Day 7
Friday, Luxembourg to Brussels
When one is on vacation (okay, so it was a working vacation), the alarm should not be set to go of at 4:00 a.m. But European airline regulations had changed. The desk would close one hour before departure, and we had to be at the airport two hours prior to that, so one bus would leave our Luxembourg airport at 5:00 a.m. and the other two would leave at 5:30 a.m. That’s early!
The weather was rainy and the traffic, especially the closer we got to Brussels, was very heavy. We had needed every minute of that extra time.
Ginger and I were in the group who had chosen to spend two more days in Europe, so the bus would take us and others like us (nicknamed “deviants” as we were deviating from the set tour) to the Brussels airport and then we would be on our own. Along with a number of our colleagues, we had reserved a room at the Crowne Plaza in Brussels.
Tim and Lisa, with whom we had spent the week exploring, were headed home, as they both had to work on Monday. Martie, Kate, and Mandy were staying in the same hotel as Ginger and I, so we set about to figure out how to get to the hotel. I called the hotel (love technology!) and the desk clerk told me they were across the street from the Brussels North train station. How wonderful. We could buy our tickets, hop on the train, and drop our luggage in the hotel in just 20 minutes or so. Yeah, that was my dream. Figuring out which train to take, how to buy the tickets, and where the track was were the easy parts. When we arrived at the North station, we fairly easily got our bags down from the railcar and found the exit. Then we looked at maps and realized the hotel was not across the street. It was about eight blocks away. Eight long blocks dragging a big roller bag, a smaller carry-on, and a tote/purse. Across cobblestones. By the time we got there, only to realize we had to navigate three levels of the lobby before arriving at the desk, we were tired. And I was grumpy.
Martie and her daughters had adjoining rooms and one of those rooms was ready, so they took their things upstairs. Ginger’s and my room wasn’t ready, so we stashed our bags with the concierge and waited for the others to come back downstairs. The concierge directed us to Rue Nueve, a major shopping street, where he told us we would be able to find numerous places to get breakfast.
A fresh, bright place named EXKi looked interesting, and we were soon choosing fresh rolls and croissants and yogurt in glass jars and coffee and tea. What a treat—reasonably priced, fresh food.
After regaining our strength, we continued walking down the Rue Nueve, then turned by the Bourse and Église Saint-Nicolas. We walked along, looking in all the chocolate shop windows when, suddenly, we happened upon the Grand Place, surrounded by old guild halls. If ever a picture postcard had come to life, the Grand Place in Brussels is that picture!
Brussels is a charming city, filled with parks and ponds and interesting history and people. And they love tourists! Information is easy to find and happily offered. I had downloaded several travel apps before leaving home and now was the time to open the Brussels City Walk app. As we stood there on the edge of the Grand Place, I was able to identify and tell a little about each of the buildings surrounding the square. A brilliant app!
We walked some more and wandered in and out of various shops while finding our way down to see the Manneken Pis statue. You don’t know what I’m talking about? C’mon, you know you do. You’ve seen him; you just didn’t know he lived in Brussels. (If you were thinking Amsterdam, there is a brand of french fries in Amsterdam named Manneken Pis. Appetizing, huh?)
Actually, to me he was a bit of a letdown. I thought he would be larger. But he’s precious to the citizens of Brussels and has been stolen a number of times, so they keep the real statue in the museum and have a replica on display. And they dress him up. Really?! We were told he has over 800 outfits. (And you thought I had too many clothes.) The day we were there, he was holding a surfboard and had been dressed in a Hawaiian shirt by the Surfrider Foundation. Oh well.
After all the walking, we were starting to think about food. We checked out several restaurants along the perimeter of the Grand Place and settled on La Brouette Taverne. The food was delicious; we saw a number of our traveling companions eating there; and it was the perfect break after all our walking. My lunch was Croque Brouette, a delicious grilled cheese, ham and tomato sandwich.
After lunch, Ginger and I headed back toward the hotel, thinking our room would be ready. We checked in, got the key, and then discovered they had given us a “king” bed again. When I went back downstairs, they said the rooms with two beds weren’t ready yet. Ginger and I went into the bar, ordered wine, and got caught up on our email and Facebook postings. After 45 minutes (now close to 4:00 p.m.), our room was ready.
The room was charming. Furniture looked to be from the late 19th century, and the room was clean, bright and delightful. We unpacked and rested before meeting Martie, Kate and Mandy in the lobby for dinner.
