Belgium
Travel Review
Travel Review
Founding nation of the European Union, home of magnificent beer and chocolate, little wedge on top of Germany and France; all of these are apt descriptions of Belgium, an odd little country which was a mostly mystery to me until recently, when a cheap Ryanair flight prompted a closer inspection of this largely overlooked tourist destination.
The flight there was uneventful, save for a rather peeved passenger stopped at the boarding gates for what I presume was a passport irregularity. When I walked by I noted that, were I in the same situation, I probably wouldn't choose to endear myself to the gatekeepers by shouting “This is an outrage. Get me your supervisor”.
BRUSSELS
A return coach trip from Brussels-Charleroi airport cost more than my flight, which admittedly wasn't hard. You must expect to pay top dollar though, to be ferried about by the surliest, least tourist friendly bus drivers. It seems that Belgian bus companies go to great lengths to find non-English speaking, brusque employees to staff their tourist routes, and when they find them, they must make them feel like the kings amongst men that they are by giving them big salaries. Its either that or, MUCH less likely, extortion for a necessary service which isn't fit for purpose.
The bus stopped at Gare du Midi in Brussels, from where I should have gotten the Metro. Instead, I went exploring. One hour and a worrying amount of chips later I finally asked for directions to find that I was a good two miles from where I thought I was. By this time I had developed a pain in my face with Brussels, which thoughts of a forty minute walk didn't serve to dull.
The flight there was uneventful, save for a rather peeved passenger stopped at the boarding gates for what I presume was a passport irregularity. When I walked by I noted that, were I in the same situation, I probably wouldn't choose to endear myself to the gatekeepers by shouting “This is an outrage. Get me your supervisor”.
BRUSSELS
A return coach trip from Brussels-Charleroi airport cost more than my flight, which admittedly wasn't hard. You must expect to pay top dollar though, to be ferried about by the surliest, least tourist friendly bus drivers. It seems that Belgian bus companies go to great lengths to find non-English speaking, brusque employees to staff their tourist routes, and when they find them, they must make them feel like the kings amongst men that they are by giving them big salaries. Its either that or, MUCH less likely, extortion for a necessary service which isn't fit for purpose.
The bus stopped at Gare du Midi in Brussels, from where I should have gotten the Metro. Instead, I went exploring. One hour and a worrying amount of chips later I finally asked for directions to find that I was a good two miles from where I thought I was. By this time I had developed a pain in my face with Brussels, which thoughts of a forty minute walk didn't serve to dull.
My maiden sight was the Grand Place, Brussels' central square. It's surrounded by guildhalls and is suitably impressive. I was saving most of Brussels for my second visit in two days time, so I just saw one museum.
The Magritte Museum doesn't open until June 2009, so that was out of the question. The Musee des Instruments Musique (Museum of Musical Instruments) had come highly recommended by my guidebook and the web. Now, without wanting to state the obvious, or wanting to toot my own horn (horribly bad pun intended), I knew what most musical instruments sounded like going in. So the audioguide, which I presumed contained interesting factoids on the instruments, and which was actually filled with nothing more than the sound of selected instruments, was of no use to me. Any information beyond this and instrument names was thin on the ground.
When I say that the dependable and cheap Belgian train system was one of the highlights of my trip, you'll see the problems I had with Belgium. One quick journey later though, and I was in Bruges.
To Be Continued
Next Installment: I Went Down (Or Up rather) to Bruges
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