Belgium - Day 2: Amsterdam to Oostende, Belgium- July 6, 2018

Before 6 am Amsterdam time, there were rude people opening their shades. Full on sun was pouring in. Do they not know that you keep them down until the lights are turned on?
When the lights did come on about 6, I woke my husband K. It’s better to be conscious, when they bring breakfast, which they did about 6:15. The honey yogurt was delicious and the peach muffin wasn’t bad.

 I checked the time remaining on my husband’s trip screen and decided I had enough time for “500 Days of Summer”. It was a really good movie and I managed to see the end just before touchdown. We also had some nice views of the Netherlands out his window.

At 10:10, we landed in Amsterdam and taxied for a long time. But, emptying the plane didn’t take long and we were off about 10:35. First order of business was getting teeth brushed. Then, it was offer to passport control, which we finished at 10:55. By the time we reached luggage carousel 15, ours were among the few left. I was quite unhappy to discover that my brand new suitcase, which we’d just bought 5 days ago, now had its handle pulled out so much that its integrated seam had been pulled open. Good thing Samsonite has a warranty!

We were in the main terminal at 10:59 and needed to find food. We studied the map and opted for Leon, a naturally fast food place, they said. At 11:06, I placed my order for a sweet potato falafel wrap, for 6,50 Euros, pain au chocolate for 2, and a Coke Zero for 3,35, while K held two seats.

When I finally joined him, he confessed that he was really worried about the train times. He’d bought our tickets online, but the times were unclear. So, I ate, while he went off to the train station that was not far from where I was sitting. I was almost finished, when he got back at 11:30, saying he’d been wrong and we had to catch an 11:53 train to Rotterdam. I gave him the last couple of bites of my wrap, while I ate the chocolate croissant. He said, he’d get food on the train.
 We found the escalator to tracks 5-6 and were down at 11:38. It was confusing because there was nothing on a train to Rotterdam until 12:04. So, I stayed with the luggage and he went back to actually ask someone, rather than depending on what he’d heard told to someone else. That
information was, indeed, wrong and we were back at Leon at 11:50
K got a quinoa and chicken salad for 7,75 and fries for 2,75 and finished my Coke.

Then, it was back down the escalators for a train to Antwerp, Belgium.

There were no seats in the last two cars, so we were stuck in the vestibule with our luggage, three girls and a young couple from Dubai. There was a folding seat that I took and K stood and he and the Dubai woman tried to keep the suitcases from rolling. She and I talked a little; she and the husband were on their way to Paris. Nice couple.
I saw a windmill and we passed incredibly large greenhouses, that the guy said were for flowers. It was nice and sunny, although the vestibule was a bit warm. When folks, including the couple, got off in Rotterdam, we went looking for seats in the last car again. K led and put me in a seat next to a guy with my small rolling bag (actually his, loaned for the trip) and  another carry on, while he hoisted one suitcase to the overhead rack and went further back with the other.
I read Smithsonian, when I could keep my eyes open. The car kept taking on new passengers and
losing few at each stop. It was 2:17, when we pulled into the Antwerp Centraal.
When we went up the first escalator, we could see the old architecture of the station. I’d read that one
really should visit the station just to admire it. It was impressive.

We noticed a tourist information center and my husband we go in, so that I could get info for my
planned trip on Tuesday. I talked to a guy, who pulled out a map and crossed out all the museums that
were closed for renovation. Then, he told me things I should visit. It was a big help.
Then, we took turns going off to the restroom, which cost us 0,50 Euros each. We went up one more escalator and headed for track 1. We found a window ledge to perch on and noticed all the jewelry shops outside. This town is a diamond center.
I had noticed that the train that had just left was still showing on the monitor. I wondered how long we’d have to wait for our train, when I noticed that the train on the next track, 2, said Oostende. I
suddenly realized, that even thought the schedule said track 1, 2 was really our track. We had to really
hurry to get around the end of the track to get down 2. As we went, I was looking in the car windows for empty seats. As soon as I saw a second class car with seats, we jumped on. We were able to sit
together, with that hand luggage again at my feet, but the large suitcases in the racks above. We were on at 3 and at 3:06, the train departed on time.
It was a hazy sun now. We passed through a lot of urban areas for a while. I tried reading again, but I was feeling very dozy. I was awakened by the sound of the approaching conductor. For the first time,
at 3:23, a conductor actually scanned our tickets. This train was cool and I was dozing off again. There were various stops. People got on and off. Two loud young guys were behind us for a good
while.

