Travelling in Europe is Easy!

I don’t want to tempt fate, but this has been very easy so far!

We walked to the train station and bought the tickets from a machine; we must have looked confused because one of the station employees asked us if we were ok and if we were heading to Brussels. Granted, our next stop was Brussels but we weren’t confused; I think we were more surprised that it seemed easier than buying a ticket in the UK.

We had 5 minutes to get the train, but given there were only 10 platforms, we didn’t get too worried. We found a table seat for four across from a couple with a dog. The dog was small and cute until it started barking; apparently, it didn’t like the conductor as he had a hat on...at least, I think that is what the woman was trying to tell us as she was speaking Flemish (technically not a language, but a dialect)!

The train journey was reasonably uneventful after that and as Brussels was only an hour away, it passed quickly. Our hotel was literally a 2 minute walk from the station, so it was easy to navigate our way there. We were even able to check in early so after finding the room (out of reception, across the courtyard, up in the lift to the 4th floor, then take the steps to the fifth floor!), we headed out for a beer or two.

My previous boss had mentioned that we make a stop at a certain well-known beer cafe and funnily enough, it seemed to be the first place we found. The Delirium Cafe or Village is a network of bars, from a cellar bar, to a rooftop bar and a few in-between. We decided to go to the cellar bar but the whole place is famous for breaking the Guinness world record of the number of beers on offer. The record was 2004 beers in the year 2004. You can just imagine how long it took Iain to choose a beer........

We only had one drink here as we thought we better take a wander around the maze of streets. We came across the Manneken Pis, a landmark of Brussels. It basically translates to the “Little Pissing Man” and shows a naked little boy urinating into a fountain’s basin. It has also inspired another two “pissing statues” as they are called, but that’s for tomorrow.

We decided it was time for dinner and found the nearest place that served Belgian cuisine. It was called Chutneys restaurant and offered “Trio Belge,” which was three Belgian specialities on one plate. It consisted of beef carbonnade (a beef stew), a Liege meat ball and a vol au vent served with Belgian fries. All three dishes were very tasty and we left very happy.

It was still early so we thought we would try a couple of different bars; the first was called Le Cercueil, which had lit-up coffins as tables and it felt like it was Halloween. The music was fantastic and took me back to my days at the Cathouse (a Rock club) in Glasgow as a student! We only stayed for one drink before heading to a more classic bar called “A La Mort Subite.” This bar is famous as it retains the original 1928 decor and is still owned by the fourth generation of the Vossen family. It’s name actually comes from a previous establishment owned by one of the Vossen family. It was at a place called “La Cour Royale” that some of his customers, from the National Bank of Belgium, used to play a game called 421. Before returning to the office, the employees played a quick last game and the one who lost was called the “Mort Subite” or the sudden death. This became very well known and when Vossen moved to the new premises in 1928, he decided to call his pub “A La Mort Subite,” which is also the same name as his own beers.

By this point, I was done; a combination of the previous nights drinking followed by a few more beers sent me into a deep sleep...and it was only 10pm!