09-08-2007
|
#1 (permalink) |
|
aņejo
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Humble, Texas
Posts: 9,363
|
A Trip Report Belgium and Amsterdam!
Day 1...we (myself, Tim, Kelley and Joel) are hoping we can get on a flight from Houston to Amsterdam, well...not looking so good, we travel standby and the flight was full, this one, the next one, just about ANY flight to Europe...full
 , good for the airlines, bad for us . As luck would have it we got THE LAST 4 seats on the airplane. They called our names about 5 minutes before go time and we ran on board, but ohhhhhh, we all got the dreaded middle seats on a 9 hour flight , but hey we were on! Anxiously waiting for our names to be called....  The airplane we were hoping we'd get on....  It wasn an uneventful flight, I maybe slept for 15 minutes max! The plan was to get to Amsterdam then take a train to Leuven Belgium about a 2 1/2 hour train ride. A little backround on why we stayed in Leuven....Tim spent several years as a kid living in Leuven as his father is from there and he still has a boat load of family memebers that are still there. It was also a central point to where we could go to different cities in Belgium for day trips. And....as luck would have it Tim speaks fluent Flemish, who knew? Not me . What a blessing since Kelley, Joel nor myself speak not one word of it!Finally arrive in Amsterdam, the guys trying to figure out what train to take.   Waiting for the train....we took lots and lots of train trips this week!  We finally arrive in Leuven. About a 20 minute walk from the train station to the hotel. Stayed at the Ibis Centrum, great location, but the tiniest room I have ever seen in my life! I have seen cruise ship rooms bigger than this! But it served the purpose....   A few random shots as we made our way to the hotel. The architecture amazed me!    The Stadhuis in the Grote Markt. The Stadhuis is the town hall, this building was breathtaking!!! Grote Markt means Great Market, every town in Belguim has them. The town hall was built in 1469 and took 21 years to complete. It escaped the fires of the invading Germans as it was occupied by German staff in 1914.   St. Pieters Catherdral in Leuven, directly across from the Stadhuis. 
__________________
" In a perfect world every dog would have a home and every home would have a dog." Linda Last edited by TeeZet; 09-09-2007 at 07:04 AM.. Reason: Dutch/Flemish typo ;-) |
|
|
| register to remove these adverts | |
|
09-08-2007
|
#4 (permalink) |
|
aņejo
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 4,948
  |
Oh, Linda.........I've been waiting for this one!
The details on the buildings is unbeleivable. Just beautiful! And I must say that is definately one of the smallest hotel rooms I've ever seen.............not that I've seen many  . After all that traveling, you must have been happy to just be settled somewhere.Can't wait for more! |
|
|
|
|
09-08-2007
|
#6 (permalink) |
|
aņejo
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Humble, Texas
Posts: 9,363
|
We were hungry, we were tired, but most importantly we were thirsty. Leuven is considered the beer capital of Belguim. Stella Artois is the premier institution of Belguim brewing, beer has been made there since 1366 and the named was changed to Stella Artois in 1717. Sorry no pics of the brewery but lots of pics of us drinking it!
 Our plan was to meet one of Tim's cousins at a bar in the Old Market. An amazing place this Old Market, 35 bars/cafes in a small area, and it's jumpin' just about every night! We ate...well not me, I munched on some fries. (Frites) Fries are a BIG thing in Belguim as that is where they were invented. They are fried twice in animal fat, guess that's what makes them so good , dipped in mayo and eaten out of a paper cone if you get them from a street vendor. I wasn't a big fan but Tim had them twice sometimes 3 times a day, Kelley liked 'em too!Fries and something , can't remember the name of it, tasted it, again, not a fan... Kelley and Joel's dinner, fries and pasta.  It's about 4pm and I'm fading fast.......I was talked into NOT going back to the hotel to just stay out a little bit longer, ok, give me another Stella and let's go to the fair that is in town for 3 weeks. We go to the fair, which looks to me like a carnival, rides, games, food vendors. I'm hungry now....yes, some fried dough with lots of powdered sugar on it! Kelley gets herself a waffle with chocolate and whipped cream! Escargots are also a must in Belguim...again, not a fan  but everyone else liked them!  We stayed at the fair for an hour or so, rode the bumper cars and I got whip lash! My neck would be hurting from this all week. We made our way back to the Old Market and back to the bar, by now it's about 10pm, and I am beyond delirious due to lack of sleep, little food and lots of beer. But a good time was had by all for our first day and night in Belgium!   A few shots of windows with flowers, I had a fascination with these, they were in my opinion just beautiful. I see some oil painting in the works with these!  
Last edited by Doggiemom; 09-09-2007 at 11:17 AM.. |
|
|
|
|
09-08-2007
|
#9 (permalink) |
|
Travel Insurance Tester
  Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: The Joisey Shore
Posts: 17,488
|
OK, finished, ready for more!
When I landed in Munich, it was the next day after we left NY and we stayed up THAT whole day too. I think we were up 40-ish hours before we slept. Europe kinda lends itself to lack of sleep, that's what I figured out after 11 days there anyway! The best part is that they don't put preservatives in their beer so I never had a hangover! Looks like such fun - can I be your travel buddy next time? 
|
|
|
|
|
09-08-2007
|
#10 (permalink) |
|
aņejo
 Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Shore of Baahhstun, Massachusetts
Posts: 23,229
 |
Oh, Linda!! This is FUN!!!!!! Your loooooooong first day reminds me of when we traveled to Sweden. After our long flight (9 hours) and then a boat to Malmo from Copenhagen, we were immediately put a tour to some ancient site that I couldn't tell you a thing about - we were so tired, we were slaphappy!! I spent more time at that site annoying the farm's goats than listening to the tour guide!
LOVING your pics! And looking forward to more TR!!!
|
|
|
|
|
09-08-2007
|
#11 (permalink) | |
|
aņejo
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Humble, Texas
Posts: 9,363
|
Quote:
 Anyway....I am STILL quite a bit jet lagged and will have to continue this tomorrow. I never had a hangover either! I slept like a baby the "few" nights I (over) indulged, woke up in the morning feeling great!Glad you are all liking the trip report so far, gotta warn ya though, I took LOTS of pictures and LOTS of pics of windows with flowers!
|
|
|
|
|
|
09-08-2007
|
#12 (permalink) |
|
aņejo
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Grand Lake, Co
Posts: 8,978
|
I am so excited reading this! Mellidee and i went to Europe a few years ago for a 2 month backpacking tour. My favorite place was Brugges belguim which is about an hour from Brussels. Is that where you were at? Brussels? Went to Amsterdam for 2 days as well and loved that although we don't really remember much
Cannot wait for more
|
|
|
|
|
09-08-2007
|
#15 (permalink) | |
|
Travel Insurance Tester
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: The Joisey Shore
Posts: 17,488
|
Quote:
Besides, Kelley had her fun, sharing is nice!  P.S. Airfare is still over $450!
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
