Traveling is just not glamorous.
Much to my surprise, TAP Airlines (Transportes Aereos de Portugal) moved us to the exit row giving us enough room to stretch our legs. We were greeted by an airline hostess who moved our carry-ons to the spot she saved for us. The obvious pros were leg room and even if the person ahead of us leaned back, we wouldn't notice. I felt like a VIP as she made sure we were comfortable.
The cons were that we only had a porthole to look out, and that was not visible from where we sat. At the flight was full, they encouraged us to check our bags at the gate.
We were surprised our plane stopped in the middle of the tarmac at a designated parking spot. Both the front and back doors opened, making disembarking quick. Then we sat and waited in the pre-dawn hours crammed into cattle cars waiting to be brought to the terminal. Where we waited again until they opened the doors.
Border control was easy, and even yielded a rare stamp in our passports.
Then we waited at the gate for our next flight, which involved another cattle car experience. Fortunately we grabbed a tea from a booth while we waited as there was no "free" food during the flight.
This time we were the row behind the exit row. I was disappointed the person in front of me with more than ample legroom decided he had to lean back into my knees. The plane left 30 minutes late, but we were done with the part of the trip where we had to worry about making connections.
Visiting Belgium is second nature to me. I know how the transportation system works. I asked Don to download the SNCB app so we could both buy train tickets. SNCB is launching a program where for three euros a month (will go up to six), or flat rate of 48 euros a year, you save at least 40% on all off-peak tickets, and cap at 14 euros a ride. That was a huge savings! The only trouble was we had to each download the app and buy our own tickets. And show our own tickets each time the conductor came through. I hope they fix the app so you can have multiple ones on each order.
Antwerp is only 30 minutes from the Brussels airport. Trains leave twice an hour. We had our first realization that life is more chill in Belgium than it is in New Jersey when the train conductor waited for us before pulling out of the station. It wasn't our train, but the kindness was still appreciated.
We dropped off our bags while he cleaned. Came back a few hours later to freshen up before dinner. Our host recommended a few Belgian restaurants. Using Google I narrowed it down to De Arme Duivel, which was full. They recommended their sister restaurant, De Mezzanine, which was around the corner. It was delicious! My second best Belgian food meal of the trip.
We wandered around Antwerp while it was still daylight. My notes say "lots of walking," which means something since each day we walked upwards of 25,000 steps. That day we also climbed 22 flights of stairs. We climbed to the top of the MAS (Museum ann de Stroom) building, a museum with a rooftop view that is free to enjoy. We ran out of time to visit the inside. We timed our climb to coincide with sunset. As I had been to Antwerp in April (though I did not climb to the top of the MAS), the directions made sense. The MAS is ten floors high. All but the top floor has escalators, though you have to work your way around the building as you take them. The escalator from the 8th to the 9th floor was broken. There was a part of me willing to give up, but I pressed on to enjoy the sunset.
I was so busy enjoying this vacation, I rarely paused to take notes about how we spent our days. We took three walking tours, and I took extensive notes during each one. I also took over 1,400 pictures on my phone. Belgium is very photogenic, especially this time of year.
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