The journey getting to day three has been an incredible one. We began the trip with news of snow in Dublin, and our flight was canceled. Don’t feel too bad for us though, because with the help of some wonderful people, we landed a second flight to Warsaw, Poland instead. However, we lost two travelers in our endeavor due to an illness (We miss you Richie and Mr. Van Pelt!)
We landed in Warsaw after a very smooth and pleasurable 8 hour flight. The lay over from Warsaw to Brussels was supposed to be a simple four hours. However, after boarding and waiting for an hour for take off, the snow in Brussels was deemed unsafe and our flight was canceled. Our day two plans had been foiled! We took this delay in stride though. Tired and smelly as we were, the laughter was still rich, and the hope of a trip was still in the air. With a hotel and dinner provided to us by the airline, we awoke bright and early to make the next flight to Brussels on the morning of Day 3. A quick and delicious breakfast from Paul and we were ready and praying for a flight to get us to our first country!
Our bad luck had run out and we FINALLY got a working flight to Brussels. The flight was short and smooth, luckily landing safely in Brussels at 9:30am (3:30am EST). Brussels took our hearts by surprise when we arrived in the airport. With baggage claimed and a taxi bus awaiting us, we entered into a world that took us back in time. The Grand Place in Brussels was just breath taking with its Gothic buildings and cobble stone streets.
We have since taken a train to Ipers, Belgium, and checked into the Hotel Ambrosia where we will be spending the next two nights. We’ve visited the astounding Flanders Field Museum and enjoyed a rather interesting lunch at Old Tom’s Tea Room. We have plans to visit the Menin Gate tonight and enjoy what promises to be a delicious Belgian dinner.
All in all we have grown a bond as travelers and as friends. Nothing can stop our journey through the sights we have planned to see. As ever, the excitement is high and the sights are enlightening. So far, so fun, snow and all!
Ps. With a few hours to kill in between events, we’ve sampled delicious Belgian Chocolate and are left with only one question: How can we get this in the U.S?
Until tomorrow,
–The GCU Traveling Crew
Here are some photos of our journey so far! Enjoy!