 Brugge (Bruges) saw a lot of departures, including those two. The conductor came around again. In
fact, it was two this time at 4:28. How odd!
Now the terrain was very flat and much less urban. We arrived at Oostende, the endstation, literally,

at 4:50. The canopy over the trains seemed familiar, but that was all. 

In the station, I checked the master schedule. A train leaves Oostende every hour on the 9s for Antwerp during the week. Good to know.
Outside, we had some trouble figuring out where to go for a taxi. We finally found one at 5:08. It only took three minutes to reach the Royal Astrid Hotel, which was none too impressive from the outside.

It didn’t take too long to get keys and get up to the room, which was very basic and very warm for a
three-star hotel. There is no air conditioning, but maybe it is not needed.

We had to leave again at 5:28 to go to the Thermae Palace for check-in for the ClarinetFest.
When we got there at 5:45, there was quite a line and we heard that it had been that easy all day. I sat
on some steps to wait. K’s former student J joined me and we looked over the program and talked about her travels.
I saw that, as usual, K was greeted by many people. He is pretty well-known in this group, having been the host of last year’s conference and being a past president of the International Clarinet Association. That, of course, did not get him through the line any quicker. It just made it less odious for him.
He was finally done about 6:35. In the meantime, he’d been seen by a clarinet professor from Puerto Rico named K. She realized suddenly why she recognized me. It was decided that all 4 of us would go find dinner on the promenade. (Part of me wants to call it a boardwalk, but it is concrete or bricks or pavers.) On the promenade, we passed this statue of King Leopold II, that we would pass a lot in the coming week.

It was 6:40, when we left and it took a bit to find a restaurant to suit us all. We finally settled at 6:58 on the Cafe Leopold but chose to sit inside, out of the wind,even though the outside area was
bounded by glass wind barriers.

There was only 1 server and as time went by we learned that they were getting ready for the quarter final World Cup match with Belgium versus Brazil. So, there were foods that could not be had, because they were switching over to drinking mode. The guy, at least, spoke English, which was helpful with the menu in Dutch and French.
K ordered Carsendonk Bruin beer and I decided to try Kriek Belgique, which turned out to have a strong cherry flavor. At first, it reminded me of cough medicine, but I eventually got used to it. You may note the napkins we were given-the colors of the Belgian flag.

For food, I had to go with a second choice, pasta bolognaise for 17 Euros. K ordered shrimp croquette also for 17. J ordered a croquette appetizer for us all to try and K gave her 2 Euros toward it. It turned out to be filled with a kind of cheesy gravy.

 My pasta was good, but K was unimpressed with his croquettes.

 The  food took an incredibly long to come, so it was a good thing that they were so easy to talk to. Poor K from Puerto Rico ha to scarf down her salad to get to the evening concert in time..
While we were there, Belgium scored twice! The group in the bar shook flags and cheered.
We finally left at 8:55, saying good night to J, with whom K is playing tomorrow. He and I headed for the hotel, arriving at 9:10, very tired . It was very pleasant on the walk back and it was supposedly 67. It felt warmer. Sunset was to be at 10:04, but we had some very nice views of it on the beach.

   

We noticed that the buildings on the promenade were mostly newer, but some older ones had been renovated and looked very good.

 As we approached our hotel, we saw these nice fountains beyond it. We also noticed this writing on its side as we rounded the corner to reach the front door.

It was a good start.