A pilgrimage to Brussels
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Setting off from Keith at half past six in the evening, the train took us through to Inverness. Here, as holders of Scotrail first-class sleeper tickets, we went to the station hotel, now called the Royal Highlander, where we were entitled to complimentary tea or coffee.
This hotel still has the old fashioned charm and decadent comfort of the big old railway hotels. Suitably refreshed we then strolled onto the platform where the long Caledonian Sleeper train was waiting. The attendant of our coach showed us to our cabins, which being first-class was two cabins with connecting door. We dumped our bags and went through to the lounge car.
This is a great experience. There are comfortable seats at tables, and as the train cruised away to Perth, we sat there with glasses of wine and nibbles (you can have a full meal, and the prices are surprisingly low) and chatting to other travellers – just like an Agatha Christie set. Eventually we retired for the night.
Sleep is fitful, of course, with all the train noise and occasional thumps and bangs. Then, in the morning, we went back down to the Lounge Car for our hot breakfast. It is a different world as our Scottish train whooshed through the commuter stations with serried ranks of grim faced folk lining the platforms, four deep. We sat there with an extra pot of tea, feeling superior.
At Euston, we got out and strolled down the platform and across the concourse which was thronged with rushing workers, zombies, anxious, staring, while we went over to the executive lounge to have more tea and biscuits, fruit, and so on, and where you can have a shower too all in with your ticket.
When things quietened down, we strolled down to St Pancras station, which is five minutes down the road. Here we checked in for the Eurostar to Brussels train, and through into the waiting area. Personally, I think that St Pancras has become a shopping centre with trains added on, and the prices are eye watering to us from Keith.
However, our train was announced and we went up the ramp to enter our coach. Again an attendant made sure that we were in the right seat and settled us in. Plenty of room, comfortable seats. The train was packed – all 16 coaches! Eurostar is very popular indeed. We were travelling Standard Premier, which is between standard and first class. We were served a meal at our seats, with endless wine and drinks, so that we didn’t even notice the tunnel. In just 80 minutes we were pulling into Brussels Midi (which means Brussels South).
The whole journey was a pleasant experience – what a contrast to airline travel. I carried a penknife in my pocket, never had to strip off boots or belt or jacket, and carried a bottle of water – no problem.
Now it was time to come down to earth with a bump. Midi station is built at roof top level, with the buildings down at ground level. We couldn’t find the way to the taxis – maybe we missed a sign somewhere – but spotting taxi signs led us across to the other side and back round under a wide bridge the tracks, where trams have a stop. One side of the whole passage was fenced off and lined completely with blankets and bedding of the homeless. There was also a taxi rank so we got one to our hotel, the "Zoom Hotel".
This is new, just off one of the main streets, not far from the station. I would say that it is unique and full of character. The entrance is unassuming, but once inside you are confronted by shelves and shelves of old cameras (hence the name "Zoom") the overall colour scheme seems to be black and white.
The rooms are spread over a few adjacent parts of buildings, so that you are not in a typical hotel environment, which is good, as it is very quiet. For example, there was only one other room on our landing. The rooms are full of character too, furnished to a high quality and very comfortable. Breakfast is a buffet of huge proportions and variety, but nothing cooked. After a good night’s sleep we went out to explore.
The first stop was the Grand Place, always popular with tourists. Very striking historic buildings all round the square, and lots of cafes and restaurants (cheaper if you go a little way away from the Place) and then the wonderful Cathedrals and so many churches to see. Then we decided to go via the massive Courts of Justice to the huge Royal Palace. Consternation! The traffic was not moving, and we saw that the wide boulevard was blocked by the police.
Public transport officials were getting folk off the trams which were then running back the way they came, and cars were being shunted down side streets. We pedestrians were allowed to go through though, so on we went. Eventually a cavalcade of police motor bikes with lights flashing, several limousines, and more motor bike police, swept past and off up a side street. The traffic cops on duty then blew whistles and directed people around, but not any vehicles.
Shortly after that the cavalcade swept past again, then more whistles and waving and traffic resumed. We asked what it was all about. The king and queen of Spain were visiting the Belgian royal family. The official said that this seems to happen every day with some VIP or the other coming through, and he blamed it on the European Union attracting politicians, nobility and royalty.
