Skip to main content

When in Belgium

A short intro why I need to write at this moment about my first experience in Belgium. Last night I had a nightmare. I was in a train/subway and after we left the station, it stopped suddenly. Then the train driver announced: "Don't panic!". In that moment I knew the train was hijacked. My panic mode installed, I couldn't move at all. I remember at some point the doors opened and some people got out, but I was blocked and afraid if I go out I will be shot. And then my bed broke and I woke up :)).
This dream made me think a lot. And then I figured it out. In one week I will travel to Brussels. It will be the first time I travel there after the attacks. I realized what a huge impact those unhappy events had on me. But why? That's the question. First I thought it's related with the fact that's the route to my office. But then I dug up more and... I remembered Cristina's remark from last night: "It will be so nice to go alone in a foreign city and discover it". My first thought was: "I did that, in Brasov", but wait, that wasn't the first time. My first city where I got lost alone was Brussels. Voilà...
Two years ago, by this time, I traveled to Belgium, by myself, for the first time. I was following my heart. The first mindful travel.
I stayed in Ghent at a Spanish friend I met in Stockholm :). Funny thing. From Brussels airport to Ghent central station with the train it takes you around 1h. I don't know what train I took but it took me 2h to get to the destination. Hahaha... And if that was not enough, I took the tram to the city center in the opposite direction. My poor friend.. He was waiting me (Thank you for waiting me!!!).
I spent one day in Brussels by myself. I had a really nice time.
Brussels Park - Relaxing in the grass
The next day I wasn't alone :). We went to Bruges. When we arrived there we went to a supermarket to buy a sandwich and a beer. I was surprised to discover that you can drink in public spaces (I love Belgium for this).
In Bruges
In the last day, another Romanian girl joined us to Antwerp (or Anvers in french). They were celebrating the remembrance poppy. I still have one to remember me about that day.
The Museum aan de Stroom, Bruges
Breathtaking panorama of Antwerp at the top of the MAS 
Remembrance poppy
And when I come back I spoiled my co-workers with Belgian waffles and Nutella (Andra, I said it. I will buy you a jar and we'll share it :)).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Stories from Hamburg

Lately I've heard a lot about Hamburg, how awesome it is and I was curious to see it with my own eyes. Being in Berlin these days, was the perfect moment to do it. I bought train tickets and here I am in a train going to Hamburg. With my book, enjoying a 2h train ride  The weather was not favorable to me, but I still have all my fingers. I must say, the rainy day enhanced the colors of this city. I was not kidding about the cold It took me a few time to get used with the temperature, but after that I forgot it was cold. I had set in mind to see the canals. I came here for that. I read some articles about this and I was impressed. It's said that it has more than Venice or Amsterdam. From what I've seen, it looks a lot with both of them, but on a different scale. If in the two cities mentioned the buildings are not so tall, here we find massive constructions. #wanderlust #urbanphotography #enthusiastictraveller A post shared by Madalina G. (@gmadalina92)

Magnificent Florence

After reading Dan Brown's Inferno I wanted to go to Florence! That was two years ago and I had booked a trip for March 2020 but it was canceled due to the pandemic. This year I booked another trip for March, but that one got canceled too because I got covid. One month later I finally managed to visit Florence, but the plan doesn't always works out the way one expects. Initially the trip was for 3 nights but the airline with which I got the flight tickets changed the timetable and the first direct flight to return was after another 2 days, therefore I ended up spending 5 nights. Which turned out to be better! The journey to reach Florence was hellish! Apparently the airport is small, between cities, with only one runway, fairly short and not very wide. Additionally to that, the place is surrounded by high mountains, which is why it can be approached only in one direction. Not only does the terrain brings this challenge with it, but it also effectuates in a very unusual microclim

Kasteel de Haar - a luxurious castle

During the rainy days and with the current restrictions, my only consolation is writing about magical places I discovered in the past months in Netherlands. The subject of this post is De Haar Castle, a place rich in stories!  The joy of exploring this flamboyant castle De Haar is the largest castle in the Netherlands, once the private residence of the Van Zuylen family, whose descendants still stay there yearly. In the last century, the castle also frequently hosted members of the international jet set with their lavish lifestyle; from Coco Chanel to Roger Moore, they too left their mark on the sumptuous rooms of the most opulent spot in Utrecht. I visited the castle a couple of weeks ago, together with my dearest friend, Ioana, and it was a lovely Sunday, even with some warm sunshine!  This year I bought  Museumkaart  which allows free entrance to about 400 museums in the Netherlands, De Haar Castle included! Despite the months when the museums were/are closed, I got to use it a coup