Don’t get on a bus if you don’t know where it’s going: Brussels Edition

Hello friends!

Megan and I returned from our first weekend trip to Brussels late last night. Let me tell ya, it was a (fantastically) crazy ride. Even though Brussels is the first city outside of Switzerland that Megan and I visited on a weekend trip, I won’t hesitate to admit that this city has truly captured my heart.  Brussels, Belgium—city of chocolate and waffles (enough said, am I right?). A city lined with the classic, ornate old-world European buildings I had always dreamed of seeing up close. A city with jaw-dropping cathedrals and palaces, beautiful gardens, cobblestone streets…Did I mention the mouthwatering smell of waffles and chocolate in the air??

DAY 1

            Our trip, however, didn’t begin on the best note. After having left Les Berges at 4 AM to catch a train to catch our plane at 6:15, Megan and I were running on low energy stores, but high spirits. After some issues trying to buy bus tickets at the Brussels Airport, the anticipation of some Belgian waffles before checking into the Van Gogh Youth Hostel kept us cheery as we awaited our bus in the near-freezing rain. To our confusion and disappointment, our bus didn’t show up. The ladies at the info desk were kind enough to tell us what bus to get on and gave us a map where they had circled our stop and the street to find our hostel. When we tried to board the bus however, we were told it was the wrong bus and were pointed to a different one. Thoroughly confused, we got on the bus in hopes that it would take us to the right place.

The bus ride was lovely, and Megan and I kept our eyes glued to the windows as we sped past the unique European architecture, an elaborate backdrop beyond the snowflakes beginning to flurry around us. Unfortunately, we found out when we unloaded the bus that the info ladies were misinformed and we had been driven in the complete opposite direction of our intended destination. A woman at another info desk advised us to go to the subway station where they would help us get back on track.

The subway station did little to quiet our nerves. The platforms were confusing because the numbers were repeated on both sides of the tracks. Somehow we ended on the wrong side of the tracks for both of our trains and we had to sprint up the stairs and around to the other side with only seconds to spare before the train took off. Thankfully a couple of men, on two different occasions, must have noticed the panic on our faces and offered their help. Megan noticed that the only two people in the whole station that offered to help weren’t locals, but immigrants. I don’t doubt that they themselves must have experienced our pain at some point in their own journey. Their kindness stuck with me for the rest of the afternoon, as I wished we could have demonstrated our gratitude with more than just words.

Once we got off the subway, our hostel was just a short walk through the snowy rain. Upon arriving in the warm, inviting lobby, things began to look up again. The owners were very friendly and we were upgraded from an 8-person room to our own two-person for free. It didn’t take long for us to get cozy in our room and take a nice nap.

We then took a short excursion through the rain to a cute little coffee shop called “My Little Cup”. This place brightened our dreary day exponentially. I’ve now decided that I’m moving to Brussels and marrying Laurent, the owner of this little coffee shop. Laurent, whose icy blue eyes are somehow warmer than the freshly brewed cappuccino he served us, along with some samples of his banana bread and chocolate chip cookies. I’M NOT EXAGGERATING!! Okay…maybe a little (Totally messing with you, mom and dad. I promise not to elope or move Belgium with Laurent anytime soon). But anyway, I highly recommend this place for several of the reasons listed above—not to mention the perfect ambiance and prime location and sweet music.

           

DAY 2

            Hostels are NOISY. Beginning about 9:00 PM, our floor was becoming increasingly louder. By eleven, it sounded like we were in a nightclub with electronic music blasting right outside of our door and people’s yells and laughter echoing through the hall. Needless to say, Megan and I did not appreciate this after only three hours of sleep the previous night. This will definitely take some getting used to.

            Anyway, we woke up fresh on Saturday and headed off to the city after a free breakfast at the hostel. We spent hours roaming the beautiful streets of Brussels—gazing through windows displaying everything from chocolate (lots and lots of it!) to fun hats, observing the detail of every building on the street, and finally getting to eat those Belgian waffles we’d been dreaming about—a glorious moment, let me tell ya.

            Oh, and of course, we managed to get lost again. This time it began to hail. Pretty sure we’ll have gotten lost in every European city by the time we return home. Even though we were starting to worry that we might never find our way back at that point, I’m so glad we were lost, because we got to see some of Brussels’ most beautiful landmarks. And we got the chance to work off those waffles because it turns out we walked over 30,000 steps in a single day—more than thirteen miles!!

            I’m starting to see our awful sense of a direction as a gift. Somehow amidst the slight panic rising in our chest after several attempts to find our way back, we always seem to come across some hidden gems we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.

           

DAY 3

            Sunday morning we woke up after a more peaceful night sleep and headed off to the city center, this time with our new friend Abraham, whom we had met in the hostel the night before. On Saturday night, Megan and I had been downstairs trying to use the wifi when we met Abraham and one of his dorm mates, Uni.

Abraham is from London and his journey will take him all through Europe, Southeast Asia, and even up part of Everest. Uni is from India and his real name is likely the longest name I’ve ever heard in my life. I loved sharing bits about our lives back home and our travels with these guys. It was nearly two in the morning when we headed off to bed after a few hours of good conversation.

            We had a blast getting to know Abraham over the next two days. It’s really interesting to compare hometowns, cultures, language, stereotypes, and so on, with someone from a different country. Getting to know him (and Uni even though we didn’t spend as much time with him) made this a very formative experience. I’m definitely looking forward to meeting more people like them as we continue our travels.

DAY 4

            Our last day in Brussels was bittersweet. We went back to My Little Cup, had a third waffle at the city center, bought Belgian chocolate, and bid our farewells to Abraham, Uni, and the city. The trip was more difficult than I had expected, yet more wonderful than I could have dreamed.

            Navigating Brussels was challenging. More often than not, Megan and I found ourselves lost, or headed in the wrong direction. Somehow we got on the wrong bus on the way back to the airport as well. Luckily at this point, we had learned to ask where buses were headed before we let them drive us in the complete wrong direction.

            Even though getting lost was at times scary and stressful, I found that it’s okay to sometimes just take the bus to wherever it’s headed (as long as it’s safe and you’re not missing your flight or anything). If I may, I’d like to apply this to life in general. As we prepared to leave for this trip, I had little idea of where this journey would take me. I don’t think I even had a picture in my mind of what Brussels would look like. I just bought the tickets, boarded the plane, and let it transport me to a world of unknowns.

            I think these journeys, in which there are no plans or expectations, are often the best journeys. These journeys that are marked by a true sense of adventure, the raw emotions of a lost traveler, the newfound friendships, the romance of finding the place in which all your dreams of travel unfold and take their true shape. These are the unforgettable journeys.

            I know this is cliché, but hear me out when I say that Brussels will always have a place in my heart. This isn’t to say that I know it will be my favorite city, that I won’t leave a place in my heart for every country I visit (this is actually very likely seeing that I love love love traveling so far). But, I was changed after visiting Brussels. Feeling hopelessly lost in a different country, not understanding the language, meeting other world travelers, and every other event on this trip were all things I had yet to experience.

            I feel a bit nostalgic in knowing that I’m leaving all these things and people behind in Brussels.  These experiences, these friendships, these memories are not things we can plan; they just happen. Sometimes it just takes a little courage (or being directionally challenged, as I am) to let the unbelievable road to adventure unfold before you. I will treasure all of these moments dearly and look forward to the all the ones to come.  

Until next time,

Lisa and Megan