Short, but Sweet -- Brussels & Amsterdam

After a long week of classes (5 days instead of the typical 4), we only had two days to travel, and we were going to make it count. So, we randomly picked Belgium and Amsterdam to spend our shortened weekend (When in Rome??). Belgium was great! Although we decided to remain in Brussels for our day there, we left feeling as if we got a pretty good taste of the country--especially after indulging in authentic Belgian waffles and frites smothered in ketchup and mayonnaise and topped with cooked onions. My arteries may have shut down for the afternoon for repairs, but I didn’t need them while wandering the city.

We didn’t really have much of an idea what we saw that day to be perfectly honest, but nonetheless, it was a great place to go for my first time traveling outside of Italy. Brussels gave us a chance to see a lot of great architecture, the famous (or so we were told) Mannekin Pis, or “Pissing Boy” statue/fountain, and CHOCOLATE galore. I’d have to say that this was the best part of Belgium. We were even given a chocolate bar at the train station in celebration of Valentine’s Day! (A train ticket and a chocolate, not a bad combo) Speaking of Valentine’s Day, there was a great event going on (which, you guessed it, we stumbled upon in our aimless wanderings) called “Brussels in Love.” Long story short, participants were given a piece of wax paper with some melted chocolate on it. They would then “kiss” the paper, and if they could avoid the temptation of licking their lips for about .3 seconds, (which is definitely harder than it sounds considering it was Belgium chocolate) they would kiss a canvas leaving behind their lip-print. A fine piece of art, I’d say!

               

Sunday was an experience and a half—Amsterdam. The city was probably one of the most unique I’ve ever experienced. (As one of my good friends described it to me, “It’s something you have to experience for yourself.”) Again more or less wandering (and avoiding being run over by the insane number of bicyclists), we found ourselves in the world famous Red Light District. There were a few clues that tipped us off on where we were, but I’m sure if we all just use our imagination here, we can figure it out…just take a deep breath and you’ll get the picture (not to mention in pretty colors too). We didn’t linger like what was in the air, but rather roamed the city, following its many many canals. About mid-afternoon we stopped in the Anne Frank House. This was an amazing place to visit considering the story behind it, and deeply moving...when you walk through the old bookcase that is still in place and go up into the small living quarters that formerly hid eight people trying to escape certain death, you can’t help but feel chills. You are silenced by the power of such a simple place whose very walls tell so many stories.  As the floorboards creak below your feet, you can imagine yourself taking every step into consideration so as not to draw even the slightest bit of attention to yourself… It just so happened that the day we went was Miep Geis’s 100^th birthday (she is one of the people who took care of the Frank family and the other members of the Secret Annex while they were in hiding).

That pretty much sums my first out-of-Italy trip up in a nutshell: chocolate, wandering aimlessly, making out with a piece of canvas on Valentine’s Day and calling it art, questionable sights, tastes & smells, Anne Frank House. Mmm…chocolate.