After our slight tram mishap we finally arrived at the train station and bidded adieu to lovely Gent. The train ride there was extremely short and this time we didn't land ourselves in first class, mixing with the rich and famous but took our seats at the latter end of the train, where the toilets have a direct path onto the track and the windows are stapled shut for fear of jumpers. After a speedy ride, our arrival in Brussels was met with the welcome sound of the French accent. So nice to understand things again! Not that there's much of an improvement.
We managed to navigate the metro to our hostel (which was amazing in itself because the metro system is actually ridiculous. I'm sure it's perfectly sensible once you understand how to work it but there is no map at any of the stations and they don't got in any pattern. They pretty much just head where they want to. Very bizarre. Luckily a nice man with an intriguing accent helped us out and pointed us in the right direction). The hostel here is awesome and so cosy! It's like camp and so far the one roomate we met is Greek and very cool. Bonus: the shower is a turn handle! Luxury! All the hostels we've stayed at so far have had buttons (or chains, don't ask) to turn on the shower that run out after about 10 seconds and make for very cold, and hard work. So excited to have a shower now! Cheap thrills...
We headed down the 5th most expensive street in the Belgian version of Monopoly and it's pretty awesome. Such good shopping! Antwerp is supposedly the place for the best shopping but Brussels seems pretty good so far! We only went into one shop, Forever 21 and oh my god. It was incredible. I actually wanted to buy everything. Damn this airplane weight limit. So cheap too! Not only that but the store wasn't crazy like everywhere in Paris! Room to breathe.
The next part of the day was by far the strangest. We headed in the general direction of the centre of the city and stumbled upon the Grand Place, or Grote Markt (everything here is in French and Flemish, even the street signs. Yet everyone speaks French.) Suddenly we were met with all these people in white paper chef hats walking round outside the City Hall, a crazy man jumping about on a stage and cameras and filming crew everywhere. There were also stands with free waffles and hot chocolate! We were totally in awe of what was happening but managed to find a sign that said it was for the celebration of restaurants and gourmand (don't know the English translation, like eating well and enjoying going out for social eating/drinking). We signed up and received one of the crazy paper chef hats (that looked remarkably similar to Klu Klux Klan outfits) and lined up for our waffles. Yum! They were hot and delicious. Belgians sure do good waffles!
Then all of a sudden, everyone was being told to avancez and a massive group had crowded together, of which we were squashed into the middle of. We actually had no idea what was happening, drowned out in the deliciousness of our waffles (and my chocolate chaud, which was the end of the barrel and therefore was practically like drinking a chocolate bar. They definitely don't stinge on putting actual chocolate in their drinks here. My waistline is stoked.)
Then the crazy guy on the stage was getting more and more excited, getting louder and louder and a dozen or so camera crews were crowding round us. I felt like Britney mid-breakdown with camera flashes in my face all over the place. Then crazy dude was telling us he was going to count to five and we all had to throw out chef hats in the air. Righty. We did that a couple of times, which seemed to delight everyone, and we were told that this was actually an attempt to break a world record, currently held by Pakistan. He didn't tell us what the record was, and nor did he say if we broke it. I think he may have been high on waffles.
We revelled in the free food (which now as I type this I seriously regret, goodbye any chance of dinner) and then headed off to the cathedral which I fail to remember as it was mostly taken up with my steely concentration not to empty the contents of my stomach on the other unsuspecting religious folk.
So all in all, a bizarre, but brilliant, day. I had no idea Brussels was this big. It has skyscrapers galore. (including one which is on the walk from the metro to our hostel that we stared at for way too long. We looked like hicks from the mid-west). Tomorrow we plan to get more done than get caught up in the Belgian celebrations, but if there are waffles on offer, you never know what might happen. So far, Brussels is so different to Bruges and Gent, but very cool! Has that big city feel, and is slightly warmer. Mes doigts sure love it.
Can't wait to get out and explore tomorrow. Think I may love this city.
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