We walked back to the Grand Place and decided to eat at La Rose Blanche, which was located in the former hall of the Fédération Nationale des Combattants. The interior of the building was beautiful—lovely dark wood paneling, a roaring fire. The wait staff was gracious and helpful. The meal was delicious.
When we came out of the restaurant after dinner, we saw two friends from our group. As we stood there talking to them, the towers in the Grand Place began lighting up and flashing, a la the Eiffel Tower.
And the joint was jumpin’! The Grand Place was filled with people and noise and music and lights. And the streets from there back to our hotel were just packed with young people. I had joked earlier in the day about helping out with the local economy, but—quite honestly—that economy didn’t need any help at all. There were shoppers everywhere!
When we reached our hotel room, we quickly crashed, having been awake since 4:00.
Day 8
One more day in Brussels. The end of the journey.
The next morning we set a more reasonable time to meet, and again went to EXKi for breakfast.
The weekend in Brussels was very cold. Bitterly cold and windy. The five of us had discussed taking a walking tour, but my knee was acting up, so we decided to take the Hop On, Hop Off bus tour. As we headed into the Grand Place to get more information at the Visit Brussels office, we noticed dozens of boy scouts and girl scouts in the square, waiting for their activities to begin. Someone told us they do this every weekend. The thing I noticed the most is that there were no helicopter mothers hanging around. These kids had come into the city centre with their counselors and leaders and were just having a darned good time. The girls all wore tights under their knickers or skirts, but the boys just wore shorts. With bare legs. When it was about 34 degrees!!! I felt cold just watching them!
The Hop On, Hop Off bus was a brilliant solution! There were two separate routes – the south and the north. We took the south route first and put in our earbuds as we listened to the recorded narration of the tour. Beautiful architecture and buildings, lots of parks, incredible shopping streets, delightful little neighborhoods. Honestly—I could live there!
After the first one-hour tour, we got off and looked for lunch. We stepped into The Magic Rubens Brasserie and were again ensconced in typical local fare and peoples. The waiter was fun, joking and welcoming. I don’t remember what I had, but I do remember it included fries, and when I asked the waiter for ketchup, he made a face at me. All in good fun.
After lunch, we went back and got on the bus again, this time to explore the north route. The most impressive site—and the one I most wished we had had time to explore—was the Atomium, which was built for the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958. It can be seen for miles, and on a clear day, I’m sure one can see for miles from the top. Alas, this was not a clear day. Maybe another time.
I really enjoyed everything about Brussels during our short visit. I kept thinking how much fun it would be to bring my grandson back here in a couple of years. There’s so much to see and do. We didn’t visit the Museum of Musical Instruments or the Maison du Roi (Museum of the City of Brussels) or any of a number of other interesting museums. Really, one could spend a week exploring this city. And I hope to do so in the future.
After the second hour-long bus ride, we wandered through shops and bought chocolates and lace to take home. By about 3:30, I had had enough and headed for the hotel. Again, as we walked along the now-familiar road between the Grand Place and the hotel, Ginger and I were astonished to see the number of people walking and shopping. This city is alive!
After a little rest in our room, we went back down Rue Nueve to Drug Opera (“Recognized as one of the most famous and typical pubs in old Brussels”) to meet Martie, Kate and Mandy for dinner. Great people-watching, a few of our friends at nearby tables, good food, and friendly waitstaff. We had a wonderful time and toasted our week together.
Back to the hotel to pack and to sleep.
And off we go
Sunday morning we were up by 6:00 and met in the lobby at 7:30 for a cab to the airport. The front desk staff helped me reserve a van large enough to transport the five of us and all our luggage to the airport so we wouldn’t have to maneuver the train again. That was one of the wisest decisions I made on this trip!
And then we hurried up and waited. No problems until we got to Atlanta, where we waited for delayed incoming equipment, and worried about the weather system heading for Cleveland. But it was a fine flight, easy landing, and then a wait for baggage, van ride to the car, and a long 1+ hour drive home.
So happy to be home, where a dozen roses waited for me on the kitchen counter.
In summary
So happy to have been able to take this trip. So honored and grateful that Ginger asked me to room with her. Happy to have made many new friends. Happy to have visited beloved old cities and discovered new-to-me and newly beloved cities. Incredibly honored and happy to have made beautiful music with the Cleveland Orchestra and my fellow singers. Determined to go back again, soon.
