This year has been a bit depressing and I needed something to look forward to, so as a birthday treat, I booked myself a little adventure to Belgium via the Netherlands.
I had been hoping to go to Belgium during the winter but this was even better as the weather was amazing. There were clear skies for almost the entire flight and I spotted Helensburgh immediately during our extended tour of the west coast. I bought a new backpack for this trip as I didn’t want to drag a suitcase around all my connections. I did a What’s in my Bag? post for Super Cute Kawaii if you want to see what I packed.
I decided to go via Amsterdam as you can’t fly to Brussels from Glasgow and I’d rather spend time at Schiphol airport and pick up some Dutch snacks. This turned out to be a very good plan as the new immigration stuff is apparently a nightmare in Brussels but super fast in Schiphol. It also worked out best to stay in Zaandam overnight, rather than deal with getting around Amsterdam or stay near the airport. My hotel room (EasyHotel) was basic but surprisingly big with an incredible view and right next to the station and shops. I would definitely stay there again.
I had a very early start the next morning to get the train back to Schiphol, a fast train to Brussels and another train to Liège. This all went perfectly and the trains were all so clean and comfortable. I love a train journey in a new place and there was so much to see. I even brought my big headphones this time so I could listen to music/podcasts instead of reading. I got to Liège late morning and the train station is incredibly cool and photogenic.
My hotel (ibis Styles Liege Guillemins) was very close by and thankfully had my room ready early. The whole hotel is themed around Belgian comics and I had a Blake and Mortimer room, complete with comic books (in French, boo). They have a similar art style to Herge and the author did work on Tintin – the Wikipedia article makes their friendship sound like quite a rollercoaster. I really loved this hotel and would definitely recommend it.
After a quick rest, I hopped on a tram to Place Saint-Lambert for the Liège-Bastogne-Liège team presentation. Yes, I went all this way for a bike race. I picked this one for multiple reasons, but it’s fairly unique in having a separate event the day before with both the men’s and women’s teams. It was a really cool location and fun to see the ornate Prince-Bishops’ Palace with all the team cars parked inside. I was also very happy to spot a big branch of HEMA right across the road and had time for a browse before it closed.
I was up very early again to get to the race start/finish as all the public transport is diverted. It was a beautiful morning though so I didn’t mind. The women start in Bastogne but I got to see the men sign on and set off and pick up a free bookmark and bidon.
Another good thing about LBL is that nothing happens until the last hour so I had lots of time to do other stuff. I had noticed the Parc de la Boverie on the map, which is a little island on the river. It was desperately in need of rain but still very beautiful with a long wisteria path and lots of statues. Sadly in Europe almost everything is closed on a Sunday so I just enjoyed wandering around before heading back to the race to see both finishes, podiums, the team buses and everything else. And then walk home, super tired!
I had planned to spend a few hours in Brussels the next morning, on my way back to the airport, but Easyjet kept sending alerts about immigration delays so I ended up heading straight back to the airport….where it took all of 5 minutes to get through security! Oh well, at least there is a lot to see and buy at Schiphol.
That also means I didn’t buy much, other than snacks (including sate sauce crisps!) and lots of interesting fruit drinks. I was tempted by A LOT of the cute Miffy merch in HEMA but just got some clips to share and another phone grip, since my old one broke. It was still quite an expensive trip as all the little things add up really quickly.
While it might not sound like much of a trip, I had a great time, and really enjoyed all the train journeys. My 18 months of Dutch lessons were a big help too, though my lack of French was occasionally a problem (thank goodness for Google Translate). It was all surprisingly easy to organise, thanks to everyone having an app now. I took an NS Eurocity Direct from Schiphol > Brussels, an SNCB train to Liège and TEC is for the Liège trams and buses. Most of them had free wi-fi as well. Next time I go to Belgium, I might even make it more of an adventure and do the Caledonian Sleeper and Eurostar.
I don’t think I’d go back to Liège, even though it is very pretty and I didn’t see as much as I’d like (or even get a waffle!). I would like to go to the Dutch/Flemish part of Belgium though, for cyclocross or the Tour of Flanders some day. Now I need to find something else to look forward to.
All my photos are on Flickr, but you’ve seen most of them!
