Long Good Weekend in “What’s-Wrong-With-The-Belgians?”-Land in Brussels

Day 1, Friday - Are we leaving already? Yes, honey, just need to have my hair done… ok, we just missed a train! Good, we’ll be right on time for the other one! And we have the long walk to the Central Station. I get to see the street where all famous theatres of Amsterdam are placed (and soon will have forgotten). We get to fool around at some sex shop. And finally we arrive to the station. We take the most stinking train to Brussels. We’re there! Where are the girls?! They’re not here yet, but they also have significant different feelings for direction. How come there are more than two complicated ways to get there, just give us the address, so we managed. Had a good laugh about the same movie with two different Dutch-French commercials for the same audience. What’s wrong with the Belgians?!Finally joy to see Piu & Juli. We’re hitting it at Juli’s place where we discover we’re too tired to try to pretend we’re able to stay out, so we say pass.
Day 2, Saturday – Ring-a-ring! Juli wakes us up with a taste of her own clean clothes and love-sharing with her bunny. [we were actually cribbing at her’s given the generosity of house-sharing] Gugu bunny’s happy! Girl is happy in her new clothes. We’re still sleepy, I guess. So she gets us energized with a trip proposal – let’s go to Gent. Cool, never explored the Belgium territories. So we got out of the building, mind me, in the centre of Brussels, seen the sheep in some natural paradise just in centre on Brussels, mind me! And I have pictures to prove it. Belgian man waiting for us in the car to prevent forced stealing on his precious. Speeded to Gent. Got to the little city and bumped into parading Scots. What’s wrong with the Belgians?! Can’t they make their own music?! Actually, they’re pretty good with it. How do I know if they’re really Scots or Belgians under disguise? Walked in the centre, stopped at some Belgian bar and – surprise! – we had some, a lot of Belgian beer. Tried all the Judas and Deliriums, all evil and nasty, vibrating energies.Got back and needed to discover some Romanian restaurant, where food was supposed to be decent. Some strange group gathered up and even stranger persons served up. Including the chef. Who’s cooking then?! Must be the cleaner, some stomachs didn’t handle it. We went on to have drinks in more beer-ish bars and smoky places.

Day 3, Sunday – It’s the big day. We’re going to get crazy at the Gipsy show. But just before that, me and sailorboy meet Piu for a walk in the big city. The city was windy and the banks were getting mad. No one gave us money, walked in some more in search for the ideal one. We then spent a lot of time looking for the perfect restaurant. We ended up in some Greek weird place where the walls were pinned up with pictures and the most bizarre objects. The food was unexpectedly good. I tried some cherry mixed with alcohol that was waay to sweet, so I came back to the usual menu – beer. Sailorboy got called deartje, a little animal or a little darling. We ended up in some cool café with fresh mint tea and warm cappuccino. We lost track of Juli on the way.. somehow no one had battery / mobile/ or any other communication means.. After squatting some bars, Juli hunted us down in the café we were. Such a small city, such a big karma!

The night comes and the concert’s about to begin. The place looks like some kind of a shed. All happens in the entry – the bar, the dj, I get the feeling we’re in the hallway. We meet some Belgian guys who pick on my sailorboy they can’t understand his Holland language. What’s wrong with the Belgians?! We dance to some Balkan beats and funky tunes. Well, I realize we are in the hallway, cause down a door the darkest of the dark extends.. it’s like an old cinema hall. A long one. And at the end of it, also a quite dark podium. A very high one, I suppose it prevents aggression. The flashing lights come on. The sounds are invading our ears.. the crowd start slowly warming up, more beer, more dance, more sweat… it all becomes a raging hopping around and turning, it’s all music, joy and the old gipsy’s so funky. At the end of the show, I get to shake hands with DJ Vasile, grand! A Belgian guy gets to buy the flute from a gipsy for a bargain. We get to drink more beers and dance to even more Balkan music.. Piu adventured in a photo session and I ended up with some weird photo’s..

Day 4, Monday – Damn difficult thing to wake up after such good times! Especially when you need to bugger off to Amsterdam. We lingered on breakfast, petting the bunny-rabbit and chatting with the girls.. of course we missed the train only for 3 minutes standing in line.. What’s wrong with the Belgians?! Can’t they talk faster?! ..and needed to wait another hour in the station.. got some souvenir Belgian beer and chocolates for that matter and enjoyed the headset music on the train.

Sat 18th of October @ Amsterdam-Schiphol-Brussels/South-Charleroi-Brussels/South – Brussels/Center-Brussels/North-STOP!

I’m so enthusiastic I figured it all out – I’m going to my best friend’s wedding. I’ll take the cheapest flight possible – that’s travelling from Amsterdam to Schiphol to Brussels South, to Charleroi and reach final destination – Bucharest. It’s just like some friend of a friend use to tell me about her boyfriend. He flew from Amsterdam to New York with final destination Bucharest, Romania just to get a 1Euro flight. It’s 2 days flying basically, but what a man wouldn’t do for love!! And One Euro!!

