“There is a hill. It’s not very tall, but it is a lush green and it rolls across the horizon. There are trees with thick, bristly coats whizzing by. A pack of curious half-timbered houses with thatched roofs take shape in the distance and I wonder what kind of people live there. Behind them, the sun is already setting and the sky is blue-ish yellow, with a streak of red along the horizon. I’m listening to Bob Dylan because a good friend told me that is what she pictures when she thinks of riding a train across Europe. I don’t know exactly where I am – somewhere in Western Germany, or possibly still in Belgium, I don’t really care. This is one of the coolest moments of my life.”
I wrote that over a thousand miles ago. I’m so damned sick of trains now that when I pulled open my laptop and read the last paragraph I almost vomited on my sweaty, stained t-shirt. I haven’t showered in 3 days. Last night I slept on a plastic chair in a mission at the Frankfurt train station. I have been “en route” for 45 hours so I could get to Munich for Oktoberfest by Monday, so that I could enjoy Berlin for 2 days, so that I could reach Poland by the weekend. I’ve really been packing it in. Yesterday alone I visited 4 countries. Of course I will tell you about them, with a nice little picture for each description. But after this, I’m going to slow down for a bit and catch my breath, maybe stay somewhere for a week. Who knows.
Brussels, Belgium
I met up with a friend in Amsterdam and together we began our journey across the European countryside. We visited Brussels during a 45 minute train stop. The capital of Belgium, the small country sandwiched between Europe’s major powers and famous for fine food, chocolate and beer, Brussels is a charming town with cobblestone streets, Art-Vouveau architecture, elegant chocolate shops and the Grand Palace, one of the most beautiful plazas in Europe.
The Grand Palace is all we really expected to see in such a short time, but along the way we stopped in a chocolate shop at the Galeries St Hubert, Brussels’ best shopping arcade. It is here that I discovered that the Praline was invented in Brussels. I’ll take 10.
At the Grand Palace I immediately fixated upon the magnificent Gothic-style Hotel De Ville. I read later that this was the only building to escape bombardment by the French in 1695, ironic because it was the main target. The remaining three sides of the plaza are made up mostly of ancient guildhalls adorned with statues and symbols. In the center of the plaza is an open-air market selling fruits, foods and trinkets. It is telling that where most food stands sell hot dogs or kababs, Brussels' food stands sell Escargot. I’ll take 10.A block down the road was a concentration of brasseries with large outdoor seating areas. The tables were packed and everyone was drinking Stella. I’ll take 10 (Kidding!). Stella is one of my favorite beers and I would have liked to sit and enjoy one right there, but I had a train to catch.
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Luxembourg City is rumored to be one of Europe’s most picturesque cities, positioned high on a promontory overlooking the Petrusse and Alzette rivers. We took a stroll down the Chemin De La Corniche, a promenade overlooking a sprawling, forested park, both rivers and the bridges that cross them, and a mountain top castle. It’s unique topography has made Luxembourg City eagerly sought after by neighboring countries and in 400 years the fortified city has been devastated and rebuilt more than 20 times.
Luxembourg City’s pace of life is “relaxed”, according to Lonely Planet’s Europe Guide. According to me, it’s dead. On Saturday night, 7PM, the plazas were empty, the shop keepers packing up, the restaurants closed. Luxembourg City’s loose financial regulations make it a banking city and its central location between France and Germany make it a good base point for which to explore Europe. I guess that’s why everybody leaves on the weekends. “When in Rome, do as the Romans”, I thought, and then I left.
Koblanz, Freiburg and the Rhine Valley
The last stop and fourth country of the day (we started in Amsterdam remember), we arrived late in Koblanz and quickly enjoyed a Bratwurst in the main plaza before calling it an early night. The town itself was not of enormous interest to us, but it is nestled at the point where the Rhine and Mosel rivers meet and German wine country begins. The next day we embarked on a boat tour down the Rhine, enjoying several regional wines, stopping for lunch in the small castle town of Bacharach, and then boarding yet another train to Frieburg. Freiburg is a college town and a great place to walk around and eat dinner in a local pub, which is exactly what we did. On a tight schedule and aiming to make it to Octoberfest early the next day, we boarded a late train for Munich. Unfortunately, we failed to realize there was a 4 hour stopover in Frankfurt, from 1AM - 5AM. Luckily there was a mission that took pity and let us crash on their plastic chairs for the night. Best plastic chair sleep I've ever had, seriously.
We where pretty tired when we pulled into Munich at 8AM, but there was a bench in a giant tent with our names on it so we dropped our bags off and headed to Theresienwiese meadows for Oktoberfest.
See the rest of my Brussels, Luxembourg and Germany pictures here
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