I arrived in Brussels expecting immigration delays and a quick onward journey to Amsterdam. Instead, I cleared passport control in three minutes, was quoted more than €900 to change my Eurostar ticket, and ended up spending an unexpected night exploring a city I had never really seen before.
An Unexpected Night In Brussels
After landing in Brussels, I was bracing for long immigration lines under Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), but the immigration line was deserted and the machines were off…I was out in three minutes.
I didn’t have a hotel booked…because the plan was not to stay in Brussels. I had a 5:20 am Eurostar train booked to Amsterdam then a connecting flight on KLM to Los Angeles and my hope was to hop on an earlier train to Amsterdam and spend the night at an airport hotel there to make the following morning less stressful.
From the airport, the train into the city center was easy, though I got off at the wrong stop initially (I stepped off at Brussels Central but Eurostar departs from Brussels Midi/Zuid).
At the station, I approached the Eurostar office where there was quite a line for the impending departure to London. Waiting my turn, I asked about an earlier departure and was directed to the Air France/KLM office, which was located on the other side of the station.
I found it and was directed into an office, where an agent looked up my ticket…and quoted a price of over 900€ (on an award ticket no less) to change my ticket. No thanks. I figured with a “Eurostar Premiers ticket I could take an earlier train, but as on flights, “standby” is not a thing in Europe (yet).
That left me with a bit of a dilemma as to where to stay, which I will address in my next post.
After dropping off my stuff (and my Delhi Belly was still pretty bad…like really bad) I set out for a walk through the city…a city I’ve never previously visited (in past visits, I’ve not strayed far from the airport).
The area around Brussels Midi/Zuid felt like being in an African or Middle Eastern country…from the small grocery stores to the coffee and hookah shops…it was not what I pictured Brussels to be like.
But as I got further into the heart of the city, it soon felt more like Europe, with busy promenades and of course the Grand-Place (Grote Markt) that included the Town Hall, King’s House, and many other ornate buildings.
I walked by the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, a prime example of Brabantine Gothic architecture, but it was closed and I could not step inside.
Of course, I had to walk by the Manneken-Pis…the best-known symbol of Brussels.
My stomach was just not agreeing with me, so I skipped dinner and just drank a bottle of water and went to bed early, knowing that I would need to rise around 4:00 am to get my blogging done and catch the train.
I don’t speak French or Dutch (Flemish) and therefore Brussels is not my favorite city, but I suppose I should give the city another try when I have a bit more time…
Beautiful conditions! Now that’s a BlueSky! Sorry to hear about the choo-choo. Nice photo in the reflection!
“My stomach was just not agreeing with me…” Yeesh, you’ve had a rough week, Matthew. And, unfortunately, by the time you return home, the worsening *explosive diarrhea* outbreak awaits you, too!
The area near the train station is super sketch and yeah you do feel like you’re in Cairo or Dakar. Same with a lot of European cities: Paris Gare du Nord is like being transported to Abidjan, Frankfurt Hbf is like Baghdad…
I think that statement regarding the USA might be about more than football (soccer) . . .
For sure.
+1
@Matthew, with Dehli Belly lasting more than 48 hours, I have alwayed Rx’ed either Z-PAK or Cipro and in my experience my patients have improved quickly after starting antibiotics.
I am sure that you are well by now, but in the future, might be worth considering.
I will need to go back to India to review the lounges at DEL I did not get to review this last trip…but when I do, I will certainly bring along the RX!
While speaking the local language makes logistics easier and ability to experience the culture more authentic, but is it really a top criteria of how you determine your favorite cities?
No, certainly not – I love Paris and Amsterdam and can’t speak French or Dutch.
I’m just not a fan of Brussels…not at all.
Excepting chocolate making. we did not enjoy Brussels. We were surprised at how rundown the capital of the EU was.
On the other hand we loved the town of Ghent.
For next time- once you check-in/collect that AirRail ticket, KLM doesn’t care or know if you take that Eurostar train the next morning. For next time in a similar situation, you could have just bought a EuroCity ticket at BRU to go straight to AMS with a quick change in Antwerp for around 45 euros.
I tried to check in once it became clear I could not change my ticket and was told that check-in is not permitted more than four hours before departure.
The cathedral is ugly as heck, but I love the history and architecture. It’s kind of like tattoos, none are good looking, but some are the result of talented artists.
Do you mean the outside or inside?
“I don’t speak French or Dutch (Flemish) and therefore Brussels is not my favorite city” Belgium has a lot more English speakers (on a percentage basis) than France. But, I understand wanting to avoid those “miserable fat Belgian bastards.”
I spent about 3 minutes total on both EES interactions this Summer. The problem seems to be that it can be painless to waiting hours to still miss your flight depending on location.