Belgium
"The most beautiful city square in the world" - of the Grand Place in Brussels (see below)
| Day 4 - Sunday, May 16
To cross the English Channel, we took the Eurostar through the chunnel. It sounds exciting, but it was basically a normal trian ride with 20 minutes of darkness. Belgium had the best youth hostel we stayed in, the Gite Auberge "Jacques Brel" youth hostel. We only stayed one day in Brussels, so we took off immediately exploring the town. The most famous attraction was the Grand Place (pronounced Platz) in central Brussels, shown here. The second most viewed tourist attraction in Brussels is the Manneken Pis, a little statue of a boy peeing. Overrated and unimpressive, the Pis was quite amusing. Brussels was neat for a day, but one day is all you need. |
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| Day 5
Bruges (pronounced Broozh) was our third European city. The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the train was how fresh and clean the air smelled. After four days in London and Belgium's smog and dirt, Bruges provided a nice reprieve. Near the coast in northern Belgium, Bruges was criss-crossed with canals. A walking path encircled the city. Here is a picture of us with rented bikes outside our hotel. We rode our bikes around the entire city...it sure beat walking. However, the crazy drivers and narrow roads provided for a harrowing experience when we biked downtown. Bruges was well worth visiting. |
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