Antwerp and Brussels

So we were cleared to take the Kiel Canal from Denmark to get to Belgium which was really cool because for 11 hours I got to see a bit of Germany. We saw mainly land but right at the end of the canal before we hit the rocky waves of the North Sea we were greeted by the community along shore or more so we interrupted the festival that they were having. So while I never got off the ship, I saw a piece of Germany, hope that counts but I definately want to go back and visit.

The shipped docked in Antwerp which is the 2 largest city in Belgium with over 450,000 people. After doing the RD job of passing back passports, I left the ship with Laarni and Marco and along the way we made a new friend, more like a grandpa of sorts. We walked into city hall which we thought was a tourist office and looking lost an older man very enthusiastic and energtic approached us and asked where we were from. We told him we were a part of the ship and he got really excited as well. His name we learned was Jan, age 73 living out his retirement and just happened to be visiting the city, he lived on the other side of the river. Wow, his energy was beyond belief, he took the three of us on a private 2 hour tour of the city. We stopped for coffee at a really nice cafe which used to be a rich persons home converted into a cafe/restaurant, we know this because every rich home would have it's own private altar so that was really cool. Since it was a monday morning and we were looking for a waffle given that it was Belgium after three attempts at the authentic good stuff we find a place. It was like food heaven, a waffle topped with lots of fresh fruit including one orange looking item which I did not know what it was so it was really cool nonetheless. Jan has travelled the world, he spoke spanish, flemish, french, english, and more. He loves Thailand and spends many months there as well. He was a kind man and we really appreciated his hospitality. Lesson learned, get lost and maybe someone will stop and talk to you.

We headed back to the ship for a trip to Brussels! this city rocked as well. It was what I had imagined as the typical European city, it had more gothic cathedrals, smaller streets, lots of brickstone roads, and tourist! the other places were at least more calm...

getting sleepy, i knew this would happen...to finish tomorrow :)