes pretty good too, I discovered.
We ate, chatted, and relaxed until it was time to meet with the group again. We headed out and found a cozy little bar together. It's kinda neat being old enough for that here in the Netherlands! Normally I don't drink beers, as I've said before, but this time I decided to give it another try since Belgium is famous for its beers. My new friend from Spain also gave me a sip from hers so I could see if I liked it, and it was pretty good. So I got one for myself.
That beer was actually really good. Maybe it's because it's a Belgian beer, or maybe I'm starting the acquire the taste. The first time I drank a beer was last month, and that one was disgusting. But don't worry, I'm not going to turn into a drunkard or anything. I'm a good girl and I intend to stay that way.
After most people had two or three beers (though I was quite content with just one) over half of the group decided to head back to the hotel and get to sleep on time. But I opted for the group that was going to do a bit more exploring. I was only in Brussels for one night, and I definitely wanted to see everything I could!
I definitely wasn't disappointed. La Grande Place is the big town square surrounded by gorgeous buildings. It took my breath away because it was so stunningly beautiful.
Yeah, these pictures really aren't that great. I guess that means if you want to see how beautiful Brussels is you'll just have to go for yourself. Part of the amazingness is that it's not just one beautiful building. It's everywhere you look, and there are brick roads and alleyways lined with shops and more gorgeous architecture going off in every direction. The more I looked around the more incredible things there were to see. It was delightful! It also made me really wish we were allowed to go exploring in the buildings. All around there were parapets and balconies and fancy windows and towers. I bet some of them also had secret passageways! But alas, exploring was not allowed, and I had to content myself with gazing around La Grande Place, which I did with sheer joy.
One of the guys in the group was ALWAYS hungry. (Kind of reminds me of some of my brothers). So we eventually decided to set off on a fries hunt. Fries were invented in Belgium, and apparently the best fries in the world can be found there. It was quite late at night by this time though, so the first several fries shops were closed, but at last we found one, and were not disappointed. Those fries were indeed the best I've ever tasted. Fries in Canada do not compare, and McDonald's isn't even in the running. (It never was to begin with because tiny salt sticks are hardly fries).
Our next tourist attraction was Jeanneke Pis. There's a very famous little statue in Belgium called Manneken Pis. Legend has it that a naughty boy peed on a fire and ended up saving the town, or something along those lines. And apparently someone also decided it was a good idea to make a girl for Brussels too. So we went down a crowded alleyway to see this Jeanneke Pis.
That's Jeanneke Pis behind the bars. A bit hard to see, but I promise she's there.
After that excitement we headed back to the hotel because it was fast approaching a very late hour- or early, depending on how you look at it.
At the hotel we went to the bar. One of the guys offered to buy me a beer, and I said yes. I guess I was feeling a bit crazy and spontaneous due to all the excitement of seeing so many new things. When I got the beer I think my eyes just about popped out of my head. It was HUGE! I drank about half of it and then recruited some help for the second half. The guys from Germany didn't seem to mind.
Here's me with the beer, and my new friend from Bulgaria.
And then eventually it was time to head off to bed. Here's a picture of some of the beds in the hotel room where I slept. Cozy and very nice! There was also a double bed on the right which isn't in the picture, and a bathroom on the left.
I had brought along a toothbrush (actually a free one from the airplane which I hadn't used yet). It had a cap on it, which was being exceedingly stubborn. I couldn't get it off the annoying toothbrush. After a minute or so of trying I could just picture the newspaper headlines: Teenage Girl Needs Dentures due to Inability to Remove Toothbrush Cap. Yeah, my thoughts can be a little overdramatic when it's really late at night. But going to bed just isn't the same without brushing my teeth first. Finally that silly cap did come off though, and I happily brushed my teeth, hopped into bed, and fell asleep almost instantly, after quickly thanking God for the wonderful day He'd given me.
Unfortunately though, my alarm was set for 6:30. There was a long and busy day planned to start early the next morning.
But what a wonderful first half of the Brussels adventure! I loved every moment so far, and there was so much more to learn and see the next day!
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