23 September, 2023
My flights to Brussels were long and, thankfully, uneventful! I met a very fun and chatty gentleman on the way from Sacramento (SMF) to Toronto (YYZ) who worked with the Chamber of Commerce and was going for a conference with other Chamber members to exchange ideas about commerce and local economies. I love exchange programs in whatever form they take and it was a joy to visit with a stranger on the plane- a seemingly increasingly rare experience in these days of headphones and smart phones.
The Toronto airport was quite busy and crowded- it reminded me of the CDMX airport if any of you have ever been- with a sort of long layout of shops and restaurants, but not many places to sit. But, my layover was so quick that I didn’t have much time to linger anyway.
The flight to Brussels (BRU) was fortunately not full and the middle seat was empty. However, there was a teenage girl on the aisle who took up the two seats like it was her messy bedroom and it was quite challenging to get out when I needed to stretch my legs. But, so it goes- you never know who you’re going to get as a seat partner and it’s part of the adventure!
It took HOURS to get through customs and I was cursing my decision to bring a backpack instead of a small suitcase as my carryon. I didn’t want to deal with the suitcase on all of the cobblestone, but I’m definitely going to bring it on the next trip to save my back! After nearly two hours of waiting in a hot, sweaty line to get my passport checked, I was finally through the gates and officially in Belgium!
A quick clothing change in the restroom and I was off to find the train station below the airport to head towards Antwerpen. I haven’t traveled alone very much in my life and it definitely added to my mental exhaustion haha. Not having the ability to leave my luggage with someone while I use the restroom or not having another head to help figure out logistics, for example, it definitely took a little extra energy and quite a few wrong turns to figure some things out. But, I got there eventually.
There’s also this surreal experience being suddenly dropped into another country where people and sounds are bustling around you in a different language and you’ve only had 45 minutes of sleep in the past 18 hours and your brain is searching for familiarity and a way to keep calm and make sense of the chaos. It’s exhilarating and somehow I find it quite comforting; like “I’m really doing it. I’m really here” finally living a daydream and I want to remain fully present so that I don’t miss anything.
It took a few minutes to locate the escalators that lead to the train station and I really couldn’t wait to hear that squealing metal sounds curve through the tracks as the train marked with that familiar “B” on the side came gliding past, blowing my hair to the side, as it came to a stop. I LOVE trains! I love how easy they are to use, how they take you almost everywhere in Europe, and the freedom they give one to explore! I got my ticket at the kiosk, a very easy process- you can simply pay with your credit card and there were attendants nearby to help as well. And then it was a quick 20 minutes to my first stop at Mechelen, where I decided to explore a bit and have some breakfast, or, déjeuner as it’s called en (french speaking) Belgique. (In France, breakfast is “petit déjeuner”, but Belgians say things a little differently.)
So that’s all for today. More on Mechelen and Antwerpen later.
Tantôt!
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