I was a bit worried I might not make it to the airport since if my cab didn't show up, there weren't a lot of other options (mass transit would have required at least two transfers, and the buses didn't seem to be operating at that hour anyway). But, like clockwork, my cab showed up. Phew!
I flew to Brussels with Wizz Air, which is the Eastern European equivalent of Spirit. I felt like I was being corralled through a warehouse before getting on the plane.
Oh, and good to know sexism is alive and well at the Budapest Airport.
My flight to Brussels was uneventful. I flew into the southern airport, so I had to take a bus for an hour and a half to the main train station. Since the station was so big and at a huge crossroads, I had to ask four people how to get to where I was going (my hotel, which was a mile walk). I got a bunch of "just go that direction" sort of gestures, but nobody could locate where we were on my map.
Finally, I just started walking, and ducked into a pastry shop to ask for directions again. Somehow the handyman there, who spoke no English (only French), communicated that he was going the same direction as my hotel. So I decided to risk a ride with a stranger, piled my luggage into his cargo van, and he dropped me off...speaking to me and giving me directions in French. Again, phew! It's amazing how much of a conversation one can actually carry on even without speaking the same language.
I checked into my hotel and napped like it was my job since I only slept two hours the night before.
The view from my hotel:
When I woke up, I set off to see the Grand Market. Wow, was it ever impressive! Like much of what I've seen on my trip, pictures don't do it justice at all. But, here's an attempt:
After Grand Market, I set out to find some food. I found a place called Moon Food, and it was fantastic! It was an all-vegan buffet, and I even got free chocolate. The server told me they were giving away samples, but that she didn't know the different names of the chocolates in English. So, I just told her to give me her favorite. And she certainly delivered! The chocolate I had tasted like it had raspberries in it, and it was delicious!
I then walked to the cathedral (Cathedrale des Saints Michel and Gudule). Much like the Grand Market, it was absolutely breath-taking.
I walked around the city quite a bit, getting a flavor for downtown.
One of the things I noticed pretty quickly was how many armed guards were standing at public places and on street corners. I would be lying if I said it didn't make me feel edgy. It's just such a weird feeling to see guys wearing full-on camouflage, carrying machine guns. And they were everywhere! I understand that Brussels has been attacked, but, still, seeing all of the weapons was quite disconcerting. It just made me feel as if an attack was about to happen at any moment.
Brussels was a pretty city. I liked all of the architecture, and the people were quite nice. Although it's a big city, it still felt rather small, and I'm glad I only planned 24 hours here. I felt like that was plenty of time to both explore and stuff my face with vegan chocolate.
I slept well in my hotel and got up to head to London (the final stop in my trip).
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