Be No One | Belgium
We went over budget in France. The euro to dollar conversion is killing us and we didn’t exactly pick cheap cities. So, I went to work looking at places we could travel to on a budget and live modestly for a few days before meeting up with some friends in Amsterdam.
After an hour or so of research we settled on Antwerp, Belgium. If you’re doing a European tour, Belgium should make the cut. It’s filled with history, good beer, chocolates, and of course the legendary Belgian Waffle.
Antwerp started off a bit rocky. Without a data plan on our cellphones we have learned that planning ahead is a necessity. We also learned that getting dropped off in the middle of a foreign city at night can be disorienting even with a well-vetted plan. It goes without saying that all adventures will have their own unique bumps along the way.
The metro system was more difficult to navigate than what we had experienced in Paris and London. Also, the signs that were posted were translated from Dutch to German so not very helpful... to make things worse, when we did finally make it to our stop, the neighborhood was (at first glance) a bit sketchier than we would have hoped for. The streets were busy but not extremely well lit so it was hard to tell what kind of crowd we were surrounded by. Directly across the street we could see two policemen arresting someone while their red and blue lights lit the street. I think Anna and I both thought “what the heck are we doing here?!” Keep in mind this was MY pick, so I had a pit in my stomach just minutes into the trip.
To make matters worse, we could not find the street we were supposed to go down to get to our Airbnb. Not only are we lost and circling the area, we were towing our suitcases, book bags, and we each had an extra bag with wine and Champagne from France. Rather than interrupting the police officers’ arrest to ask for help, Anna decided she had enough and went over to a group of people that were hanging out on the corner. So being a man incapable of asking for directions, I stood and watched while Anna went over and asked for help. It turns out, everyone speaks great English in Belgium and when I joined the group they all had their cellphones out looking up directions for us.
Our flat was a musician’s studio that had been converted to a loft. Our bed is, again, a pull-out couch. Everything else seemed great and it even came with a record player, sound system, and a few albums that we could use. Well, most everything was great. Once we got a look at the bathroom and shower we quickly noticed that they were one in the same with no walls dividing it. It was just a shower head on a wall with a drain in the center of the room. It was equipped with an industrial squeegee (look it up) to push the water from the corners of the room to the center. But hey, I’m willing to sacrifice a few walls to save some money.
By the time we finished getting settled it was 9:45PM. When we asked the host about the area and walking around at night, she advised that some people do say it can be a little dangerous but she has never had an issue… not exactly what we were looking to hear. Our host gave us a few recommendations on where to get a drink and bite to eat before calling it a night. We decided on a place that was a short walk away through a nearby park. Already being a little nervous about the area, we were on full alert as we headed into the moonlit park.
To our surprise the park was filled with laughter as kids ran around playing tag. On the far corner we could see 20-30 people outside sitting on chairs, benches, and the sidewalk just enjoying the evening. The bar was actually across the street but the server came over to the park to take orders. After we found our own spot we got a couple beers and relaxed a bit for the first time in Belgium. A quick side note: when I asked for a local beer I was offered a Stella (my go-to beer in the States) and I could only laugh and say of course! It was finally a warm welcome to our new home for the next few days.
DAY ONE
Anna and I have been trying to run every other day and we also made a loose pact to split dinner each night to save money as well as keep off the extra weight. Let’s just say I can count on one hand (maybe one finger) the amount of meals we have split since April 1st. To our credit though, we have done a decent job keeping up with the running. We have found it to be a very efficient way to get acclimated to a new city while crossing off some of the “must-see” landmarks. We did a quick three miles and planned our day from there.
We took the metro from our flat to the center of Antwerp and started our journey to the Red Star Line Museum and the MAS (Museum aan de Stroom). On our way, we had no choice but to make a quick pit stop to try out our first Belgian Waffle. It was good, but I would need to test a few more before making a final verdict….
Afterward, we continued on our way. En route we blindly cruised right into the “Red Light District” of Antwerp, which neither of us knew existed. When I first started to notice what was going on, I thought I was looking at mannequins dressed up in lingerie. To provide a quick review of how abruptly the transitioned happened, we were literally two blocks from the most popular museum in town. We had just passed a number of eateries with people enjoying their lunch and coffee and then we walked through what looked like a high-end pedestrian thoroughfare and BOOM completely immersed. When I looked up the area later, I found out that we just so happened to stumble through the middle of Villa Tinto which may be worth a quick google search of your own.
