Gembloux, The Ardennes, Belgium
Monday, February 19, 2007
The goal for Sunday was a day trip by train to Antwerp. We went together to our free breakfast this time, and then packed our day bags for Antwerp. The first problem was that we got lost on the walk to the train station. Remember, it is only around the block from the hotel, but what block? We finally found the train station and bought our really cheap tickets to Antwerp. We bought some candy and drinks at the train shop, and at the correct time and on the correct platform, we went to catch our train. It didn't say anything about Antwerp when it arrived, but maybe that was because the end stop wasn't Antwerp? Who knew. We boarded the train and found an empty compartment to sit in. We sat and watched
Brussels go by. We left the touristy old district, and went past many apartment buildings with laundry hanging out. It must have been laundry day in Belgium, because everyone had laundry out. The buildings gradually got farther apart, and we started going through countryside. We saw trees and fields, and some farm animals
. We passed through a few smaller towns. I was quite convinced we were on the correct train, but Beth must have had an idea, because at stops she wanted to see what the signs said. Maybe it is because she is used to riding trains, so knew the train should have said Antwerp on it. I am not used to trains, and if you are on the right platform at the right time, it should be your train, right? Beth started to wonder when we were coming to Antwerp, because she knew about how long the trip should be. I was just enjoying the countryside scenery, not at all worried for once. Finally a young ticket man entered our compartment and asked for our tickets. At least I assume that was what he said. He saw our tickets, and got all excited. We couldn't understand him. He spoke hardly any English, and when he spoke English, I didn't understand. Unfortunately, neither Beth nor I speak French. Finally, Beth made out he was saying that we were in the wrong compartment, first class when we should be in 3rd class or something. We had already been on the train an hour, so it was about time someone noticed, I guess. So then Beth tried to ask him when we were coming to Antwerp, and he got excited, looked at our tickets again and starting talking rapidly again. Finally, Beth made out that he was saying that we were on the wrong train, going the wrong way, and would have to go back to
Brussels. So we moved to the crowded 3rd class compartment, and waited until we came to the next stop. The next stop was a platform at some town called
Gembloux. I was disappointed not to see Antwerp, but other than that I thought it was pretty funny. I took a picture to show where we were. Another train finally came back in the other direction, and we had to explain to this ticket person what had happened, and why we needed to be on that train even though we didn't have a ticket for it. Luckily he spoke English, and was nice about our problem. He came back when we were approaching Belgium, and told us exactly how many stops until we reached our stop. Then he came again to tell us when we were at our stop. I guess he thought we were pretty stupid! We didn't know what to do next. It was too late to go to Antwerp. I wanted to see the palace, but Beth didn't, so we decided to go separate ways for the afternoon. I walked to the palace alone, and walked through the palace park taking pictures. I went back through the beautiful square again, and was impressed with myself that I found my way back to the hotel. That night we decided we needed a cheaper dinner. We had seen a Mexican Restaurant chain that we were familiar with from home (Chevy's, or some place like that) and went there. The only problem was all the tables were butting up against each other, so we had no privacy. After dinner, we were exhausted, and decided to call it a night.
