Right now, it’s Sunday night and I’m chilling in
yet another airport. This weekend I got the chance to meet my friend- Angela
Pappas- again for a weekend in Brussels, Belgium. I joined her and her friend,
Amy, who also goes to SLU, but is studying in Rome for the semester. We all
arrived on Friday early afternoon and left today (Sunday) afternoon.
However, my adventure started a little earlier.
Because my flight Friday morning was so stinking early (6.25 a.m.), I had to
get to the airport Thursday night (there are no trains going from Bø to Oslo
earlier enough on Friday mornings. I packed up and left at 5 minutes to 8 p.m.
Thursday night and after a transfer at the main train station I got to the
airport around 10.45 p.m. Once there I found a nice little spot off in the
corner to set up camp for the night. I curled up under my coat, set an alarm,
read a little and basically just wished time would move faster or that I could
actually fall asleep. Four a.m. came and I decided to venture up to the
departures to get my boarding pass and try to sleep a little by my gate.
Unfortunately the quick check- in machines were not on yet. So I joined the
many people standing around waiting for them, and waited, and waited, and
waited… Soon I started getting nervous, so I asked an employee where I should
check in and she informed me that part of the airport’s system was down so I
would have to wait in this giant line and check in with everyone else. So there
I stood. However, after about 15 minutes, I started to notice that more people
were leaving the lines, so I went and retried the machines. And thank the Lord-
they worked! So I grabbed my boarding passing, headed through security, and
went straight to my gate to get ready to board. I started to get nervous when
we weren’t boarding and it was 10 minutes passed boarding time. I had to make a
50 minute connection in Amsterdam. Finally we started boarding, when we were
supposed to be taking off. On the plane the captain made and announcement
apologizing for the delay, explaining that it was because of the crashed system
that it was taking so long, but he said we should be taking off in 5-10
minutes. 15 minutes later he came on again explaining that 3 people didn’t show
up to board so now they were trying to locate their luggage which had been loaded
already, because they can’t transport it if the passengers weren’t on the
plane. Finally 35-40 minutes late, we quickly deiced the wings and took off.
The flight went very well, and the captain was
able to make up some time, but it didn’t help that much. As we were landing,
the captain was nice enough to announce some of the connecting gates and
fortunately mine was one. But that still didn’t stop me from practically
running through the airport as soon as we landed to my gate and getting there
just as they were about to close it- but I still made it! It was a very short
flight from Amsterdam to Brussels and I sat next to a nice guy from Belgium who
told me some of the fun things to do in Brussels- but that did keep me from
napping, so by the time we landed I was exhausted.
Angela and Amy were getting into Brussels roughly
the same time I did, but they flew into the smaller airport farther out of the
city, so I had the pleasure of finding our hotel by myself. Luckily I had some
handy-dandy Google Maps directions and a nice map. I headed down to the lower
levels of the airport to pick up the bus I needed to take into the city. After
trying to figure out the bus schedule, just to confirm I was in the right spot,
I decided to ask someone for help. I asked a nice Belgium man next to me, but
he told me I needed to go across the lot and buy a different ticket into the
city center. So I headed over to the machine, which was very unhelpful because
again- noting was in English. So I asked another Belgium for help and after
talking discovered that this was not the ticket I needed and could wait in my
original location- so I headed back. Then, just to make sure I checked with a
different Belgium man (I made a lot of friends at this place) and he informed
me that yes I was at the right place and yes I could buy the ticket on the bus,
but I had to have exact change. Looking in my wallet, I only had two 50 Euro
bills. My watch said it was 10.43, so I knew I had about 8 minutes to find some
change. Back into the airport I sprinted to find a place to get some change.
