I started the weekend off by waking up early Saturday morning and headed to the train station in Metz with my travel buddies, Jay and Harry. On the platform, I was excited to find some of my other friends headed to Luxembourg as well. We all hopped on, and as soon as the train started moving the conductor came around to check tickets. We all bought the global Eurail pass in advance so that we should be able to board almost any train in Europe at no extra cost all summer, with the exception of overnight couchettes and long distance, high-speed TGVs. As the conductor approached, we pulled out our passes. To our dismay, we had not realized that the train we were on was a TGV. Even though it was a short ride, we were still required to have either reserved tickets for specific seats or taken the slower train system in to Luxembourg. Therefore, all six of us had to cough up a 20 euro fine. Clearly, we were starting out our weekend on the wrong foot. Nevertheless, we kept on and tried to not let it put us in a bad mood.
Jay, myself, and Harry at the Luxembourg train station |
When we got to Luxembourg, we had to take care of some business first. It took a few hours, but I now have almost all of my tickets reserved on any necessary TGV and overnight trains for the rest of the summer. The staff at that Luxembourg train station are incredibly helpful and nice as opposed to the staff at the Metz station. In their defense however, there are a lot of us always asking them for help in Metz, and they don't know much English, so I can understand how overwhelming that might be. Once outside and exploring, I was instantly impressed; Luxembourg is a great place. The city is very touristy, so I didn't feel out of place. All around, we saw old buildings and churches and what I even think was an aqueduct.
Bock, Casemates in Luxembourg |
Croque Monsieur |
The fun was to continue in Belgium, so we went back to the train station and got on a train headed for Brussels-Midi, which is where we had reserved our hotel for the night. Again, we met some more GTL students on our way. Let me take an aside and just say that this is where we learned a lot about being young American travelers. With one change in Arlon, the trip was to take around two hours, and we would arrive in the evening close to 8:30. All was well, the trains are pretty straightforward, but we were getting sleepy. As soon as we got into the the Brussels area (there are a lot of train stations/stops in Brussels) we were targets. White, young, English-speaking, dozing off, and with backpacks: how more could we candy wrap ourselves. We were sharing a 4-seater, and as the train slowed at a stop in Brussels, a young guy approaches us and starts pointing at our cookies, saying "mange, mange". This means 'eat' in French, so in my head I was like, "dude wants a cookie?? Say what?" And then he starts pointing in between all of our legs at the ground and kind of touching our stuff. We are all uncomfortable at this point, and wishing he would get out of our face. As soon as he does, our friend Reena who was sitting behind us yells, "JAY! THAT GUY JUST TOOK YOUR BAG!" So Jay runs after him off the train. Harry follows and the rest of us (all girls) are on the train screaming at the boys to hop back on before it pulls out; the trains do not wait in Europe. "That guy" didn't have his bag, and the boys got back on just in time. What just happened to us?
Lesson 1: Trains are prone to thieves.
We had been warned of gypsies in the streets, and their children who work for them. We had been warned about people who tap on the glass outside the train to distract you when you pull in to a station. We had also been warned that thieves are tricky and work in pairs. It was all in our heads, but until it happens to you, you just do not understand. The guy who was in our face speaking random French words was just a confusing, well planned distraction. While we were all looking down and protecting what was at our feet by the first guy's hands, a SECOND guy had passed by and swiped Jay's bag from the top rack, jumped off the train, and hopped the train tracks to a completely different platform. And just like that, his bag was gone. Luckily, all that was in there was a few clothes and toiletries, nothing of value. Thank goodness. Joke is on you, asshole thieves! But still, for the rest of the train ride we were all shaking and nervous out of shock. Since we were a group, it essentially felt like all of us had been robbed since one of us had been robbed. Now, I feel rude but I honestly do not care- anyone who asks me a question on the streets, the men, the woman today, or the little kids who stare at you, I just give them a cold stare in the eye and keep walking with at most a "no" if not pure silence. The sad part is that I don't even feel heartless about it because deep down I know that most of them truly are trying to get something off of me.
To make things even more interesting, we got off at Brussels-Midi station.
Lesson 2: DO NOT EVER GO/GET OFF AT/STAY IN/EVEN THINK OF MIDI....EVER.
Never in my life have I felt so unsafe and scared for my well-being. After that train ride and staying the night in Brussels-Midi I have seen things. Nothing, not downtown Atlanta, will make me scared again compared to this place. And for all you reading, I apologize, because I know that this is not reassuring. But to reassure you, I did make it back. The thing was, our GTL teacher told us that Brussels was a close place to visit, and free to get to with your Eurail pass. No one explained, however, that the only place in Brussels you should go is Brussels-Central, where the big market and square and all of the historic parts are. All of the surrounding areas are an outer city sketch-fest. There were seven of us, and we had a 15-20 minute walk to our hotel, which by the way had nice ratings and reviews online. Along that walk, we passed nothing but dirty streets of trash and dog feces, broken down buildings, drunk fighting men, and gangs. We were so lucky to find our hotel safely. There was nothing else we could do though, because we were stuck there after the train left with no idea what we were in for. The hotel, however, was pretty nice. We locked ourselves in our rooms as soon as we got there without going back out to find dinner. In the morning we were starving, but the hotel saved the day with an amazing included breakfast. First thing we did after eating was head right back to the train station to get out of that dump.