There is no doubt that the EU has created tens of thousands of jobs in Brussels, and some undesirable elements too. There seemed to be rather a lot of beggars on the streets, too, and one local told me that a newspaper had carried out an investigation and reckoned there were 10,000 eastern European immigrants in Brussels alone.
From here we went down via a shop to buy some postcards, but were told that stamps are only available from a book shop. This seemed implausible but we carried on, passing the ornate Museum of Musical Instruments, with "Old England" moulded onto its fascia in large letters. There are a great many interesting museums in Brussels, including the Museum of the Comic Strip – these are very popular in Belgium.
Belgium is a relatively young country. Just a 15 minute or so bus run from the Midi station is the battlefield of Waterloo. It was here, on the 18th of June 1815 that Napoleon was finally defeated. One of the results of this was a re-drawing of Europe, including giving Belgium its independence from the Netherlands – but the Dutch didn’t agree, so it took a war of independence for the Belgians to finally win their freedom on the 21st of July 1830. The 21st of July is national Independence Day.
Continuing our walk, we passed the square which has a striking large memorial to the heroes of Belgium who died in this war. Then there is the solid Royal Mint building, and then a large bookshop. Still unsure we went in and asked the young lady behind the cash desk if we could buy postage stamps here – yes, of course, was the reply. We continued along the Rue Neuve, a wide pedestrianised shopping street, with all the big names.
It is here, half way along that an old church sits a little back from the main thoroughfare. You could easily miss it. In front of it was a waffle van doing a brisk trade in hot fresh waffles, a four man band of buskers, and some eastern European ladies selling plastic toys from a blanket on the pavement. This is Notre Dame du Finistere. When you enter, the inside seems larger than the outside. It is a lovely church, bright and welcoming – but it has one special side to it.
Running down the whole of the right hand side is another chapel with the statue of Our Lady of Aberdeen. This wooden statue of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus is believed to have been made in or nearby Aberdeen some time around 1490/1500. When the Reformation came, statues were destroyed or melted down. This one escaped. It was kept in hiding until 1625 when it became too dangerous to have it.
Isobella, daughter of the King of Spain (Spain owned the Low Countries at that time) and ruler of the territory, was contacted and she sent a Spanish ship to Aberdeen and it was presented to her. Isabella was at war with the Dutch. When the statue arrived, she won a great victory, so they renamed the statue ‘Notre dame du bon Succes’, which it is still called today.
It is amazing to see this Scottish statue up on its niche, unprotected from the centuries of heat or cold, and still held in great reverence by the Belgians. There are copies of the statue in many churches all over the North-east of Scotland, but it would be good to have the original back. There is little chance of that. The Belgians are very attached to it.
After the peace of the church, it was back outside into the bustle of the shopping, and the crowds to find somewhere to eat. In an arcade running off the Rue Neuve we found a small café with many Belgian specialities, chocolate, beer, biscuits and even Du Vrai Sirop de Liège. This is a fruit spread, one of the many regional specialities. You can eat well in Brussels for a reasonable cost.
As I said at the start, Belgium can be a little odd; roughly half speak French, the others Flemish, while Brussels is a separate region where they speak both – or more likely English, so language is not a problem anywhere. Brussels is a good base to visit other parts of the country, like picturesque Bruges or Ghent (Flemish) or Liège (French). Being a small country, a short train ride will get you to Holland or Luxembourg or Germany, and their train fares are significantly cheaper than here – about a third of our fares!
More information can be found at www.visitbrussels.be. Their tourist offices can organise guided tours, provide yellow hire bikes (the country is mostly flat so cycling is easy) or even "greeters"! These are local folk who will show you around, take you into their homes and so on, see www.brusselsgreeters.be We enjoyed our short break in Brussels, and came back to Keith via the same calm, relaxed, railway journey. For details of the Caledonian Sleeper and special offer fares see www.scotrail.co.uk/caledonian Fares start from £69.10 for a seat in the coach allocated to this, up to £458 for the top of the range 1st class service, individual cabin, with total flexibility. The service changes hands under the UK’s franchise system in April and will be run by Serco then, with new carriages planned to arrive in a few years time. Sleepers started in the UK in 1873, so it is good that this tradition is continuing.
For the Eurostar services see www.eurostar.com If you book in advance fares start at £69 return London to Brussels, in standard class. The hotel in Brussels can be found at www.zoomhotel.be there is an English language option on the web site. It has exclusivity, and is unique.
Belgium – give it a go!
