The Netherlands By Rail
I was looking at Eurostar, as I want to go to Berlin at some time to see the new museum.
When I went to The Netherlands last time on the train, I had to wait for about an hour in Brussels to buy a ticket to get to Den Haag, as it was impossible to buy one before I left London. Now though you can buy a ticket from London to any Dutch station. All you have to do is get to Brussels Midi and then take a Dutch domestic service within 24 hours! The rules for return, are that you can take any Dutch domestic service that arrives within 24 hours of your Eurostar departure.
That sounds like a really sensible way of travelling. You could catch the next train to say Rotterdam and save time or you could catch a morning train to Brussels, have a look round the city and perhaps have a good lunch as I did in the spring and then take an evening train across the border.
It would seem to be cheaper too, as my ticket last time to Den Haag from Brussels and back would have cost 60 Euros in Standard Class. Looking today and going in a couple of weeks, it looks like I can do the whole journey both ways for about £120 or less. That price was for next week, so I suspect, you could beat that if you booked further in advance.
Incidentally going by Thalys to say Amsterdam from Brussels on the same dates, doesn’t have a very good choice of trains and costs twice the price! I suspect you might save a few minutes on the journey, but because of the connections, you would probably have to leave London an hour or so later. That is not my style, as I’ve always been one for an early start! I always think that you can get a good lunch in Brusssels anyway. Or you could visit the falcons in the cathedral.
It all sounds to be a good deal to me! But one that won’t be too good to be true!
The Atomium
As I said in the post on Heysel, I took the Metro essentially to see the Atomium.
I should say that be careful on the Brussels Metro, as Line 6 is essentially a ring and you can end up going a lot longer than you need, by following the obvious route. I travelled from Rogier and quickly realised that instead of going direct to Heysel, I should go to Simonis and change. The difference was twelve stations and using the London formula of two minutes a station, that is 24 minutes.
I remember the Atomium being built as a child and although a friend said not to bother to visit, I did!
Some of the pictures also show the pavilions for the Brussels International Exposition that took place in 1935. They were reused for Expo ’58, for which the Atomium was built.
Was the visit worth it?
Yes! For the views from the top, but I know C wouldn’t have thought much of it.
Heysel
Whenever we think of Heysel Stadium in Brussels we think of the terrible tragedy at the football match between Liverpool and Juventus in which 39 Juventus supporters died.
After lunch I took the Metro mainly to see the Atomium and found that it was at the same place as the stadium.
But now the old stadium has gone and a new one, now renamed the King Baudouin Stadium, has taken its place.
The King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
I remember I was in Cheltenham that night visiting a client and watched the disaster unfold on the television in my hotel room. I have had a lot of tragedy lately in my life and I don’t want to go through anymore.
Hopefully, I won’t see anything like that again.
Aux Armes de Bruxelles
It was very cold in Brussels, so I decided that it would not be a bad idea to have a good lunch in a warm restaurant.
I chose Aux Armes de Bruxelles.
Aux Armes de Bruxelles
It is quite an expensive restaurant, as one would expect if a past Kings of Belgium is amongst its former clients, but I chose the set lunch and a decent small carafe of white wine. There was a good choice and I had Ardennes ham followed by grilled salmon in a béarnaise sauce with boiled potatoes, and then ice cream. I followed it with coffee.
I thought it was reasonable at just under 28 euros.
As to being gluten-free, the waiter understood and I had no reaction at all.
Falcons in the Cathedral
Brussels cathedral has a nest of peregrine falcons in the tower.
They also have a viewing cabin in front of the building.
Falcon Viewing Cabin by Brussels Cathedral
You can also see the webcam from this link, so you don’t need to go to Brussels.
Wandering Around Brussels
I spent about five hours in Brussels and for quite a lot of the time, I just walked around taking photographs. It was rather cold, so I used shopping malls, the cathedral and the Metro for warmth.
London to Den Haag by Train
I was in London last Wednesday and as I was going to Den Haag for the Bank Holiday weekend, I decided to take the Eurostar to Brussels and then take a train direct from there to Den Haag. You can go by Thalys from Brussels to Rotterdam and then take a local train, but it’s actually easier to do what the man in Seat 61 says and take the Belgian/Dutch Intercity train direct from Brussels.
Or it should be?
The problem is that I didn’t have a ticket for the Intercity train and it left about twenty minutes after the Eurostar arrived. Or at least mine did. And it took thirty minutes to buy the ticket in Brussels. They have no automatic machines to do this! Grr!!!
But the Intercity train was comfortable, especially as I took the option of First Class for about 90 euro instead of 60.
Remember that there are two stations in Den Haag; Centraal and HS. The fast trains only go to HS, but you generally want to go to Centraal. On Thursday, it was just a walk across the platform. But I got seriously lost at Centraal, as I couldn’t find the bus station. It’s actually on the top, but the signs are discreet to say the least.
Spot the Sign to the Buses
Coming back was easier, in that I’d decided to spend a few hours in Brussels. So I got an early train to Brussels, dumped my case in a locker and then got a day ticket for the public transport.
The latter should have been easy, but the automatic machines were all broken and it took me about fifteen minutes to queue for a ticket. What is it about Belgians and selling tickets.
The Eurostar got me back in to London on time and in fact I was able to get to Whittlesford Parkway on an earlier train. But my excellent taxi driver, Michael, from Sawston Taxis was there to take me home in comfort. He is to be recommended.
Cambridge to Holland via Paris
I left Cambridge at 19:00 hours on Tuesday and took the Dover Dunkirk ferry, stopping overnight on the A1 to Paris. It was a crap Mercure and I’ll be posting something later on my blog about it and the non-Eclipse of 1999, where a Belgian weatherman told me to go to the wrong place. I don’t think they’ve given it a proper once-over since.
I then drove into the centre of Paris, did Montmatre, had a meeting and then left at 4:17, only to get stuck in traffic on the Periphique. I arrived at my destination five minutes over five hours later having done about 625 miles from Cambridge most of it at about 130 to 140 kph. How many 18 year old cars could do that? Most of it during the day was with the top down, which was perhaps a bit ambitious, but then top down is the only way to travel for safety, as the visibility is so much better.
The only problem was the peage, as to get the ticket, I had to get out. And I had a very irate Belgian behind me. They always seem to be in a hurry. And then around Lille and towards Gent, the Belgian road signs leave something to be desired. It’s called logic! Like the signs say follow Gent and then they call in Gand or even miss it off completely. They even manage to give Lille in France a completely different name!
Perhaps, I should write to that nice von Rumpy Pumpy, who heads the EU and complain about his country’s signage. On the other hand, perhaps the Belgians drive like lunatics all the time, as they are forever getting confused by their signs?
Cashpoints on Belgian and Dutch Motorways
I needed some euros on the way home and couldn’t find a cashpoint on the motorway.
Beware! After all, most garages and motorway services in the UK have them.
Lucky Arsenal
Is there any other way to describe their win in Liege? Or should it be Luik, which is what Liege is called in half of Belgium.
The second goal was offside and the third should have been disallowed as Song was standing offside in front of the goalkeeper.
Who cares?
It’s only a game.
The Anonymous Widower 