Sunday, June 9, 2013

First day in Brussels, June 9, 2013

Today, we got to ride a high-speed lightrail train all the way to Brussels, Belgium. It was a neat experience getting to ride on one- it goes up to about 200mph! The scenery one the way was nice too, there was a lot of countryside and farmland to see. It was here that I saw actual houses as opposed to the usual apartment buildings I saw in and near Paris. Once we arrived in Brussels, we immediately got onto the metro where things got interesting. As we got off at our stop, Bontanique, I noticed that someone threw my professor's passport out of the door. Luckily, he knew what was going on, and he held the door open to prevent the train from going. He instructed the conductor to call the police and eventually he got his wallet back. Seeing this really opened my eyes. I had no idea that pickpockets were so good at what they do. Of course they didn't succeed, but they almost did. From now on, I will be much more aware and I will be guarding my things more heavily than I have been. After that ordeal, we made it into our side of town, ate, and headed back to the hostel. I must say, I like this hostel much better than the one in Paris. The atmosphere is more laid back and the wifi is better which is a plus.

Today wasn't the greatest day, but I'm hoping the tour of the city tomorrow will change my perspective a bit. I have been taking note of all the places I want to see, so I'm pretty excited to see Brussels in full.