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| The Atomium |
I won’t be narrating the adventures and misadventures about my work but what I would like to blog about were the experiences and the planning involved for each of my travels for a period of one year while I was staying in Europe. This is like my journal so this can be very lengthy. It can be a guide as well for those who intends to visit any of the places i'd been to. And I hope, they can learn something also from my experiences.
It wasn’t my first time traveling to Europe. The first was back in 2003 when I had my business trip to Laappeenranta, Finland then followed by a trip to Milan in 2008. It was during my trip to Milan that I was able to arrange a side trip to Venice, the very first time I planned a trip on my own in such a short time. A lot of courage, a well planned itinerary and enough money to spend are the needed ingredients for an exciting travel adventure. From that experience, I became passionate about traveling.
I tested again my skills for planning when I decided to travel to Paris, France and Athen/Santorini, Greece back in 2012. I used to be a very shy and homebody person so embarking on travel adventure alone in totally unfamiliar places is scary. However, I can definitely say that my job has improved my personality greatly and developed my planning skills making me more adventurous.
With no help from any travel agency, I carefully planned and synchronized all my itineraries by just browsing the net and reading travel forums. With the technology we have now, fear is the only deterrent for doing something unfamiliar to us. All the information we need are available over the net, it is just a matter of putting all the bits and pieces of information to make a well organized plan.
On the first month of the second quarter of 2013, I decided to move and work in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. A small country located on the western side of Europe, borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the South and the north sea to the northwest. Netherlands has a low and flat geography with only 50% of its land exceeding only one(1) meter above sea level. If you are a person who loves to hike, Netherlands is not the place for you. Rotterdam is approximately a 45minute train ride down south of Schipol International Airport.
The very first holiday since my arrival to Netherlands was a trip in Brussels, Belgium with two of my bestfriends, J and L.
Brussels, Belgium
Date : August 2 - 4, 2013
A trip to Brussels was a planned short holiday together my bestfriends J and L. J works in Madrid and decided to spend a 10days vacation in Netherlands. L lives in Rotterdam same as me. for the planning part, I didn’t have to do anything since J booked our hotel. I instead, purchased our ticket online. We took A train from Rotterdam Blaak Station heading to Brussels Central Station (travel time : approx 2hrs). Traveling in Europe by train is very convenient but understanding the train schedules and the correct transfer stations require some careful attention. at first, it looks confusing for new comers but once you get the hang of it, it is very simple (The train schedule looks like this).
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| Sample Train Schedule |
The train arrivals are pretty much on the dot so just be on the right platform before the train arrives. If you missed the train, you can alway catch the next one provided that you have an open ticket valid for the day.
We arrived Brussels central station with some few inconveniences due to change in the schedule of the trains. One thing I learned about traveling in Europe is to be flexible in any changes of the train schedules due to some unforeseen circumstances. I’d been to many of this kind of hassle. But don’t be stressed out as there are always different train routes or buses available as alternatives. Worst case is, you end up sleeping on the train station or taking a pricey taxi to the next transit station if you are taking the night train. Don't be afraid though to ask train attendants for information and guidance to save time and money.
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| Fastfood turkish meal |
From Brussels Central Station, we have to walk to our hotel (Meininger hotel Brussels City Center). Meininger hotel is an old factory converted into a designer type hotel with its industrial minimalist look. Occupants of the hotels are mostly millennial travelers. We arrived Brussels past 6pm. After taking a power nap, we went to the city center to grab for some late dinner. As most of the restaurants are at closing time, we settled for a fastfood turkish meal: a sausage with fries and assortment of fresh sliced tomatoes, corns, cucumber, blaukraut (German Red Cabbage) and carrot slices. After dinner, we went back to our hotel and call it the day.
If one has to paint brussels, the only one place that comes into mind is the Grand Place. But before we headed our way to the Grand Place, we stopped by a restaurant to have breakfast. The Grand Place is a small but delicately sculptured 15th century town square surrounded by guildhalls, city’s town hall and the breadhous (or maison du roi). It is to no surprise that this place is crowded with tourists all day and night because it is one of the most famous tourist destinations in brussels.
Parade of chocolate shops around the square and within the city area are scattered and no person with a sweet tooth who can’t be seduced by the sweet smell of chocolates and variety of flavors. As we all know, belgium is famous for its chocolate brands like godiva, neuhaus and leonidas. I like sweets but chocolate is not one of them and I don't crave for it. We strolled around and did some chocolate tastings here there. After spending sometime at the grand place, we headed to find the peeing Boy. Yes, a peeing Boy or more popularly known as mannekin pis!. This little statue has became a symbol of brussels and one of the popular souvenir items for tourists. Just a few narrow alleyways from the Grand Place, the boy statue is doing it non-stop peeing power. The mannekin pis attracts thousands of tourists every year and the trip to brussels won’t be complete without paying a visit to this little fellow. We walked along the alleyways and before we know it, it is lunch time already.
We indulge ourselves for a decent lunch at Le paon Royal, a refined brasserie restauran(http://www.greatmomentsinbrussels.be/en/le-paon-royal/#formules). There are so many type of restaurants but as per my checking, a brasserie is a type of french restaurant with a relaxed setting which serves single dishes and other menus (By Wiki). For my lunch, I ordered red mullet stuffed with mushrooms. The food was a bit pricey but it was a treat by L who celebrated her birthday so I don't have to worry about the bill (A lucky man indeed!).
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| Lunch menu At Le Raon Royale |
We stayed for couple of hours at the restaurant before we headed to our next destination, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. My two friends are both non-catholics but they agreed to stop by the church before we go to Atomium. I didn’t realize that it is going to be long walk going up the church grounds. The basilica is located in the Parc Elisabeth atop the Koekelberg Hill. The church is considered as the largest building in art deco style in the world. An Art Deco is an assertively modern style ran to symmetry rather than asymmetry and to the rectilinear rather than the curvilinear. A style that is characterized by rich colors, bold geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation. The Spire of the famous Chrysler Building in Manhattan, New York is one classic example of an art deco. I tried to get inside the church but unfortunately, it is closed. The church is huge thus making it a landmark on the brussels skyline. After a couple of minutes rest, we tried to find an easy way back to the train station.
The next destination was the trip to another iconic landmark in Brussels, The atomium. As the name suggests, one would expect an atom like design. Indeed, this building is a magnified (165 billion times) crystal structure of iron. This stainless steel building was constructed for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. The spheres are actually habitable and the tubes connecting the spheres are escalators and lifts to allow acces to each of the spheres. We arrived the site almost closing time so no more visitors are allowed to get inside. The view is fantastic and the building itself is very unique. After a couple of photos, we left the place and search for a nearby restaurant for our dinner.
belgium is just a small country, but there are alot of great places to see and explore like Antwerp and Bruges. However, this trip with my friends was just a long weekend jaunt. The important thing was, we had a great fun going out on a tour together.
belgium is just a small country, but there are alot of great places to see and explore like Antwerp and Bruges. However, this trip with my friends was just a long weekend jaunt. The important thing was, we had a great fun going out on a tour together.
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| The Grand Place |
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| The mannekin Pis |
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| Sacred heart basilica |
Next : Cologne, Germany
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