Vienna Brussels The End (1)

The tour is over. I really had no time to continue writing on my blog. And upon my return I still can’t go online as I have this virus on my computer which is apparently very dangerous.

The nice thing about doing a post in Brussels is that you can really impress the passengers with your knowledge about your country. Even better is that nobody knows anything about Belgium; so everything you tell them is new and interesting. I left the ship in Amsterdam and didn’t stop talking for four days; apart from some stretches on the way to Bruges and coming back.

The first day looked like it was going to be difficult; but it went smooth. First stop in Delft. Visit of Delftware workshop. Good explanation. People happy. Then walk around the town in which there was a flea market going on. I did not talk too much about it, but I bought smoked eel for them which they all thought was cool. Nobody dares to eat it; but once they eat it, they love it. As soon as it started to rain, we got on the bus to Antwerp. I feared a day full of rain and jokingly said the weather would change once we get to tropical Flanders. And guess what? We cross the border and there is Lola. Excellent.

My info stroll in Antwerp was very short. I had not prepared it at all and had no idea what to talk about when we passed the Steen and the Vleeshuis. But that was all fine, as there was a pleasant surprise when we got to the Grote Markt. As we get on the market square, a brass band started to play. People really thought I had timed it for that. I took them to the church and to the Groenplaats and then basically gave them time to eat and shop and walk around. People like Antwerp, but you really need to take them to places. The weather was fine. Excellent.

The way on the A12 to Brussels is very interesting. You pass Breendonk for instance which incites you to talk about the war and stuff. Getting into Brussels was almost a city tour with the Atomium the Palace the Royal Botanical Gardens the VRT tower etc… An hour after arrival I took them for a 90 minute vicinity walk from the hotel to the Beurs to the Grote Markt through the Beenhouwerstraat back to the hotel at the Brouckere. I love doing that. It was Saturday night and the city was very busy. Really cool. They ended up eating in the Beenhouwerstraat although I told them not too.. But hey they are tourists.

Next day was the bus city tour. It was a Sunday morning we could show them much more than on normal days. It was fine weather again and people were really impressed by the size of Brussels and all the administration and government buildings. The visit of the Chocolate factory was as always very cool and the tour ended after seeing Manneken Pis. I went to sleep in the afternoon as I had gone out to the Recyclart the night before until 6am. I had a great time. I really needed going out. Dancing and Drinking. Meeting Friends.

Monday morning I took some people to the Delhaize. They loved it. I explained Advocaat and Jenever and all the beers and all the chocolate paste and all the waffles and cookies and stuff. I spent more than 40 minutes in the shop. After that I took them to the Flemish quarter near the fishmarket and through the Dansaertstraat to Sint Goriks. They loved it.

In the afternoon we had the optional to Lier. I had sent some people to Ghent and other people to the coast, but the majority went to Lier. I like LIer, it’s nice and quiet; and every time I go thete all the sidewalk bars are filled with people. But this time it was raining! There was nobody in Lier. It was boring. I really felt sorry for the people; The food in the restaurant is worth taking the optional but still I would prefer going to Ghent. Still the people were really impressed.