So I’m screening the multiple trains and busses I need to catch to get there. I get on tram 1 – then on train 1 and get my ass to the Airport. To Schiphol. I just need to ask myself – what the f_*k am I doing there with no direct connection.. well, if I’m still there, need to do some shopping. Browsing shops, time passing, I just missed a train, well, that’s fine, that means only that I can shop some more! Next train to catch target – half an hour later! I suddenly feel a strange emotion – an awareness which makes me go there 15min earlier. Like the guardian dog to Hell in Greek mythology this lady checks tickets before boarding to Brussels. It seems I have this ticket which is valid to one train – one train that leaves every hour. So I need to wait another 45 minutes?! Are you out of your freakin’ mind?! This is surreal. Brussels South is double!!
I catch this hourly train to Brusse

ls South, I get off and need to take a bus to Charleroi. I’m a bit late. I will be really late and unable to get on my flight if I don’t leave soon to f@*king Charleroi. I just go ask a taxi driver how much for the trip. He says Eur160. Are you out of your mind?! I paid almost 80 for the damn flight!! Well, then 120, my last offer. Shove your offer up your Algerian behind, I say! I’m getting to the damn bus which not only takes one hour, but 1h and 10 min, long enough to make me miss the check in with 2minutes. I alarm some service guys at the desks, one runs after the check in experts, they don’t want to re-open the gates, they’re done with work. There are about 10 other people with the same stupid-me expression on their face. Some Indian Dutch people, who didn’t read the tickets properly, paid huge money to the taxi to get there and see it flying out of their face. Some Romanian I-need-to-talk-to-the-one-in-charge kinda’ guys who’d think the manager gives a damn. They don’t. I start calling my uncle for flight indications and Luciana a.k.a. Lekker Piu for accommodation.

I score accommodation in Brussels North. I try to get on the next bus back. I get the answer we don’t sell tickets, you need to buy 

them in the airport. But I put my luggage in, say I in a despair’s pitiful voice. Well, then hurry up says the fat bastard. But what if you leave?! Well if you don’t hurry up, I will. What kind of a oracle answer is that?! Who talks like this?! I get my luggage down and buy the damn ticket, I’m still in time, but so is the sweaty gorilla to put his foot in the door and contemplating remark with a smile attached – we’re leaving. I guess that’s how it feels when some one is nailing you from behind. The only sense of relief gets to me when I’m on the bus and decide to go see if they have any more flights in the centre. What do you think?! They don’t. Right!

It even seems more hilarious when I’m telling Piu the story and she’s laughing her ass off and we try to make another reservation. Besides noticing the low-value of internet banking, as any machine is good enough for your account, I see I cannot book a damn flight. Luckily I’m saved by goodwill friends ready to call some one in France to make online transactions on the phone. Really trustworthy! The deep magic of the Brussels night continues with the Romanian polenta of expert Juli with a view on the city. We cand only dream at the party ahead. KMG, the funky band in the city is some hope. No offence to them, but I wasn’t expecting much. To my surprise, they go on dancing on tables and keep the hot rhythms loud. Sometimes this is interrupted by some girl bitching about just everything she can pick on. I try to get her some drinks, she refuses, I could almost smack you, bitch!

The crazy crowd is tirish, we move on to salsa shit. In case you haven’t heard about it, I’m no damn salsa girl. But I’m a groupy when it comes to friends. So we really had an amazing night partying, dancing like good old times and gossiping about some Colombian boys getting their hands all over.. Thankfully not all the time on the same ass! We move on to Piu’s house and laugh about the night.

In Belgia de Ziua Femeii

S-a spart traditia :( sunt foarte trista. In fiecare an organizam cu fetele o mare iesire, sa ne simtim mai femei, mai speciale, mai cu motz si barfa. Cateodata e linistitor sa stai numai cu fete, fara sa iti flexezi fesierii si sa ai prea mult rimel, sa bei vin fara sa ai o mana pe picior dupa si sa razi cand povesteste Liana alte aventuri...

Anu asta.. nu tu martisor, nu tu nimic, pai atunci sa ne miscam cumva. De data asta initiativa a fost la Ioana si Anca.. pentru cine nu le cunoaste, am fost colege de generala, Anca sta in Belgia de ceva timp cu sotul ei, tot roman, iar Ioana in Germania, de ceva studii si mai nou, job. Si si mai nou, baby cu Jenz :D weee! Deci a fost entertaining sa ne mai aducem aminte de adunatura de oameni din generala si ce a mai facut fiecare, cu o aroma de barfa, da mai mult cu plus de distractie!

Am ajuns in Mechelen, unde m-am simtit superstar ca m-a asteptat lumea in grup la gara. Ne-am distrat depre prognozele meteo, ca astea sunt facute si in Belgia si in Olanda pe procente de cata sansa e sa ploua, sa iasa soarele si sa bata vantul, nu spun azi o sa ploua, ci 70% sanse sa ploua.. bineinteles ca cel mai tare e cand au 50% sanse.. si am plecat spre Brussels, cu toate sansele de ploaie, dar nu a fost chiar asa de rau.. adica doar niste vant. Dupa o raita pe cea mai vantoasa strada, in urma masuratorilor belgiene, am purces inspre centru, Manneken Pis si Atomium.. pe urma am fost si-n Antwerpen, si am gasit singurul om cu aparat auditiv din oras, sa-l intreb de drumul spre gara. M-a auzit nevasta-sa, din fericire. Iar gara e monument la ei, si-am fost iar superstar la plecare.. gezellig hoor!!