Anyway, we did make it to our destination and found the Red Star Line Museum to be worth the walk. For those of you that have not heard of it, you may very well have a relative that emigrated to the US on one of their many ships. As we learned, Antwerp was one of the major hubs for European emigration to the United States.
The Red Star Line transported over two million passengers to the US during its operation in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In addition to their own travel records of passengers that left Antwerp’s shores on their ships, the museum provided a few PCs with access to sites like Ancestry.com and FamilyResearch.org. Anna was fortunate enough to pull up all sorts of information on her relatives. I was not as fortunate in my search, but looking over to see the smile on her face as she pulled up images of her grandparents was all the enjoyment I needed.
After the Red Star Museum, we went to the MAS Museum to enjoy the views of the city from one of its tallest buildings. During our journey to the top we got a glimpse of a quote posted inside the museum which we both liked and it goes like this:
Everyone’s in a rush
Everyone’s impatient
No-one has time
No-one is perfect
Be no-one
We ended our first night in Antwerp with a traditional meal at a place my cousin Anthony recommended called De Bomma which translates to “the grandma” in English. We were looking for a traditional Dutch meal and this place hit the spot. I ordered Vol-au-vent (a chicken dish in a white cream sauce that most closely resembled chicken pot pie, but better) and Anna ordered Stoofvlees met Maredsousbier (a beef dish that most closely resembled a beef stew). We were blown away with how good the food was and threatened to come back the next day for seconds!
DAY TWO
We accomplished a lot on our first day in Antwerp, so we decided to book a quick trip by train to Bruges. Bruges is in northwest Belgium with a large port but what we wanted to see was the quaint town at the center that is filled with canals, cobbled streets, and medieval buildings. We caught an early train out of Antwerp and by 9:30 we had arrived in Bruges.
Bruges is the epitome of the picture-perfect European city. It is filled with high-end shops and restaurants while it maintains its eclectic feel and vibe. The buildings are beautiful and every street seems to have a different style of architecture. There are mainstream restaurants in its large squares or you can choose to walk a few blocks to get something more traditional and off the beaten path. We decided on the latter and sat outside a small café at the foot of one of the canals for a late breakfast.
Bruges is best traversed on foot or bike. I had been threatening a bike rental during our travels leading up to Bruges and Anna had not been too enthusiastic in the prior cities. As we approached a bike shop in town, I noticed Anna started to drop back from our walking pace as she most likely got the feeling this would be the day she had to give in to the idea.
We were both happy we tried out our skills on two wheels. Biking was the perfect way to capture all of the sights the city has to offer. Bruges is basically encircled by larger canals with paved paths for bikes and pedestrians. At one point, we stopped to take a break on a small hill at the base of an old windmill—people were relaxing on the grass, enjoying the sun, and watching a man paint on canvas... it was perfect.
After circling the city, we rode back into town and parked our bikes to grab a beer and some chocolates. Not the best combination, but what can you do… we knew we needed to try the staples. Chocolates are more Anna’s forte but I found them to be ok, she may have more to say but this is my post (sorry). As for the beer, in addition to Stella, Belgium is known for great beers like Duvel and Delirium so I decided to try both!
Had we known how much we were going to like Bruges we would have booked a later train but were bound by our tickets out at 5PM. We got back to Antwerp just in time for dinner and decided to try another Belgian staple for a quick appetizer: frites.
In Belgium, you can find a friterie on every corner. As with our other experiences in Europe thus far, fries in Belgium are served first with mayo, but these places add another 10-15 sauces to pick from. After ordering a medium-size order of fries (which was more like an extra large) we picked three sauces: curry, samurai, and sweet chili. The fries were great and they tasted like they were cooked with a little sugar… regardless, our fries disappeared within seconds. After we devoured the fries, we walked across the street to wash it down with a kebab which was actually fantastic as well (if we don’t find jobs when we return, we may be opening a kebab and fry restaurant, just saying).
Belgium surpassed our expectations and if we could go back in time to plan this Euro trip I think we would have allotted more time to tour through the country. Every meal we had was excellent, the people were friendly, and the cities had plenty to offer, from castles to museums, picturesque architecture, and amazing food. Best of all, we accomplished a lot and got back on track from a budget perspective.
Pit of Belgium: Falling in love with kebabs (I can’t imagine that’s a good thing).
Peak of Belgium: Discovered a country that we need to see more of!
