Going Dutch: België

This past weekend I tagged along with Ross' class to a design conference in Antwerp, Belgium. I think Ross is going to post about the conference itself, so here are some of the other highlights.

This is one of Ross' classmates, with the girlfriend of another classmate on the train into Antwerp. They acted as though the perfect coordination of their clothing to the interior of the train was a coincidence.

I was really excited about Antwerp and have heard many good things about it. We were only there for one night, and due to the conference, didn't see much of the city itself. Ross' parents were also in Antwerp and had seen enough by the time we got there.

Is was perfectly atmospheric.

We had the best dinner at an Italian restaurant. The owner was such a nice man who spoke many languages, but none of them were English. I guess he didn't approve of the way I was eating my spaghetti vongole, as he ripped the fork out of my hand and showed me the proper way to twirl noodles. I can't believe a gal who grew up eating at the Colander had to go to Belgium to learn how to spin spaghetti. Shame on me!

Everywhere there was evidence that it was once a very rich city. This was a golden mall that Ross and I came across while looking for a washroom.

But most of the parts of the city we saw have seen better days.

The transit system was so dated and . . . foreign. A "control board" is at every tram stop, and supposedly tells us info about the tram routes, but I don't have a bloody clue how to read this blinking thing.

Some features of our hotel were downright frightening. . .

. . . but it's not like they didn't try.

I'd like to see Antwerp again. I don't feel I saw enough of it to really jump to any conclusions.

We went to the beautiful Brussels for the Saturday night to be with Ross' parents. This time we had mussels! They were delicious.

There are a few narrow streets in Belgium that lined with seafood restaurants for tourists. The waiters working in the restaurants try to solicit to you eat at their establishment, and use interesting tactics to get the attention of passer-bys. During our meal, the waiter from a nearby restaurant was alternating between cock-a-doodle-dooing and yelling "I am sexy!" (And no, he wasn't.)

The spire of Brussels' stadhuis, in the breathtaking Grand Place.

After dinner, we went for Belgian beer. Sitting beside me at our table was this life-size mannequin wearing a WWII uniform. I felt obligated to include him in our conversation, and would turn to look at him, and it would take me a moment to remember he was just a dummy.

He was wearing a Remembrance Day poppy with a Canadian flag in the center. Hanging above his head is a marionette holding a cross-bow. Looking back, this is probably the creepiest table in all of Brussels.

We toured Brussels on the top of a convertible double-decker bus. I know you're thinking, "I can't believe the weather was good enough for that!" Well, I can assure you, it wasn't. It was fine in the midst of traffic, but when that bus got going on the highway, we were freezing. But it was worth it. (Although I'm not sure that's what the man sitting beside Gordon is thinking.)

The Atomium is probably my favorite thing about Brussels. But as we all know, I have a soft spot for big things. This is about as big as they come. Built in 1958 for the World's Fair, this is a replication of an atom of iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Isn't it cool?