School has ended, kids! Here comes summer, the season of extreme fun and, in this case, traveling (also/all so funnnnn)! So, let’s start summer off with: BELGIUM!!!
To break our flight to Thshnh, Zwhpu (I don’t want to uncover the next post, but if you want to try to decipher Thshnh, Zwhpu, here is a clue: Caesar’s 7), we decided to go to Belgium, and see our old childhood friends, Stan, Kamiel and Josien in Antwerp. They were our friends since I was in Pre-K, and ever since we have been wanting to meet up.
When we flew into Brussels Airport, we were greeted by Guy, our friends’ dad. It was an amazing reunion; we were all talking and laughing and discussing and walking and jumping and who knows what else! We went to the car, and, with happy faces, we began on our long 1.5hr car trip to our friends in Antwerpen. Most of us fell asleep, but that ain’t me!
When we got out of the car, we ran to the door, opened it, and finally saw the faces of our old friends. Josien, Kamiel, Stan, and their mom Kathleen, were finally right in front of us! Finally, we see the friends we haven’t seen for like 3 years! We hugged and talked. It was kind of awkward because: Josien had completely forgotten English, Kamiel knew only a few words, and Stan was still kind of ok, but there were still gaps in the memory. Stan was usually the person talking for Kamiel and Josien.
Stan and Kamiel led Evan and I up to our (and their) room. The kid boys are sleeping together! We also found out that they have a humongous collection of Pokemon cards, which Evan and I started collecting a month or so ago. They had really good cards! Stan told us that he had a PS and that we could play it later.
We went back downstairs and met their dog, Panzer. He is a big white German Shepherd, and he’s SO SOFT! We played around with him for a little while, ate breakfast, and played with Panzer some more. We left Panzer and played a little bit of soccer. Stan and Kamiel are both on soccer teams and are both very good (definitely better than me!). Stan and Kamiel also showed us their chickens. There were somewhere around 5! It IS nice to have chickens because you don’t have to spend money on eggs and (sometimes) chicken meat. There were no eggs, though.
After playing around a little more, all of us drove to the center of Antwerpen. The first place that had some sightseeing significance was this big square in which there was a fountain with a statue of a man throwing a hand. Kathleen told me and Evan that there is a legend that this statue came from. She told us it goes like this:
Druon Antigoon was a giant who lived in Antwerp. Guarding a bridge on the river, he took money from the people crossing. If a person didn’t pay him, he would chop off the person’s hand and throw it into the river. Eventually, Antigoon was killed by a Roman soldier named Brabo, who cut off the giant’s hand and threw it into the river. According to folklore, this legend is the origin of the name Antwerp/Antwerpen: it comes from Dutch hand werpen, which means hand throw. (with some help from Wikipedia, BUT no plagiarizing.)
That legend was pretty interesting, and so knowing that we moved on to the next place: It was a big church that, though it was getting renovated, it was still very beautiful. The spire rose up so high!
We went inside, and it was so beautiful. There was a golden statue in the front (like in almost all famous and beautiful churches). Also, what was interesting was that most of the church was closed off to people that prayed. Only people with that intention could go inside, but you’re not allowed to take photos while in that zone. It was very quiet and peaceful, and the stained glass windows were softly letting in rainbow-colored light. We stood in silence for a little, then came back out into the loud world.
We came to a place to sit down for a little, then went to the best chocolate place in my LIFE. It was called Chocolate Line, and I swear that after their chocolate, all other chocolate seemed WAY down on the Chocolate Chart. (I just made it up but who cares?) They had EVERYTHING, PLUS chocolate statues! It was aMAzing! Our friends said the best thing was the (T forgot the name) thing that was made by adding a marshmallow to Belgian chocolate. We ate as many as we could get our hands on, but sadly, I ate 1 and a half.
Finally, it was time for dinner. We went to a delicious place and ate Belgian fries. Did you know Belgium was where fries were invented? Well, now you know.
We walked around the harbor and went to the top of a tall building which had an observation deck. You could see the whole of Antwerpen from there! It was very beautiful.
Finally, it was time to go back to the house. When we came back, we went to go for some ice cream, and played a little bit on the playground. We talked a little bit more about life, and then we went home, played Fortnite for the first time in my life, and went to sleep.
We woke up the next day knowing that we had to leave. We had breakfast, played with Panzer, checked out the Pokemon cards some more and finally, we had to pack up our stuff. When all of us were walking out, Kamiel suddenly ran upstairs and, when he came back down, he had all the good cards (EX, M-EX, and GX) in his hand. He gave them to us, and astonished and happy, we left for Antwerpen together for one last look around the city.
Our main stop was the train station. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city and maybe even in the world! When you go inside, it is GINORMOUS. There are train tracks on both sides, and a place where you can walk where there are no trains. The ceiling is very tall and… basically, summed up, it is beautiful. We took a few pictures, and came out of the station. We walked the zoo, took a few pictures with the trademark gorilla and the ferris wheel, and went back to the car. It was finally time to say goodbye.
We hugged and cried and laughed and tried to enjoy the last moments together as much as we could. Me and Stan exchanged phone numbers, so we could keep in touch, and then my family and Guy (Stan’s dad) got in the car and left for Brussels.
We came to Brussels at around lunchtime, said goodbye to Guy, and settled in to our apartment. We immediately left for all the main touristy spots.
First, we went to the main square. It was a beautiful place. There was performers and a crowd of people who were doing the same thing as the performers in Malaga, but the most interesting thing was the buildings around the square. They were really cool. One was a palace, though of what I’m not sure.
Then, we moved on to this sculpture named Manneken Pis. It is, basically, a fountain of a naked boy peeing out water. To get there, we had to go through a lot of narrow streets with a lot of people. It was still nice, but very crowded. When we got there, we almost missed it. It was very small! A lot of people were crowded around it, and to be fair, I don’t blame them. There was a lot of detail in that sculpture, and that fact that HE IS ACTUALLY PEEING OUT WATER is crazy to me. So, WOW out of 10!
After that day of action, we went to eat dinner, and ended our day happily.
When we woke up, we knew our flight was soon, so we rushed on our clothes and went to the last place we wanted to see: the royal palace. We walked up this staircase, then a sloping road, then a lot of things, and then we finally got there. It was really beautiful, and very big! I wonder how would it be like to live there?
We walked back home, got together our stuff, and went to the airport. I hope that we come back and see our friends and these amazing things again!
