Today is my last day in Brussels, tomorrow I head to Luxembourg, if the forecast is correct it will be 7 deg and rain showers, a good day for a 3 hour train trip. so today is another day to do Laundry and then a bit of tourist shopping, I need to have a look for a good Brussels fridge magnet to commemorate my trip. The wind is very chilly and my scarf is my appreciated as I head off to do laundry, It is 9.30 and only a handful of shops are open, even the beggars are not out, so it must be cold. Luckily the laundry mat is…

Well the day is cold again as I walk out of my hotel, there is a street market setup in the small square in front of the hotel, it seems that there are different stall owners for each day of the week. Today I decide to head off to the Shuemann district and check out the EU, being a Saturday there are no meetings on but the buildings should be interesting to have a look at, I have to catch the Luxembourg train to get there which is interesting as I will be catching this on Monday. The EU buildings are all shiny interestingly shaped buildings, lots of glass formed…

It is raining heavily in Brussels tonight, as I look out onto the little square located in front of my hotel from the restaurant, the market stalls from this afternoon have gone and are replaced with the reflections of neon signs off the glistening cobblestones. But this is Friday night and even the rain will not deter the tourist from venturing out into the cold evening, with umbrellas held high and clothed in coats and scarfs, they scurry across the square and into the dry warm environment of waiting restaurants. Today was a preparation day with accommodation booked for Luxembourg and Paris, I now feel a bit easier that at…

The morning finds we a little weary from all of my travelling so I decide to have a day in and on one of wandering I noticed a laundry mat, this is a good thing as to get laundry done in the hotel will cost me over 30 euro’s and that is just for the smalls. It is another cold morning and there seems little chance of the sun appearing today, so with backpack full of clothes it is off to the laundry mat I head, finding it again is pretty easy as it is around the corner from my favourite bar the Mannaken Pis, the fun starts when I…

It is another cold and overcast day, a day to break the scarf that I bought on Islay and head out to the station to catch the train to Amsterdam, I have decided to day is an inside day and what better way to spend it that heading to the Vincent Van Gogh  Museum in Amsterdam. The trip is 2 1/2 hours so with a light lunch packed it is off to the Netherlands we go. The trip is predominantly spent passing field after field, when we get to the Dutch low lands the farming continues but the crops change and the appearance of lots and lots of glass houses,…

A heavy fog covered the city of Brussels as I venture out into the day, My first task is to switch hotels as my former hotel is now full and I find myself with out a room, luckily I located alternative lodging just around the corner, so fortunately I don’t have far to drag my bags. After checking in and dropping off my bags it is a brisk stroll in the cold air to the station to find a train to Antwerp. Luckily the trains to Antwerp run pretty regularly and it is not long that I have boarded and found a seat for the 30 minute trip. Antwerp is…

A cold wind is blowing and even though the sun is out there is an icy chill in the air. After finding accommodation for this week it is off to Brugge which is a 1 hour train ride. The train station is a 20 minute walk from the city centre along cobbled stone streets and after buying a map it is off to the centre we go. There are lots of tourist about as I make my way and it is not long before I have found the market square, a short stroll is the canal and the boat trips are very popular, 6.90 for a 30 min ride. The…

Well it is Sunday and a nice sunny day in Brussels, there is a fun run on around the city and square, and it is nice having breakfast in the sun and watching the runners go by, most of the track is on cobble stones so I don’t envy there ankles. After something to eat I set off for the Belgium Museum of Money, it is an exposition of the first Belgium bank and the story money has played in the world, it is interesting to see the wood lined rooms that were where the first bank meetings were held. The afternoon is a relaxing one as I try and…

Another fine day in Brussels and after a slow start, I ended up at my favourite bar, drinking le Choffe and barracking for Portugal with Joseph, my Portuguese bar tender, till 1am. Happily Portugal won the soccer, and a good night was had, interestingly tourists are still taking photos of the Manneken Pis at 1am. After getting some breakfast I decide another day trip is needed so today I am off to Ypres, this is a 2 hour trip almost to the French border and towards the coast, again like Gent I have no clue what to expect when I get there and I have discovered that the further you…

Today I have decided to validate my euro rail pass and set it to work with a trip to Gent, this is a leisurely 1 hour train ride through the rolling hills of the Belgium country side, after getting the hang of the train system it is not long before I find my platform and have boarded the train and am riding towards Gent. The country side is very farm intensive, fields of corn are everywhere, cows, sheep, deer, chickens and pheasants are seen in various numbers, the fields are an emerald green of lush grass, and even the cows are so content they lie about enjoying the sunshine. After…