Day 21. Saturday, September 17th. Brussels.

What a day in Brussels. It was quite an adventure, to say the least. Upon awaking (again, in a hotel, a form of loding neither my friend nor I have ever experienced), we found that more than half of our dorm-mates had already left, at least for the day. As such, we had a pretty easy time getting showered and ready for the day. For me, however, the shower didn't do much, since I didn't bring any spare clothes. Anywho, off we went, no knowing where we were going or what there was to do in Brussels. So, naturally we went to the only place we knew, which was where we came from the night before. Around central Brussels, we managed to find this cute little cafe to have some pastries for breakfast, which were fantastic by the way. After breakfast, we used a free map provided by the hostel to find a tourist information center, to get some more complete information about what there was to do in this town we literally stumbled into. Finding said tourist information center was easier said than done, as the vague map just said it was next to the Royal Palace/City Hall. So, we made our way there, only to find nothing short of a royal wedding taking place! I'm still not quite sure who it was, but they were some combination of rich, royal, and popular. After a little more searching, we did manage to find the office (less people here speak english than in Amsterdam, much to our surprise).

At the information office, a very helpful and fluent Belgian helped us decided on what museumes to see and such. He even went so far as to recommend that we spend tomorrow in Bruges, a small, old town on the coast. After procuring even more maps, we set off once again. Some time later, we found ourselves at the Musical Instrument Museum (fitting, eh?). While there display was not quite as impressive as we expected, we did get in for free (apparently it was heritage day, whatever that means), so that made it less of a waste. It wasn't a waste at all actually...but especially since it was free haha. After THAT, we walked another x amount of kilometers to the international district where all of the European Union buildings are. I was quite excited (maybe too excited) to see where some of the most important and influential politicians and economists in Europe (and possibly the world, considering the current economic crisis in the peripherals) worked. It was quite impressive. Afterwards, we walked yet farther to the AutoWorld Museum, which promised an impressive collection of classic and influential European cars. Yet again, however, we were less than impressed with the collection at hand (however this time it was not free). Even still, we did see many very beautiful cars and learned quite a bit about the history of one of my favorite inventions.

At this point, we were beyond exhausted, and our feet were killing us (I am still scared to look at my feet, for fear of fainting at the sight of multipul blisters). So, we decided to take the metro back to the city center to find dinner. This turned out pretty well, and we shortly found ourselves at a Tex-Mex restaurant (not exactly authentic Belgian fair, but it was delicious nonetheless). After dinner, we continued to wanted the center and found several interesting location, including a kabap stand (great or what?!), to visit. But it was not too long before we found our way back to the shelter of the hostel (further persuaded by the rain, of course). All in all, a very interesting day, and well worth the brief emotional toll that an unplanned trip pose.