The World Wide Webb

I said goodbye to Brussels, the home of the Smurfs, this morning. I am pleased to report that the Smurfs remain fully supportive of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals though. My train to The Hague (Den Haag) today required a change at Breda, so I decided that I would stop for a few hours there to see the sights on my way. It was an excellent decision, and I would highly recommend Breda to anyone passing. Having thankfully been able to store my rucksack at the station, I had a lovely stroll through a park into the centre, stopping off at the castle (where I got my first Dutch geocache!). The main square was filled with lovely restaurants, and the sun shone brightly as I enjoyed a delicious lunch. I had heard it was possible to go up the tower of the Great Church, so obviously decided to do that after lunch, given that I do like to go to the highest point possible when visiting a place! It was only 287 steps today, with a couple of stops to see the bell tower in action. I can confirm...

Let’s start with the football from last night. With loads of sports bars around, I figured that I would have no problem at all finding it on somewhere, but in the end I had to start asking bar staff. In the end, one kind barman put it on at the back of the pub, but said it would have to be on silent as there was going to be live music. It turned out that I was not alone in wanting to watch the game though, as there were about ten of us by half time. It was rather odd having a lovely Belgian-Irish singer performing ballads as we got more and more nervous… and then very excited! What a match. I think I aged about 10 years in 120 minutes, but very excited for Sunday now. I am keeping an eye out online in case I can find a ticket that would necessitate an epic train trip to Switzerland on Sunday. Onto today, my final full day in Belgium. I caught a train to Bruges, with the plan being a good day of sightseeing. The buildings are certainly beautiful, and I enjoyed a walk around, collecting ...

Let's start with yesterday evening - I caught the end of the day's activities in the Park, which was a lot of fun with stalls, food and activities for all the family. I got into the spirit, and yes, did then eat my 'compulsory' waffle. I then followed the crowd and walked up to Cinquantenaire Park for what I understood to be a concert with some big names in Belgian music, and then a fireworks and light show. To say it was massive would be an understatement! There were apparently about 100,000 people there (including the royal family, obviously, as they are clearly following me) and the music was brilliant. Now, I didn't know many of the artists playing, but for those who do, it included Maksim, Axelle Red, Romeo Elvis and Peet, Netsky, Red Sebastian, and Lost Frequencies. For the final set by Lost Frequencies and Netsky, there was an incredible, and I mean INCREDIBLE lights and firework show. I've included some photos here of the drones and the fireworks, but th...

Yesterday evening was fairly quiet - a stroll to see Jeanneke Pis, all in the name of gender equality.... and then an ice-cream and soaking up some of the holiday vibes.  Today, in case you did not know, is Belgium's national day. I had read a bit about some celebration events, some of which I am hoping to see this evening, but I did not know that as I walked to find some breakfast this morning, within 100m of my hotel I would stumble upon the whole Belgian royal family arriving for the Te Deum mass at the St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral. Having previously sat opposite the Swedish royal family at a concert in Stockholm when visiting with Lizzy, I am starting to appreciate European royal families turning out for my visits.... Apparently it was King Philippe, Queen Mathilde, and their four children (Elisabeth, Eleonore, Gabriel and Emmanuel) who were there. You can read all about their outfits on the Daily Fail Online, if that's your thing.  Anyway, I enjoyed the experience, ...

The Eurostar journey was pretty uneventful yesterday. Despite looking out of the window, I did not see any fish 🐠 as I crossed the Channel, and I made sure I was on the look-out for small boat crossings too.....  It was early evening when I arrived in Brussels. The metro system took me a few minutes (and one journey in the wrong direction) to figure out, but Google Maps did its thing and got me to my hotel safely. The hotel is near the Royal Galleries, close to the Grand Place, and it is pretty busy around as apparently this is a big weekend with Belgian National Day tomorrow.  An evening quest for food (success) was followed by a walk through said Royal Galleries and then a test of my photography skills at the Grand Place. It is, as the name suggests, pretty Grand. Pleasingly for me, there were lots of Geocaching AdLabs around for me to use to learn some history. My visit here was then followed up with some good wandering around, with the highlight undoubtedly the Brussels D...