Day Three

Brussels to Rotterdam

Have to change trains in Brussel Gare Midi at half past six in the morning. The advantage is that there is no queue at the international ticket counter. By nine I am in Rotterdam. After dropping the bag at the Hotel I return to Central Station to get some coffee. During its consumption I decide that I am not quite up to walking around yet and take a train to Amsterdam instead.

During a quick stop at Schiphol airport I congratulate myself for not taking a plane. Airport personell is everywhere dispatching leaflets and transparent plastic bags to passengers. This new regulation, it appears, is not only stupid but also costly. For celebration I buy half a litre of water and smuggle it onboard the train.

Quick stroll through Amsterdam. After leaving behind the huge construction site that currently replaces the main thoroughfare I end up in the red light district with frightening certainty. Those windows with scandly clad woman inside feel strange enough. But finding school classes with a teacher explaining everything nearby is a bit beyond me. 'Well, then, here's the hokers and over there you'll find pot. Off you go.' Education surely has changed in recent years.

Rotterdam is entirely different. The medival city center was taken care of by the German Luftwaffe in 1940. Later, it suffered the same fate as many German cities: It was rebuild in the architecture of the fifties and sixties. Currently, there are efforts to turn the windy and bleak center into a more interesting place using fancy modern architecture. This may prove successfull but for the time being, the city is yet another major construction site.

I have to walk all the way through downtown to reach the immigration office. The reason for this is not really apparent, but seamen going on board in Rotterdam have to do this as well. The police make a copy of my passport, file it away, and that's it. I don't even get a stamp which would have made the two-hour trip worth while.

In the evening yet another appointment for diner. Need to keep working on this pan-European network of potential diner company.