Day 66 - Beach Bums

Today we went to the North Sea. Being the North Sea, it is COLD. OK, so it's less cold than the rivers I splashed in on the Camino, but still pretty chilly. I might have gone in if there hadn't been a brisk breeze, but HS, B, and I settled for just wetting our feet. The boys didn't even come near the water.

The beach itself is very pretty and quite clean considering how many people use it. There is a pier where brave (or foolish) souls can try bungee jumping. I was not even tempted. The platform wasn't nearly high enough, and besides, I'm holding out for South Africa where one can dive off a bridge into a 1200 foot ravine. Really, if you're going to do something, do it right!

Above the beach is a boardwalk with the standard stalls of arcade games and overpriced junk food. Soft ice-cream is the specialty. I don't remember if "soft" is spelled differently, but ice cream is spelled "ijs" and pronounced "ice". We each had a cone, and it certainly lived up to its reputation.

The whole experience is like a slightly European-feeling Coney Island. I'm not sure quite what makes it distinct from Americzn beaches - all the elements are there - sand, surf, boardwalk, families, etc but it feels slightly different. Perhaps it is more relaxed. There is not the frenetic energy that you get at Coney. People at both places are relaxing and having fun, but at the North Sea the fun is had at a more leisurly pace...That and in fine weather the women are often topless. Cz was very sad that today was cloudy.

We went back the housebout fairly early for a late lunch of chili a la B. As with everything we scarfed down in Germany/ Netherlands, it was delicious. We needed to eat early, because everyone except D was leaving to their various cities of work. We hitched a ride with M, as he drives through Belgium on his way home, and it's a country neither of us has ever been to.

We were dropped in Brussels at 7PM on a Sunday with no map, no clue where in the city we were, and nowhere to sleep. This was my choice. This generally freaks Cz out - even more so because the hour and the Sunday meant that the tourist office would be closed - but he stayed admirably calm. I popped into a video store and got directions to the hotel district. On the way we met a man with a map. I stopped him to just ask where he had gotten it, but rather than trying to direct us, simply offered us his spare. Map in hand, we were well on our way to a bed. We found a hotel that looked posh enough to expect courtesy, but no so posh as to be intimidating. I went up to the desk, complimented the place, and asked for directions to a youth hostel. The friendly concierge showed me where on the map to go (only a few blocks), and off we went. The hostel was full, but the upper floors were a budget hotel for only a few Euro more. We have decided to make this our anniversary treat, and booked two nights.

As it was too late really to go sightseeing, we decided to catch up on the blog, which was a whopping 12 days behind. On the way we passed a movie theatre showing The Simpsons Movie. In English. With French and Flanders subtitles. Double the hilarity, though we have no idea what Santa's Little Helper said to Bart (anyone care to send us the translation?). Oddly, movie popcorn is one thing I have really been missing on this trip. I'm not such a big movie buff, but I like the ritual of popcorn, soda, and comfy seats in a dark theatre. Tonight we got a fix of stupid American culture - granted it is the Simpsons and it makes fun of everything, especially Americans. Perhaps not the most cultural traveller-ish thing to do, but fun nonetheless.

The internet cafe was 24 hour, so we still even caught up on some blogging to boot!