The smell of waffles, lots of diamond stores, an interesting mix of French and Dutch...such is Belgium.

For my third weekend in Europe I awoke quite early on Saturday and headed to Amsterdam Centraal for Antwerpen, Belgium! Biking to the station at 6:30am was quite interesting actually - the city was dead,  except for a few clubs that were just finishing up parties from the night before. And there were HUGE herons just standing in the middle of the road! I ended up missing the 6:55am train I wanted to take, which actually ended up being a huge blessing. Namely because the only planning I did for my weekend involved which cities I was going to and a hostel reservation. I had neglected to figure out which train connections I would need to make - so missing my train (twice actually), forced me to go to the information desk and ask for help. Two train connections later, I successfully arrived in Antwerp at 10am. My only plan for when I got there was to go to the tourist office in the train station and get a map. God changed those plans too - because the tourist office was closed...

So I did what I love to do - explore! I walked down random streets, through the fashion district I believe (fashion is something Antwerp is known for). I stopped in a hotel to get a free map, but it turned out to be pretty useless/inaccurate. I immediately smelt those Belgian waffles, and added getting one of those to my to-do list for the weekend! I started following signs towards the old historic district, where I stumbled upon a big church, a city hall (and saw THREE wedding parties come out in a row), and a tourist office! YAY! There I got three free maps for the three cities I would visit, and made some quick plans for my next few hours in Antwerp. 

Some cool things I saw:

-A castle/fort like thing, which overlooked the major river in the city.

-I walked underneath the river through an infinite infinite tunnel 31 meters below ground (it definitely beat the MIT Infinite). When I came up on the other side there was a great view of the city skyline, so I found a bench to sit on and eat my lunch. At this point the SUN CAME OUT. My weekend was made complete at that point. 

-Some cool murals/graffiti alleys.

-Walking past a cafe I heard someone yell my name - turned out to be a friend from MIT who was working in Belgium! With her and another MIT student, we explored a local market, which had lots of yummy free samples, interesting fruit, cheeses, breads, teas etc. AND they had chappatti! Got one of those with some nutella :) 

-The diamond street! A street with about 25 diamond stores, that had guarded entrances. Never thought I'd walk through so much money. Unfortunatley the stores were closed, so I didn't get to see the armed guards and busy exchange of big money happening, but it was still pretty neat. 

Getting back to the central station around 3pm, I figured out where to buy tickets for my next train after some thourough searching of the station (man I wish I knew more Dutch...). I then had to ask a few people about what train to get on since the signs don't make sense here. In the meantime, peddaled for about 10 minutes to charge my phone (ain't nothing free in Belgium, not electicity (unless you provide the energy), not bathrooms). And finally boarded a train headed towards Bruge, my next destination! 

Bruge is a really old village that has basically been preserved/stuck in time. Old castles, churches, small homes, lots of canals, and very touristy. Its known as the second most romantic city in Europe behind Paris. It was fun to walk through. But I really fell in love with Bruge when I escaped the tourist scene, walked through a neighborhood, and found two big windmills on the edge of the village. I climbed up to one of them, and had a view of the whole city. It was beautiful - to sit there and just be. To talk to God, rest, thank Him for His blessings,and  enjoy another gourmet peanut butter sandwhich. After an hour or so, I started walking towards my hostel. I chose to walk along one of the big canals through the grass, even though it was longer. With shoes off, worship music playing, and a peaceful heart, I slowly made my way down the river, smiling the whole time. It was glorious. I even had a guy stop me and ask me if I had a bad day. Replying that no I actually had a good day, he commented that I looked like I was in love. I replied by saying in fact I was, in love with my Savior Jesus, and had enjoyed a whole day of walking and talking with Him. 

The hostel I stayed at was cute, secluded, and peaceful. I shared a 6 person dorm with an older lady, although I only saw her in bed. What do you do when your hostel doesn't provide towels? Use the pillowcase they do provide of course! 

I was the first one to check out of the hostel the next morning - even beat the receptionist to the front desk. Grabbed some food from the hostel breakfast even though it hadn't opened yet, and made my way back to the Bruge train station. An hour later I arrived in the center of Brussels. 

The hostel I stayed at. 

Brussels was probably my favorite city out of the three I saw. The fact that it was warm and sunny the day I visited maybe (definitely) is influencing that statement. When I got theere, the city was quite dead (it was a Sunday morning). Ended up finding a really nice park, church, palace, etc. Then made my way to the European Parliament building, where I got to go in and have a free tour through their little musuem. It was really neat! 

After that I walked to the Grand Place - the center of Brussels. And ended my Belgium adventures with a long awaited Belgian waffle smothered in chocolate, gazing out at all of the old buildings and towards of the Grand Place. I walked past the peeing statue (I don't know why thats famous...) and ran into a huge market outside of the train station. Didn't find any free samples, but it was so crowded it made me feel like I was in Kibera's Toi Market in Kenya!

The EU Parliament

I dominated the 3 train connections I had to make on the ride home, and even helped a few other tourists, and an African man get on the right trains. The guy from Burundi gave me a bag of coffee too - too bad I don't like coffee, even if it is from Africa. I got back to central station around 4pm, and headed straight to Hillsong Amsterdam church - just in time for their afternoon service! It was delightful. And I got to see a lot of the people I had met the previous week. Such a blessing to be surrounded by so many people who love God and have welcomed me in. :D