Packing done, breakfast downed we said farewell to the German YMCA. Just for those who might be interested, here are a couple of pictures: one of the front desk and one of the breakfast bar.
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| Reception at Lancaster Hall Hotel |
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| The Breakfast Bar |
The staff there are wonderful and we recommend the hotel highly for travellers on a budget. One word of warning, however, it is not air-conditioned and while we have not stayed there in the summer months, we suspect it could be a bit warm.
It wasn't long before we were on our way to St Pancras to get the Eurostar for Brussels. Everything went smoothly and within two and a half hours of boarding the train, we were in Belgium.
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| Eurostar |
Although we have travelled on the Eurostar frequently, I think for the first time we noticed it has become a bit shabby. The seats were looking somewhat the worse for wear and the carpet seemed to be stained. But the speed with which it rolls through the countryside was undiminished and the world seems to whir by when you are travelling at more than 300 km per hour.
Once in Brussels, we decided to walk to our hotel. The streets around the train station are pretty unimpressive. Lots of dirt and blowing paper. If you arrive by train, first impressions of the city are not good. From the outside, our hotel looked run down, but once inside we found it to be more than adequate with a room at least twice the size of any other we have had in Europe.
After unpacking we walked up to the central square in the old part of the city. On our stroll there were a number of interesting things to be seen. Here, for example, is a drain cover with faces on it
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| A Drain Cover in Brussels |
and a wonderful statue of an old lady reaching into her purse to pay for something.
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| That was HOW much? |
As for the old square, it is magnificent. We stopped for a drink and then wandered around, totally overwhelmed by the buildings we saw.
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| On the Square |
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| Another building on the square |
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| Smaller buildings on the sqaure |
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| Detail from top of building |
After a pleasant meal we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow our visit to Belgium starts in earnest.
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