Belgie

Saturday morning at 7:48am 9 SPICE participants departed the Zwolle train station. Final destination: Antwerp, Belgium. They spent 3 hours train hopping through the Netherlands until they reached Antwerp at 11:00am. They stepped off the train into one of the most beautiful train stations in Europe. The architecture was phenomenal! From there, they set off to find their hotel: Rubenshof Hotel (which used to be the house of a very prestigious/wealthy man). But first, the group followed their self-elected leader through the Turkish neighborhood (You have NO idea how terrified I was that I booked the hotel in the sketchiest ghetto area in Antwerp). After about a mile of wandering, they hopped on a tram and found their hotel (located a few kilometers from the city center but still a nice area). From there, the group decided to walk back into town, slowly but surely, and look around, seeing A LOT along the way. There were several museums, government(ish) buildings, and a ton of statues around the city. Because it was such a large group, there was a lot of wandering, picture taking, etc, but not a lot of lingering/information gathering-- something I kind of regret. 

Traveling with a group of 9 is a bit more difficult than I anticipated. Just imagine every aspect of a human being times 9 trying to navigate their way through a foreign city. That's 9 different interests, 9 different styles of touring, 9 different opinions, 9 different appetites, 9 different paces of walking, and 9 of everything else that has to do with human beings. As much as I love the group I traveled with, I wouldn't recommend traveling in large groups. It's just difficult to really enjoy and take in the city. I would have appreciated visiting a few museums, a few more waffles, and a few more hours in the city, but of course I can't always do everything I want. I am just thankful that I did everything Belgium is about: waffles, fries, chocolate, and souvenirs representing all of the countries near Belgium (and none of their own, except for beer openers with the little peeing boy). 

On the train ride back I asked the guys if they thought we saw what a true Belgian city should be like. It's weird: Belgium seems to be a mush-pot of a bunch of different cultures. I did not talk to more than 3 people who were from Belgium, but I saw tons of Turkish people and Dutch people. The shops were filled with cop-out delft and other typical souvenirs from other countries. Besides food, I'm honestly not sure what "Belgian culture" really looks like. See, Belgium used to not be a country, I guess. Supposedly half was France and half was Holland, but then Belgium was born. So they don't have their own language, and they don't have a whole lot of other really distinguishable cultural traditions. Maybe I'm being bias, basing this off of the one city I've seen. So correct me if I am wrong. 

All in all, it was a great weekend. I love the traveling, the public transportation, the food, and the opportunities to see so many different cities. Even if I'm left wondering what I actually saw, I love being able to say that I've been to Belgium. The most important thing to remember is this: I'm only here once and don't want to regret a single thing. And honestly, the only thing I can imagine regretting while in Europe is not seeing as much as I possibly can. So whether or not Belgium is culturally authentic, I know that the trip was worth it. AND my life has indeed been changed by authentic Belgian waffles. :)