Men in black

While waiting for the bus to Amsterdam, we either sat around watching the people pass by or walked around the vicinity to explore whatever we could of Brussels. People in Brussels it seemed could walk into the Metro station with their pet dogs or bicycles in tow without being harassed by the authorities. It must be in Brussels that I saw in a single day, many men with a bald patch on their heads which prompted me to jump to the conclusion that Brussels men were a stressful lot. Almost everyone except us, backpackers from a faraway foreign land, were also dressed in black and I guess it would not be wrong to say that it was here particularly, that I saw so many people dressed up in black in a single moment and there was not even a funeral! And yes, all the clothes sold in the shop opposite where we were sitting were black! Thinking back though, I think that could be due to winter for it was in December, 2006 that we backpacked to Europe.

Travel Tip: Explore while waiting for your bus.

First Impression of Europe

Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the administrative centre of the European Union is where I first stepped foot on Europe. Reaching there very early in the morning, the first impression was the airport seemed rather small and not as busy as KLIA, the airport back home in Malaysia. The café was deserted except for one or two people there, laying on the chairs or benches, trying to catch a wink or two before daybreak, a typical sight in all airports around the world.

Couldn’t say that I saw much of Brussels. When the first opportunity arose, my friends and I had boarded a bus to a bus terminal to catch a Euroline bus to Amsterdam. It was dark and raining when we started the journey and while I caught sight of the empty streets on the way, I didn’t see much except neatly piled garbage in plastic bags by to roadside to get a little bit impressed.

A lesson learnt was probably Europe looks nicer in books!

Travel tips: Have some chocolates or biscuits in your pocket. It will come in handy when you have hunger pangs!