The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round…

The last couple of days I have been dying of homework but I have been meaning to post about how we went Brussels and back again.

A Boring Summary. The day started out at 4something with an early morning walk to Centraal Station because the buses hadn’t started yet. At Centraal the five of us caught either the first or second metro of the day to Amstal Station. After Sarah almost got taken out by a bus which was fairly traumatizing, we got on a Eurolines Bus to Brussels! After getting into Brussels and taking a tram and metro to their Central Station, we got lunch at a very touristy restaurant. Despite the menu being in about 50 languages, I got a ‘Belgium’ waffle that was quite delicious. After lunch we boarded a hop-on, hop-off bus around the city. The bus driver was kind of crazy so we did more riding then hoping off but it was still cool. After our bus tour around the city, we walked around the Grand Place and yes, the Manneken Pis. We went to several chocolate shops and stores and meandered. We got dinner and wandered. The bus left a little late but we manage to go into Amstel and walked right onto a train and then got right onto a bus and got home.


The ability to put anything into one cohesive narrative is failing me.

Other Stuff:

-They had some really interesting sculptures all over the city. I loved the fact that they were so neo-classical around the royal places and so modern in areas where the EU buildings were.
-For dinner, I enjoyed the fact that we were Americans in Belgium, eating at a Greek restaurant that was playing Spanish music. It was also the best Gyro ever and the best 3 euros I have spent since I got here.
- There was this huge metal junk yard in the city that we drove by a bunch of times. I don’t know why I feel like I need to mention it but I do.
- Chocolate. I bought chocolate and then I realized that I didn’t buy any for myself so I had to go buy some more. It is delicious.
-It was very strange when we were on the bus. At one point, when I was looking out the window, all I saw were skyscrapers with big businesses or names like Holiday Inn and I felt like I could be anywhere. Amstel station, in general, is in an area of town that is pretty generic. That said, however, after we left Amsterdam, we went by fields after fields with windmills and everything that seems very Dutch. It is just strange to always be around stuff that could be in the U.S. but isn’t. The similarities, and almost familiar nature of everything, are almost more striking than the differences.
-On the bus home, they were playing Bourne Supremacy but it was dubbed in French. That did not, however, stop me from watching the whole thing. French Matt Demon apparently has a much higher voice.
- Granted we stayed in fairly touristy area, but I definitely heard way more English in Brussels than in Amsterdam.

-It was super cool to see buses with the direction of NATO on the them. I was excited and took pictures of them.
-It was odd coming back to Amsterdam and feeling the sensation of home. It isn’t home but the familiarity of the city and the knowledge that I have already gained about it was comforting.
-One thing I don’t understand is the use of English here especially in signs. They will be almost entirely in Dutch with two phrases of English or almost all English. Is English part of the novelty? What prompts some companies to use English and others not to? Why translate part of your ads? It is very confusing to me.
- I am beginning to discover things that I miss. One, I like shopping malls and Target. For a country that supposedly likes efficiency, it hasn’t figured out the superstore. Yes, there is the issue of space but I waste so much time going to 50 different stores in 50 different areas. Another thing that I miss is appropriate beverages. When I go to a restaurant I like being served water. If I do order a drink and pay lots of money for it, in the U.S. at least I know it will be ridiculously large. Here I pay lots of money for a 2oz drink and then still feel thirsty but don’t want to pay for water. Also, randomly, I was listening to MPR on the internet the other day and it made me miss home. The other thing that I have discovered that I really miss is history class. Yesterday I gave an answer and the professor said it was a “fuzzy historical answer.” I like historical answers that are sometimes a bit fuzzy. I just miss history reading and classes. There was one reading that had a historical section and I loved it. I guess I really am meant to be a history major.
-One thing that I forget to appreciate about the U.S. is that it is built around ideals. The only things that really make Americans united are the ideals and myths that our country is built upon. I knew that, but in discussing things that are Dutch, it seems that being Dutch is much more than being a citizen. The fact that the U.S. can have so many kinds of people that are equally “American” is pretty cool.

Well, that is it for now.