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| Rubbish train |
Hurray, our 'proper' Easter holiday has arrived. This year we thought we would like to visit Germany. Then Matt had the idea of going to Hamburg as the world's biggest model railway is in Germany, I didn't mind as long as I got some sausages, beer and apple strudel. THEN, Matt had the idea of going to see the model railway by railway, and our holiday was born: a European Train Odyssey, Wennington to Hamburg and back, all so a little (and big) boy could see a model railway. There is a chocolate museum next door, so I was swayed.
It all started this morning, so we woke up to our 5.30am alarms, got changed, finished the packing and headed out. We drove to Wennington, mainly because parking there is free (in Lancaster it costs £12 a day) and got the 'rubbish train' which apparently is called a 'Pacer' to Lancaster, then a quick breakfast at Costa before getting the Pendolino "Virgin Crusader" to Euston. We felt quite smug on the way as the carriage was full of men in suits with their lap tops, reminds us of corporate days of the past which we are now happily rid of.
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| Not rubbish train |
We got to London at 10.09, dead on time (how often does that happen?) it was colder than Lancaster and raining - yuck! Who says it is grim up North, grim down South more like! Anyway we braved the rain and walked to Kings Cross where we went to Wasabi to get our lunch sushi. We then headed to St Pancras for tea and a bun - which for me was the most amazing jam doughnut in the world. We then headed into Eurostar departures - had to go through security which was as busy and manic as it always is at departure points. Then into the departures area which was full to bursting because the previous Paris train had been cancelled, it was a case of standing room only, very glad we weren't going to Paris, when it boarded the area emptied, I dread to think how crowded the train would have been.
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| Grand Place |
A minute early we departed London and headed towards the coast. Once past Ebbsfleet we were 'allowed' to open our sushi and eat our lunch - phew - I was starving! It was a novel experience to travel so quickly in the UK - we really did move very fast. The route out of London was basically 2 big tunnels: one from St Pancras to Stratford and one from Stratford to some green fields then it wasn't too long before we were in the tunnel. It really didn't take long before we arrived in Calais, then another stop in Lille before arriving in Brussels dead on time. It was a nice smooth journey, but not as smooth as a shinkansen - I had trouble writing without wobbling which never happens on a Shinkansen, and leg room is minimal, on a Shinkansen, you can't touch the seat in front of you - so sorry, Shinkansens still win. However, you can't move from one country to another on a Shinkansen, so the Eurostar wins when it comes to international interest.
The countryside wasn't the most scenic: very flat fields, tumble down farm houses in the distance, but different from home, so I guess it was interesting to a point.
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| When in Brussels... |
Our hotel was directly outside the station in Brussels, we walked through the station and there it was, right in front of us, couldn't have been easier to find. We checked in and had showers before heading out. Now the receptionist at the hotel was very very helpful and told us how to get to the Grand Place via tram. Matt couldn't compute this - he thought she had made a mistake as she described the tram as being underground - surely you don't get underground trams, she must have meant the Metro! When I looked on the map she gave me, it clearly marked the line she suggested as being a tram. I then Googled it - yes Brussels has one of the most extensive tramways in the world, including underground trams.
On returning to the train station, we found the tram line and yes it was underground. We got the tram to Bourse, then followed our noses to The Grand Place, it helps that Matt has been here many times, so knew where to go to find it. The Grand Place really is Grand, lots of amazing buildings from the 1600s and 1700s covered in ornate statues and gilded in gold. Certainly worthy of the title Grand Place. Oh on the way we came across a number of chocolate shops and beer shops and tacky souvenir shops, WOW! I'm in chocolate heaven. I've got lots of new ideas already, what I need to find is a chocolate mould shop, rather than a chocolate shop. Matt couldn't believe his eyes with the beer shops and we were all impressed with the waffle shops. Oh my, how come the people of Brussels aren't all obese - on a diet of chocolate, beer, waffles and frites, how do they not all become fat?!
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| Boys settling in well (iced tea for the small one) |
We walked down various streets, taking in the various shops and came across the Mannekin Pis, so Matt took the obligatory picture and then we departed the area, knowing that everywhere nearby would be overpriced. We got ourselves a couple of blocks away from the Grand Place and looked for a restaurant. I wanted moules, Matt wanted steak & frites and we both wanted beer. Where would we be able to find these? Initially we had trouble, but then a small voice piped up "I need a wee", so we had to find somewhere quick - just as we were beginning to get annoyed with all the waiters touting for business, we noticed one restaurant with a €18 menu which included moules and steak so we headed there. We had a pretty decent meal - 3 courses: croquettes to start with, moules for me, steak for Matt and Tom had chicken and chips - of course his was the biggest meal. All washed down with Leffe Blonde and finished off with a small chocolate mousse, which was all we could fit in. A lovely meal which satisfied us all - Tom went hyper afterwards!!! Just as well we didn't look at the reviews for it as they were awful! The service to be fair wasn't great, but the food was just what we wanted.
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| Big meal for a small boy (he ate most of it too!) |
Afterwards we headed to a Carrefour we saw in the City Centre and were wowed by all the beer on show. Our suitcases are very empty at the moment, I have a feeling they will be full and clinking when we return!!!!
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| Moules and beer for me. |
We got the tram back, got confused how to use the ticket barriers back into the station and returned to the hotel. Tom was still hyper and is now twisting and turning in his bed, not sure he's going to switch off until we turn the lights off. He is excited about tomorrow: ICE to Germany in 1st Class - now there's a reason to be excited!
Oh before I forget we measured the speed of the trains:
+ Pacer 72 mph
+ Pendolino 125mph
+ Eurostar 184 mph
Eurostar was significantly quicker and it felt it.
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