After asking an information desk, I stopped by a book store where I was able to
break down my bills, then I sprinted back to the bus stop all in about 5
minutes. Perfect timing so I didn’t miss my bus- the bus that never ended up
showing up. After waiting for 20 minutes for the bus, I decided it wasn’t
coming and I needed to find another way into the city. So I went back the
machine someone had sent me too and asked some more people for help to buy a
ticket that would get me into the center of Brussels. That bus showed up very
shortly and as I climbed abroad I showed the driver the stop I need to get off
on and he said he didn’t go there, but I would get off at one stop and then
make a transfer to another bus or train or metro- I don’t even know. All I did
then was say okay and go back and sit in a seat staying at my map and the map
of on the bus. I did my best to look very confused and sad and luckily enough
that tactic worked! The women sitting across from me asked where I needed to go
and was helping me find my way. As she was looking, I explained how my bus that
I needed never showed up and so I was trying to find a different way. Just as I
was saying this, I looked up and there across the parking lot- MY BUS!!!! I
jumped up, thanked the women and took off! I ran so fast, but I made it!! Finally,
a stroke of good luck. So after a 45 minute ride, I reached my stop. After
getting off, I stopped in a hotel close by, asked for some directions and a 10
minute walk later- I finally found my hotel J
Angela and Amy showed up around 2 o’clock and
after checking in and dropping our things off- we were off to explore the city and
find some food. We walked down by the main town square and saw some of these
beautiful old and giant buildings- all of which are old parliament and
government buildings. Now many are used for museums or restaurants.
We then headed down a side street from the plaza
and found a nice little restaurant which coxed us in promising a delicious 12
Euro meal and a free glass of wine. It turned into the worst meal of any of our
experiences in Europe. The glass of wine turned into a cheap glass of
champagne. Our food was terrible. We all got an appetizer (fish soup or salad),
a main course (chicken or fish) and dessert (a questionable piece of either
lemon cake or lemon cheesecake- we still aren’t sure). The service was
terrible, it took us over an hour to get our food, and while we were waiting we
were accompanied by countless fruit flies and a mouse. We were living in real
life Ratatouille. After asking for the check and showing that we wanted to pay
with a credit card, the only way we got the waiter to ring us up- 10 minutes
later, was by standing up and putting our coats on. An hour and a half to two
hours later- we finally escaped.
We spent the next few hours going into more
chocolate shops than I could ever keep track of. We stopped and bought a few
things from Neuhuas, which is one of the oldest chocolate shops in Belgium. Everything
in every store was so beautifully displayed and there was every flavor of
truffle you could ever possibly want or need. After getting our fill of
chocolate we headed to a little tavern and got something warm to drink- some
nice Irish coffee. And of course it was accompanied with a truffle! And of
course you can’t be in Belgium without getting a waffle, so we stopped at a
little corner restaurant on the street and got the greatest waffles ever. I had
one with dark chocolate, Angela had strawberries, and Amy had some kind of
cinnamon spread. Our first of many wonderful waffles.
We headed back to our hotel to quickly drop off
our purchases and then headed back out to explore some more of the city. Upon
recommendation of Angela’s mom who has been to Brussels before, we sought out
the Manichean Peis statue. After some map navigation we found the statue, which
is nothing less than a little boy peeing. It was the funniest thing to be so
famous, but after seeing it, everywhere we looked- there it was! Postcards,
chocolates, bottle openers- everything. We also learned that on certain
occasions they like to dress the statue up in different outfits- like Santa for
Christmas.
After some drinks at a pub, we called it a night
and headed back to our hotel and went to bed with the intention of getting up
nice and early (7 a.m.) to do some sightseeing before we went on our day tour
to Bruges. Come 10 a.m. the next morning, we were just rolling out of bed. We
were slightly disappointed we didn’t get up, but truth be told, we were all so
tired from traveling the sleep was much needed. As we walked with our freshly
bought waffles towards our meeting point, we were able to find a nice little
market to walk around in for a few minutes, but we soon left for Bruges.
After about an hour and half bus ride we arrived
in Bruges. Our tour was given in English, Spanish and French so we had to take
turns listening to what was said. Bruges is a beautiful little city, they
sometimes call a mini-Venice. It has many winding channels throughout the city
and it was never affected by war so it had buildings from practically every
time period- we saw gothic, renaissance, neo-classical, baroque, etc. The tour
began with a nice walking tour through the main parts of the city with some
history thrown in. Next we stopped by a lace shop to see how lace is made-
Belgium is famous for its lace. That was followed by a stop at an old gothic
church, which is said to hold a relic of a vial of Jesus’s blood. The relic was
on display today so if you were Catholic you were allowed to make a donation
and touch the relic and pray over it. I waited on the side with our tour guide
(majority of the group was Catholic), who kept getting in trouble for being so
loud. The church was followed by a wonderful little boat ride in the channels
throughout the city. It was so beautiful and fun way to experience the city.
