Anyway, the train deposited us in Brussels where we disembarked and went in search of a bathroom only find that they are 'pay as you go'. So we scrambled to find an ATM where we gathered some euros and then had to persuade a shop keeper to give us change as the restroom machines only took 0.50 euro coins. Sigh. A bit too much drama for just using the bathroom but what can you do?
From there we found the ticket desk where, thankfully the teller spoke English, we purchased our tickets to Leuven. Passing from the UK to Belgium is a noticeable change. You hear almost no English and an overwhelming number of different languages. I had to smile when I heard a family go past and they were speaking Spanish. It was a whole new world and thus began our time in countries where English is unlikely to be the go-to language. It should be interesting. :)
On the train to Leuven most of the announcements were made in French and another language which we still cannot figure out if it's Dutch or Flemish or something else entirely. We did manage to get off at Leuven and strapping on our packs we walked across town and easily found our hotel. Checking in without incident we settled into our room. Then we went out exploring which was extra interesting considering we had arrived smack in the middle of a summer fair complete with rides, games, and "fair food". We plopped down outside a bar and had a drink and that's when I saw at the table next to us some fair food that I just had to have. We walked around and found where they were selling what we learned was smoutebollen. Fresh and hotter than the surface of the sun Timmy pushed past the pain and tried the first one. Just like any other deep fried fair food they were delicious! And as always I ended up wearing most of the powdered sugar on my clothes - I'm challenged when it comes to eating. :)
We also saw several food stands that were selling hamburgers, hot dogs and what goes good with these two things? Escargot of course! Discussion followed if we should try them but we both decided that we didn't have enough liquid courage on board and then the moment passed. :)
After that we popped around to various bars where we sat outside which is the thing to do in Leuven; every restaurant has a whole contingent of tables and chairs sitting outside. I've learned that all you have to do is sit yourself down and they'll come and serve you. We've had multiple awkward moments because people, for the most part, won't start by speaking English. They will however switch when they realize that you can't understand them. Speaking of that, our second day in Leuven, I went out to walk around and planned to look for a European outlet adapter since we only have Australia/NZ and UK. I happened to pass a hardware store and decided to pop in and see what they had. Indeed I found an adapter that could basically take any plug and fit it into a European socket (with the odd exception of Italy, but we'll figure that out when we get there). I went up to pay and the woman starting speaking to me in another language and seeing the expression on my face kindly pointed to the till readout that displayed the price. I smiled and said, "I'm sorry" to which she said, apologetically, something I couldn't understand with the exception of "no English". I've had that happen several times since we've been in Leuven, people apologizing for not speaking English to me. And I just want to say, "Considering how many different languages people speak here there's no way you can automatically tell if someone needs English to be understood!". I do appreciate the fact that people are very nice even if they can't speak English. It makes me wonder what France and Italy will be like. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment