FIFTY-FIRST MOVEMENT:  BELGIUM

Bruges, Belgium

I woke up at 09:00 today feeling slightly better than yesterday, albeit still very sick. I then showered, dressed, packed my bags, and checked out of the hostel. Before exiting the hostel, I used my laptop and the free wifi to research where I wanted to stay (Bruges or Ghent) and which hotel I would be shacked up on for the next four nights (I had planned on going to Ghent for two nights, then to Bruges for two nights; however, I decided it would be best to stay in one town all four nights and to travel to the other as a day trip). Then, at 10:00, I exited the hostel and walked to the railway station. When I had woken up this morning, the outside was covered in fog and clouds, but now the sun was out and the fog had dissipated. I reached the Luxembourg Railway Station at 10:40, bought my tickets to Bruges, and then waited for an 11:45 bus to Arlon since the railway tracks were being worked on for that portion of my trip (I did have some mixed nuts and raisins along with some fruit drinks as a sort of breakfast). At 11:35 the bus arrived and the other passengers and I loaded up. We departed at 11:44 and then made our way to the Arlon Railway Station, reaching it at 12:17. Once at the station, the other passengers and I exited the bus, walked into the railway station, and waited at the platform for the intercity train to Brussels North Railway a Station to arrive. Once the train came (at 12:35), I climbed aboard, found a seat on the upper level, and waited for the train to depart at 12:44 (twelve minutes late). I then rode the train out of Luxembourg and in to Belgium.

The train reached the Brussels North Railway Station at 15:18. I exited the train and then waited for the 15:40 intercity train to Knokke to arrive. Once it did, I entered inside and found a seat on the upper level. A few minutes later the train departed the station and I was on my way to Bruges. As the train left Brussels, I did see a large cut-out of Tintin and Snowy propped on top of a building which made me happy.

After traveling on the train for a little over an hour, we reached the Bruges Railway Station at 16:50. I now had two choices: walk deep in to the heart of the historic city and stay in a (relatively) cheap hostel where I would most likely keep my dormmates up all night with my coughing – or – stay in the ibis hotel next to the railway station for about four times the price of the hostel (thus quite expensive) and get my own room where I would just be keeping myself up all night with my coughing. Obviously, since I try to follow the Golden Rule as much as possible and I am very lazy, I chose to stay at the ibis. So, I walked to the hotel, booked a room for four nights, and settled inside. I then exited the hotel to buy some goods at the Carrefour Express right by the station and a large pizza from Dominos (It was a chicken, pepperoni, and Emmental cheese pizza). With food-swag in hand, I returned to my room and chowed down on the food whilst relaxing. Later on I showered and relaxed some more before going to sleep around 02:00.