Finally we ended up with a visit to a chocolate shop and a nice chicken dinner
at a restaurant. After a sleepy bus ride we were back in Brussels by 7. That
night we did a little more city exploring by night, had a nice drink in a
restaurant off the central plaza, shared some Mojitos in a bar and headed to
bed.
Here is a nice little selection of Bruges.
Today we were up, packed and checked out of the
hotel by 10.30. After a nice waffle breakfast we headed up to find the palace.
Right outside of the palace we also found a beautiful little park filled with
statues of beer, mussels, fries, and brussel sprouts- everything they are
famous for! It was really nice to walk through it and get a change of scenery
for a while. Carrying our backpacks made us a little exhausted so we finished
out our time in Brussels with a nice little lunch in a restaurant off the
square. Here are some pictures of the park.
Around 2.30 we parted our ways- Angela and Amy off
to their airport and me off to find my way back to mine. After taking a metro
to the main north station, I had been told by the hotel worker that I could
just hop on an airport express bus and get there in 30 minutes. Well that
didn’t happen. I got off, found no such airport express bus, but after talking
to some bus drivers learned I could take bus 272 to the airport. Unfortunately
this left me waiting at the bus stop for 25 minutes and, let’s just say, it was
far from the high-end part of town. I was beyond happy when the bus showed up
and I was able to get on my way. Public transportation is far from my favorite
thing in a strange city all by myself. I love the idea, but I just wish they
made it a little more comfortable for travelers.
I did get to the airport in good time and made it
to my gate with time to spare. My plane even took off on time- things were
finally going right. There were a few men sitting behind me who were concerned
about their connection time and asked the stewardess, but she informed them
that the hour and 10 minutes they had was plenty of time. Mine was 55 minutes,
and after making it last time when my plane was late- I thought I wouldn't have
a problem at all. It is sad now how wrong I was. As we began to land and the
captain informed us we would have to wait for a bus to take us to the main part
of the airport, that is when I began to panic. So I asked the stewardess if she
knew how close my connecting gate was to where we were. One look at my boarding
pass and all she said was “You are going to have to run.” I became even more
concerned when she started asking people to let me in front of them when
getting off, because I had a tight connection. It was a nice gesture, but when
you are second from the last row, it makes little difference. I had to take the
second bus back to the main airport and got off sprinting. I asked the man at
the gate where D60 was (my next gate)- his answer was “Up the stairs to the
right”. So where did I go? Up the stairs and to the right- literally sprinting.
Running down the halls I saw B6, B14, B19, B24, and all I kept thinking was “I
sure hope these turn into D’s soon.” But as I got to the very end of the hall and saw the very last gate in the wing, I knew I was wrong. Before this point
in my life, I never had the urge to swear out of frustration. It was always
kinda fun and rebellious, but I never really saw how it helped the situation,
so I never really did. Again, ladies and gentlemen, that was before this point.
As soon as I looked up and saw that wall with B36 as the last gate, a giant,
loud ‘Shit’ came rushing out of my mouth. I apologize now for all the children
who may have heard me. I turned around and took off in the opposite direction-
literally sprinting. I had three minutes to make it to my gate. I was pushing
passed people, saying excuse me every step I took, people were yelling forward
to others that I was coming through, I looked ridiculous. But- I made it! I
came up huffing and puffing to the gate and the lady just smiled at me and said
“Where’d you run from?” After I said the opposite end of B, she was impressed. I
was never happier to sit down in my seat.
Now, I’m in the Starbucks writing this and
listening to the Christmas music they are playing at the Oslo airport and have
another 5 hours I have to wait before I can take the express train to the
station and pick up my train back to Bø at 7 a.m. for a full 6 hours of class.
A nap is going to be so nice.
Technically it’s Monday morning over here so
technically it’s my momma’s birthday. Happy birthday Momma! I wish I was home
to celebrate with you, but our celebration will come in May when we go to
Russia together. I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing day- you deserve it.
I miss you and love you so very much.
Sending my love back home to the rest of you too!
Miss you!
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