Brussels & Back

Sorry for the delay. I don't really have an excuse so let's jump right in.

The check out time at the Bruges hostel was 10:00AM, like it is in most, and we made to the desk right on the hour. We threw our bags on our backs and walked through the old city one more on our way to the train station. Again we made the hour long trip connection the two cities and crossed the blurry language and cultural boundary. When we arrived in Brussels it was beautiful sunny day. It was almost warm enough to walk around in a t-shirt! We got off at the central station and decided to walk to our next hostel which look easy enough to find on the map. You can probably tell where this is heading. We walk through the tourist trap squares and gorgeous buildings for a while without much luck finding our way. One of the other guys asked someone where our hostel, royotel, was and followed them. Then we made it to the corner they said and there was no hostel. A kind older women could tell we were lost tourist and gave us directions to the she thought we were staying. As we approached the front door the sign Royal Hotel. We decided to check with the front and see if the name had changed. It hadn't, we were at the wrong place. So we got directions form the young who worked at the front desk and strode determined down the street which was Royal Way or something. Everything on that street was had royal in the name, hence the confusion. In French the two words are very similar and a non-speaker can barely discern the difference. Royotel is a place somewhere between a hostel and a hotel and kind of a rip-off. We decided to do some exploring and find somewhere to eat.

We were there for such a short time and saw so much that the days blend together but I'll share my impressions and a few stories. We saw a pompous but gorgeous plaza and garden with sculpture surrounded by impressive architecture. There is a impressive Church at one end of the plaza although it looks more like a city hall. (Not pictured)

We also found our way to the Royal Palace which are at opposite end of park that is undoubtedly beautiful in the warmer seasons. The path between the buildings is lined with tall and old trees. The buildings appear to be of the same style and period.

Royal Palace

Connecting Park

Belgian Parliament

We continued to walk around the city center and ended at the very large and impressive cathedral. We went inside for a moment but were in a rush to see as much as possible as we walked away the clock hit the hour mark and we heard the lovely bells.

We bought some delicious Belgian fries and sat on the stops of the commerce and wwatched the city go by.

That concludes what we did on the first day... I think. The next morning we checked out of that hostel and explored the famous big market that the city has. It was basically a giant flee market with all the usual junk and stuff that was probably stolen. We visited the surprisingly large and impressive home of the European Parliament. It was closed that day so we couldn't take a tour. We didn't really have time and tho other guys would've been bored out of their minds. European integration fascinates because all those willingly give a part of their sovereignty to a cross-national institution. Can anyone see proud America doing that?

Next up was the Belgian war museum which has a large collection of planes, tanks, and other war related things. The museum was free for a change. I'd grown used to paying for museums since coming to Europe and this was a nice surprise. I've been spoiled in D.C. with the Smithsonian.

After the museum we walked to the nearest metro station passing the European Commission on the way. We needed to get to the outskirts of the city to see and climb some strange giant sculpture and find our new hostel. Our friend from Mexico was leaving that night because of test he had to take so he had to leave early. My Canadian friend checked into the new hostel and had a pretty quiet evening. My legs felt as though they were going to fall so I rested he did a little exploring and bought us dinner. He also was also typically Canadian and had to watch the USA vs. Canada gold medal game. We had to get up and make our way to the airport, which was rather uneventful. They actually check to see if my bag was of the right size this time and it was barely I had to do some creative repacking and squashing. Like any good college student studying in alcohol strict Sweden we bought duty free liquor in the airport. The flight was nice and uneventful. We welcomed back to Sweden by a fresh snow storm. My friend remarked how impressed his was with the pilot because you can only really see the ground from a few hundred feet in the air. I hadn't noticed but he was very right it is impressive. We had a bit scare with out bus tickets but made it home safely. On the bus ride I listened to a student from Italy talk an American who'd met and married a Swede and now lived in J-town. She mentioned a lot of things that I had already noticed and some that I didn't. There is an endless amount of fascinating stories that you here while traveling and I love it.

The weather back here was about the same as when we left, cold and snowy. But the last week or so the temperatures have been above freezing and the snow is beginning to melt. I might actally see what the Swedish ground looks like in a few days if the weather holds! We coming up on the end of the first quarter which means exams and post exam parties. One last story that I find interesting and hilarious. I was catching the bus back to the house with two big bags of groceries when I heard something you almost never hear in Sweden, strangers talking to each other. The bus driver said "hej hej" to every person as they got on the bus and poor Swedes were a little startled and confused by this. People never say "hej" to people they don't know. It was funny to watch them take a second to figure what they were supposed to do. Aren't cultural differences fu?