19th to 22nd of February, 2022.
As soon as I put my backpack on the ground, a guy stops his car. He is not going to Brussels though, only half away. Maybe I shouldn’t have accepted his lift? I mean, it is only one hour to Brussels, and it is the capital, I probably could get some one going directly there. Anyway, he is nice, and he used to hitchhike before but, he drops me on the road. I am not sure if it is the highway or not, I am slightly in the exit, but the cars are passing so fast and I am worried about the police.
So when a car stops, I don’t even ask where it is going, I just grab my backpacks and go. It is a nice and shy lady, a nurse, and she is going to the airport. What? Oh, yeah, I only figured that after I was already inside the car. She is going to get a cat, a Sphinx, who is flying from Spain. She is a nurse but is planing to start a breeding profession on the side. I few so sorry for her when she tells me how she does not have time for anything. But really, nothing! She has kids and a husband, cats, and she works a lot. I don’t know how people can live like that. After looking for the entrance of the airport for quite some time, we say goodbye in the garage. She goes to get her cat and I walk towards the exit of parking to look for a lift to the city.
A family stops their car. Azra, Ugur and Eminé have just dropped their son (and brother) at the airport. His destination: Milan, Italy. They have Turkish origins but are living in Belgium for three generations already. At first, I tell them to take me down town, but they ask me if I have and address, and I say yes, so they decide to drive me all the way to my CS hosts, which is incredibly nice of them. They also have a cat, which is in the car with us.
My hosts tell me they will be home all day, so I don’t worry about going there. They live far from the city centre, about one hour walking, so going there directly it means I will not explore Brussels today. Which is a shame because the weather is great! But it is also fine because I have two more days, right? Right?
When I arrive at the building, as soon as I ring the bell, somebody busy me in. I believe it is my host. Once inside, though, I realize I don’t know which floor / door it is. On the intercom outside there are only names, not apartments numbers or floors. I climb upstairs though, for some reason thinking I would be able to find their apartment. That is just so stupid! I could simply ask on the first floor, right? Where, usually, the trustee (is this a real word?) lives. It is just that, I don’t want to give any trouble to my hosts. They have just moved in, people might say they are already receiving friends… Of course it sounds stupid now, but at the time I thought about that.
Anyway, the lady with whom I talk is actually very nice and she tells me where they live. But they are not at home. I wait for a while. I read The Portrait of Dorian Gray for a while. But then I realize I will need to pee soon, so better go for a walk in the neighbourhood. I pass a note under their door because I will leave The Hulk here, and take my way downstairs. But who I meet entering the building? Vadim! One of my hosts. He was out just for a short time. So we got back to the apartment. And this time I get in. Laugh.
Their apartment is just wonderful. And it is huge! It is like a labyrinth! But it is gorgeous! There is a lovely light on their living room, coming from all the big and lovely windows! Lovely colors also, all over the place. And many plants give a great touch!
I get to know Hannah later on, when she arrives from work. I like them both. And I really feel super comfortable and at home in their apartment. Every night when I am in bed, I have this great feeling of being at home. I don’t know how to explain. But I sleep very well and very peacefully.
Next day I go to the Old Town. I am nervous to take the trams because Vadim tells about the time he was caught without a ticket and had to pay a 200 Euro fee! I keep looking carefully at every stop but nobody comes. I manage to get to the old town but they have no free maps in the Tourist Info Office! This is just absurd! So I walk around by myself but it is not that easy to find the nice places. I do find the Cathedral though! And it is entrance free! What a beautiful place! And empty, almost nobody there.
By the opposite, there are plenty of tourists on the streets and for some reasons that makes me very uncomfortable to take any photographs. I just don’t feel like it.
The weather is really bad, cold and rainy so I decide to go back home and make a better plan for tomorrow. Going back by tram, I am super apprehensive again and I even come off a few stops before because I saw what I though it was a guard about to get in. I will never know.
We hang around the house most of the time. I make empanadas for us. Gluten free! The dough does not turn out very good, or at least who I really like it, but they were nice. Hanna and Vadim like them!
Hannah kindly offers to come with me to town, on my second day, but later on we figure she has to go to work. Bummer! After she leaves to work, I spend a long time deciding if I should go to the city centre again. The weather it is not so good again and it could turn worse; I am not sure if I want all the stress about the guards again; I don’t have a map of where to go; And I am not sure if I really want to go through some many “troubles” just to visit another capital. After a lot of thinking, I decide to stay and work on my stuff.
Taking the tram to go outside of Brussels, where I can hitchhike, it is scary but I do it. The longest 30 minutes of my life! I get at a gas station and the weather is not so great.