So my older brother Mike arrived on March 16th. Some of my readers don't know my brother well--is a 24 year old engineering grad student who works lives outside Boston now. We don't see each other too much even when I'm in the states, so the visit was exciting just for that. For those who do know him, you may know Mike has never been to Europe before, and also took German in high school--hence, our visit to Germany.
It was a pretty packed week. His first day, Mike pushed through the jet lag as we took a never ending tour through Brussels. We managed to catch up on all manner of family gossip over coffee and croissants (which I order flawlessly in French). We saw plenty of things I hadn't seen since orientation, so it was a nice refresher for me on Brussels. After we both slept for a while (I'd been out late dancing at Le Corbeau for a friend's birthday--it's quite a tourist spot, but everyone also dances on the tables, so it's worth it), we went for some traditional Belgian food for dinner. I rarely go out to eat here, so it was a nice experience, especially since the place is right by my house. We unknowingly order 12% alcohol beers with our meal, so the night was already off to a good start. After this, we went to Delirium--a world-famous Brussels bar which serves over 100 beers on tap. It holds the Guinness World Record for most beers on tap in one day--I think it was 400 when they won. Again, a pretty touristy spot, but a must-see; as a result, everyone we knew who had friends in town stopped by, and it was pretty nice to get to meet people's friends from back home. We stopped by Frietland after a few beers, which is the quintessential frite stand in Brussels. We both enjoyed them immensely, so much so that we smuggled them on to the bus home. You haven't lived until you've toted frites around in your purse.
The next day, I skipped class, oddly with my professor's blessing, as Mike and I explored the EU area. Don't get excited, this wasn't an intellectual trip--we were on our way to Autoworld, a classic car museum built into these beautiful buildings up near these historic parks. It was pretty entertaining, even for me who isn't a big car fan. It focused a lot of European companies that may have fizzled out by now, and also let us see some cars from the war as well as the Belgian Royal Family's car from the 60s--it was almost exactly the same as the one in which JFK shot. We came back to my house and cooked together, which is not something we'd ever done before--I think the results were ultimately positive, though. After this, we went to De Valera's, the Irish bar on my square--after all, it's St. Patty's! Eric met us there, and since it was his 21st birthday that night, celebrating was of course in order. My friend Kate met up with us there, and we eventually walked up the road toward Eric's to go to Michael Collins, another Irish bar owned by the same guy. Michael Collins has a reputation for being rowdy, and it was more crowded (and fun, I think) than the earlier one. Eventually, though, we ran out of drinking money and headed home to prep for our early departure to Cologne the next day.
We were only in Cologne for a few hours, but that is in fact all the time you need there. It has a pretty epic cathedral, and we spent most of our day there. The weather was bitter cold, so that put a damper on exploring the city on foot. Mike found us the chocolate museum, which is on a little time island in the river, and also has a legitimate chocolate plant inside it you can watch. There was also a rainforest greenhouse so you can understand where chocolate grows--for me, it was just a welcome reprieve from the cold! Mike also continued his search for a chocolate squirrel and though we found one, it was only for display. We also had sausage from a street vendor and I had both Burger King and Dunkin Donuts. Brussels is not very Americanized at all, so these fast food places I thought I'd never miss have become pretty important in my travels. It's just so nice to have a touch of home. Mike remembered an impressive amount of his German too, and Eric also took it, so I was pretty lost that whole trip. When we got in, Mike and I just chilled at my apartment.
Wednesday, Mike's final day, I had a mandatory class trip to a museum in Brussels, so Mike and I spent a few hours learning about Belgian art--for example, there is such a thing! The bus strike that day complicated things, but I got to school on time to give my presentation for a class, while I unleashed Mike on Colruyt--it's like wholesale club, but you can buy only one if you want, and it has the oddest selection of European goods. After this, it was durum time! Durum is a middle eastern food like gyro, but better and with frites in it. I had to ensure Mike had one of these tasty treats while here. After enjoying our meal, we went to a bar right on beautiful Grand Place, where our program had rented a room so we could all enjoy a (free!) beer before heading to a local soccer match. The room was in this beautiful old building, and not a place I'd have found on my own, but worth the visit. Then it was on to the metro to head over to the Anderlecht (a Brussels team) vs. Antwerp game. They were actually playing a cup match, and had tied the previous one, so this was an important game. I've never been to a legit soccer match before, and the game itself along with the hooliganism was a very good time.
The next morning, Mike and I were up and out the door at 5 am, taking a tram and then getting him on a train back to the airport. It was a bit tense, as ticket sales don't really exist at that time, but we got home without incident (and if there was one, MY blog certainly isn't the place for it...). It was a really great visit, if brief, and made me miss so many other things and people from back home. I'm loving my time here, but I'm also SO excited I get to see everyone again in 6 weeks.
From the train station, I made my way to school at 6 am for a trip to the Hague--read the next post for that summary.
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