Waterloo In A Day (Or Less)

The rain caught up with me today as I made my way back to Belgium to see the Waterloo Battlefield. Unfortunately I missed my stop (usually bus drivers are really good at nudging you out the door if he knows where you're going). So what should have been a 5 minute walk turned into 25 minutes. Which would not have been an issue if it hasn't been raining and very windy.  The good news is my backpack did is job and kept everything dry. The bad news is my shoes and socks were soaked and I was cold. I found the air dryer in the restroom took the worst of the water out of my socks, and with my wool socks, that's all I needed. (They also worked on my shoes.)  In addition, the wetness gave me blisters

Due to time, i limited myself to 3 items:

 The memorial 1815 - explained how napoleon came to powers, the events in the years leading up to waterloo, what countries were involved, and their uniforms. It was cool how what looked like paintings were actually HD screens with an antique gold border. The best part of the whole trip,was the 4D video of the battle. When the canons shot, the floor rumbled and smoke seemed 

right in front of you;  when the calvary  came over the hill, I swear a horse's muzzle was right in my face.

The Lion's Mound - 131 feet tall.  There are 226 steps to the top where you get a Birdseye view of the battlefield and farms that were involved in the battle.  A lion statute on top symbolizes the monarchs' victory. It was a long way up, but I made it.

The panorama of the battle - a 30 foot painting of one is the episodes in the battle.  Painted in 1912 and one is the few panoramas left. 

 
Definitely worth the effort to see it. Wish I had had a little more time.

I made my way back to Netherlands, and arrived in Utrecht rather late, but was impressed with what little saw.

Luxembourg In A Day

Cool statue;
Odd tree - no idea what it is

I thought Belgium spoke English. Not sure where I got that idea from. But it worked out okay because Belgium is multilingual. There are three official languages depending on where you live - Dutch, French, and German. Each area is near the country belonging to the language. Many upper schools are taught in English, so most also know that as well. It's sort of crazy, but cool too.

So now I'm off to luxembourg. By the way, they're bilingual too. Their official languages are luxembourgish, French, and German, depending on the situation. Most everybody speaks luxembourgish plus one of the other languages. Not everybody spoke English, but enough for me to get by. When reading tourist signs, they were all in French and German. My German came in handy since I am helpless with French, but I am clearly rusty. In the meantime I learned key french words: Bonjour, au revoir, merci, and parlez-vous anglais. Anything more was beyond me.

Luxembourg is a cute town. Very different from Brussels. WhIle both train stations in Brussels were in a not so great area,  the Luxembourg station is in the middle is the shopping district. Brussels is a European city with a beautiful historic town square. Luxembourg is filed with history, romance, and elegance that just happens to be a city. This would be a cool place to come with a significant other - walk the cobblestone streets, sip wine in a town square,  and soak up the atmosphere.

I wanted to get to the Luxembourg American cemetery, which is filled with American soldiers from the world wars, including Patton. I thought I read it was open 24-7, but I guess not. Some places are still on winter hours, so they closed at 5. I almost made the last 2 busses that would get me there before close, but when I asked about bus tickets (i found out they're free on weekends to promote shopping) and asked where the stop was, I got sent half a block down to a bus stop. Unfortunately I needed to be at the bus stop right by where I was. By the time I figured it out, I had missed 2 busses and the rest would have gotten me there right at closing time.

I did see all the other tourist places I wanted to and walked the streets enjoying the atmosphere. At least until it started raining. Luckily it was mostly just stay drizzle, so I could still walk around - I just got chilled and wet. But since the forecast was for rain the whole time I'm in Europe and this is the first I've had, I really can't complain.

I took my time walking from the train station to my room since check in wasn't for several hours. I got a small hotel (only 16 rooms) right in the middle of the city for ~$60. The rooms were simple and small, but location and a decent breakfast made it well worth it. (Both mornings I have been able to sneek a piece of homemade bead and couple pieces of cheese for lunch. Love when it's a good breakfast.)

The hotel was on the Place Guillaume II, which confused Google maps. It took me one street over, and the way the streets were, I couldn't find a way over. I finally found a small opening that lead to the plaza and my hotel.

Lower Town

Luxembourg exists because of a rock. A Count bartered with the owner of the land for this rock. It wasn't just that it was a rock, but that it was on the edge of a plateau, with only one side open to it. Makes it easy to control your enemies. So when you talk about luxembourg, there is the upper (older) town and the lower (relatively newer) town.

But back to the walk from the train station. I stopped at Constitution Square, which has a monument, "Galle Fra", in honor of their fallen soldiers from the World and Korean Wars. There is also one of two casements here. Casements are paths and niches cut into the rock.  On the edge of the square is a deep cliff to the lower town.

