Day 2- Brussels

Goddamn, those Germans know how to party! When I headed down to reception to check out there was a full-blown nightclub set up in the common room of the hostel, with the receptionist/DJ spinning tunes from YouTube on a computer connected to speakers. It was 4:30 in the morning! 

My body hated me today. Maybe it's a sign that my 30th is a matter of months away, but it was pissed about the time change. When I got to the hauptbahnhof to catch my bus to Brussels, I was immediately overcome with nausea and dizziness and general shittiness. I bought the most expensive mint gum ever (.85 euros, so, what, around $1.20?) at a German truck stop and also experienced the cleanest toilet ever. I believe my exact words in my travel journal were "a cleaning lady came in as I was leaving, although I don't know why. I think that bathroom was so clean that my contact with it may have possibly killed bacteria living in my grandmother's grave." The toilet was ridiculous, you paid .50 euro to enter (that's not the ridiculous part), and you in exchange you go through a turnstile and are issued a super high-quality receipt with a hologram. Seriously? I taped it in my journal so I can remember the time I went to the shitter in a German truck stop.

I was fast asleep when we crossed the border, and nobody even asked to see my passport! I'm kind of disappointed, as I like to collect the stamps. We arrived at Brussels Gare du Nord (north station), and just like Frankfurt, there was no signage, no information desk, no nothing. I of course had no idea if the north station was .5 miles north or 20 miles north. And north of what?

Eventually I made it to Brussels central station (1 stop away) and hauled myself to the nearest tourist office, which happens to be in the large central square. It's impressive, and beautiful, and everything you'd expect Europe to be, but when you're pulling a suitcase and a 20 lb tote bag, you fail to appreciate the charmed aesthetic value of the cobblestones. A short hike away (onto some more modern sidewalks, thank goodness) I found my hostel. And I found on the free map given to me by the hostel that Gare du Nord is actually closer. Awesome.

After locking up my luggage, I was thrilled to find a fresh apple in the Belgian equivalent of a 7-11 and ate it at the Botanical Gardens, only a block away from my hostel! Then I took a short walk to the Centre Belgique des Bandes Dessinees (the Belgian Center for Comic Strips). Woo! Of course a lot of it, except maybe Asterix and TinTin, had no context to me. But there were some temporary exhibits that I enjoyed and the building was a phenomenal art deco masterpiece commissioned in 1903.

At some point while I was inside, a rainstorm of truly biblical proportions started. After waiting for a bit, I couldn't stand the throngs of chatty students and their accompanying cigarette smoke, so I dashed from awning to awning, clutching my bag to my chest to avoid that wet T-shirt contest look and generally looking like a drowned rat. Now I'm all dried up, set up, and hooked up online! I left my camera card reader in my room across the street and I'm just too exhausted to get it, so you'll get all the Belgium pictures tomorrow!

I can't wait for tomorrow, when hopefully my stomach has settled a bit and I can finally enjoy some frites, chocolate, and beer!