At the train station, we decided to still give the rest of Brussels a chance and go to the Brussels-Central stop. The difference was night and day. In the center of Brussels, we found an open market going on, got Belgian waffles, saw the famous Manneken Pis, and went to a museum about Belgian beer. We finally felt better about our situation and were able to enjoy the day. And this time we found an early train that was headed for Brugge where our hostel for Sunday night was booked.
Once in Brugge, we checked in to Charlie Rockets, a very cool youth hostel that I would recommend to anyone going to Brugge. Brugge was a wonderful city that I absolutely loved. There was great nightlife, a pretty safe atmosphere, and really nice locals. The walk to our hostel went through a park, by some statues, and through the main part of the city. What we didn't realize was that in France, especially on Sundays, most places close early. All of the sudden we found ourselves running around to find an affordable restaurant before they all closed. We went in to one and I ordered the tortellini and french fries. Fun fact: Belgium actually claims to be the first to invent the french fry, so theirs are very easy to find and very tasty. Another fact about Europe in general: beer is cheaper than water, and in the old days beer was less bacteria ridden than water so people mostly just drank beer all day. I spent a whopping 2.50 euros just to get a fancy small glass bottle of water (they won't serve you tap) at dinner. I also learned that while there used to be around 56 churches in this small city, there are now "only" about 26 left. And of course, their cathedral was absolutely beautiful. At night, my friends and I just stood in the courtyard of the cathedral in awe and silently took it all in for a few minutes. The last adventure of the night was looking for some of our group at night, who had gone on a pub crawl. Three of us waited in our room while Harry and Jay went out to try and reconnect the group. On their way, they were approached multiple times by men saying, "You need my help. Let me help you!" This was the only sketchy part of Brugge, but like any city, it was late at night and to be expected.
Lesson 3: Fake Russian will scare off anyone.
So after being approached about three times by these types of men, who probably just want to coax you in to a corner and mug you, Harry and Jay were getting fed up. The next guy to approach them was coming on to them fast paced, again with the whole, "You need my help. I help you? Let me help you!" So what does Harry decide to do? He turns around and just blurts out angry fake Russian words at this guy. And it works. Full 180 degrees by that guy, not to be seen again. No one messes with Russia.
So day three rolls around and we wake up late Monday morning in our hostel in Brugge. We try to quickly get ready so that we can make breakfast in time, which was downstairs in the connected bar for only a few euro. Coffee + hard boiled eggs + bread = life. We were rejuvenated and ready for our last day. At 11am we took a free 2-hour walking tour of Brugge.
This city was so pretty, and I never would have known about it. Almost like Venice, there were small canals, with boat tours going through them and ivy crawling up the brick walls. Bridges, towers, gardens, old buildings, you name it. I really appreciated the tour and our awesome guides, who were just Americans who had come to Brugge and loved it enough to be living here for now. We then sat down for lunch at this restaurant our tour guide pointed out. I tried rabbit for the first time ever because I wanted to get a real authentic Flemish dish while in Belgium. The sauce it was in was so savory, and the rabbit itself was really good too, but it was still a little weird for me thinking of eating rabbit. After that, we checked out some of the Belgian chocolates (too many to choose from!) and this special beer that is only brewed in Brugge. The tiniest alleyway I had ever seen led to this remotely placed pub. Inside they sell a house beer that is brewed in Brugge, but not bottled or sold anywhere else. Because we are cheap college kids, were short on time, and the beers in Europe are 12+ percent, we all split 2. It was the best beer I have tried so far. And alas, we headed back to the train station.
Canals in Brugge, Belgium |
The train ride back was long, with many changes. All along the way we had to "post up!", which is our code word for watching each others' stuff and standing in a special backpack-on-the-inside formation. Again, passing through the Brussels station, many sketchy people were eyeing us and following us. No matter where you are, the train stations are the most dangerous place to lose your belongings. Many people have nothing better to do all day than stay at the train station, pick out easy targets, and try and take their stuff to make a living. I kid you not, you have to be on your A-game. At the Brussels-Nord station, I turned my head around and looked at this guy who was right behind the end of our group. As soon as he sees that I see him, full 180. And it is like that in every train station. But the thing is, now we understand. We now know that traveling can be super fun, but if you let your guard down for one second, you are vulnerable. Travel in groups and take turns staying alert when the group is sleepy. The weekend was tiring, stressful, but most importantly, I had a blast! Never in my life would I have planned to go to Belgium, but the cool thing here is you can just take a weekend, anywhere in Europe. I love all of the brick and old architecture in every city. There is a uniqueness here when you realize that most of the buildings here are older than our country. Mind-blowing.
Lesson 4: Have fun in the moment!
Center Square in Brugge, Belgium |
Lesson 4: Have fun in the moment!
I hope that this was a good (but long-sorry!) insight in to what my weekend was like. The ups and the downs of the roller coaster we were on. I can't wait to see where else I will explore, and this was only week 1! Pictures to come soon. But now...sleep. :)