Next I stopped at their Notre Dame, which is probably only a tourist destination because of its famous name. It was pretty, but in a more subtle way. It was definitely European with wooden chairs, stainglass windows, and beautiful pictures of Christ on the ceiling. However it was a much smaller and simpler church than the well-known one.

Palace on right, shops in left

After missing the cemetery, I just walked randomly around the city. I came across the palace. It's right in the middle of town. The royal family opens up their home for guided tours in July and August. There is the main entrance in the middle of stores and bars, and the back entrance that is on the edge of the plateau, and faces the rock that started luxembourg. Both entrances had a soldier.  The back entrance was boring - a female soldier walked around in a circle.  The front entrance was a show.  Much in the fashion of London. The soldier walked with purpose and swagger from his little house to the end of the building.  At each end, he did a high step and turn that was fun to watch, even in the rain. After a while, he decided to get out of the rain, and went in his little house. There was a second little house. There used to be another soldier guarding the front, but the Royals decided they only needed one. 
 

As I mentioned, the back of the palace was in the edge of the plateau overlooking the old town.  There are additional casements here that used to defend the city. There are quite a few older structures (over 500 years old), and the city built a walk with a self-guided tour.

So I can crossed 2 more countries off my list: Belgium and Luxembourg. Now the only western European countries I have not visited are Portugal and four of the microstates. Anybody want to visit Portugal?

Belgium In A Day

Flying into Amsterdam, I saw hundreds of windmills just of the coast. They really are the leaders in windmillweds.

I arrived in Amsterdam, moved what i needed for four days to my backpack, stored my suitcase, and got in a train to Brussels and reserved a hostel near the North Station.

When we got near brussels, I asked someone what stop was the north station, and they told me the last stop. They were wrong. I rode the train to the last stop. It was not Brussels North, it was Brussels South. According to my Google maps (I love this app when traveling) it was only a half hour walk back to the place I'm staying for the night; so I decided to walk it. It would give me a chance to see this city and I was tired of sitting. (Thank goodness I left my luggage behind and only had a backpack to carry.)  It was nice to get up and get moving again after hours of sitting on first the airplane, and then the train.

So I marked the places of interest I wanted to see along the way in my phone. First was "manneken pis", basically a peeing boy statute.  Somebody marketed this well. He couldn't have been more than 2 feet tall, but they put a pretty background on him, or him up high, and advertised the heck out of it.

There are two foods for which Brussels is no chocolate and Belgian waffles. I'm not really mush for either, but a friend had told me that I had to try a Belgian waffle. And right next door was one with a long line. So I figured I'd see what the fuss was about.

The belgians don't just do a Belgian waffle. They do a BELGIAN WAFFLE.  Waffle places advertise anywhere from 25 to 100 different ways to get a Belgian waffle. I decided get mine with strawberries and whipped cream, figuring maybe the fruit would offset the waffle. It even came with chocolate on top so I got my Belgian chocolate in too.

Belgian waffles are an experience, not a food. They add fruit, whip cream, sauces, and more. Anything they could think, you can get on a waffle somewhere.  The waffle comes in a plastic tray, with the tiniest plastic fork I've ever seen (like a flimsy shrimp fork, but smaller). I'm not quite sure how you're supposed to eat this waffle as you're walking in a flimsy tray, with a flimsy fork. I had no choice but to sit down. Luckily I came upon Grand Square, the main square in Brussels. So I grabbed a seat and took in the scene while I finished the waffle.

I don't know how you could eat these waffles and not make a mess unless you get just plain whip cream on it. Even sitting down, I got stastrawberries, whip cream and chocolate all over my jacket. I finally  picked it up and ate it with my hands. I wasn't pretty.  But it was worth the mess. I don't know what they do, but these are the best waffles I've ever had.

The square is one of the prettiest I've ever seen, with gorgeous buildings on all four sides (most squares I've seen have no more than 2 pretty sides). I recognized gothic and baroque styles, and assumed it had been built over time. I later found out it dated back to the 1400s, but was rebuilt around 1700 after the French almost completely bombed it.  No surprise, it was voted Europe's most beautiful square in 2010.

Continuing on my way to the hostel, I saw a few other plazas and statues, but none of them were quite as Grand as the Grand Place. I also passed a small playground. And when I say small, I mean small. It had a colorful slide a swing set with two swings in it. That was it. I guess in the city, land is precious.

I lucked out in the hostel and got a room to myself, even though I paid for a 6-bed room. A spotless single room, free breakfast (and not just cereal and bread as must give), all for $20. Can't beat it.

Tomorrow I'm off to Luxembourg.