Tuesday was a rotten travel day.
For some reason (which I'm sure I could research, but have not), the Belgians have decided that every Tuesday is strike day for the train system. I got lucky in that Tuesday, April 1 was strike day at the airports. Though I left on April 1, I did not land in Belgium until April 2 the day after strike day.
I find strikes in Europe amusing at best, yet also annoying. Those following local news know all about them and make other plans. Those not in the know (i.e., tourists) are inconvenienced. Enough inconveniences and we stop coming back.
Don and I still remember such a strike in Paris about 30 years ago. Our train stopped mere meters from the train station because of un greve. We could see the station, but we were not allowed to get off of the train. Finally we followed others and did jump off the train, luggage and all. A few years earlier I had been in Paris with my then-boyfriend and a couple of friends. We took a taxi back to the hotel. In my rose colored view of that trip, I don't remember the cost. As none of us had a credit card, we must have pooled our francs to pay for the journey -- one which took us past all the major sights of the city, hence I suspect it was not the most efficient path.
This week's one-day strike meant I could not use my already paid for tickets to go to Amsterdam to go to the already paid for ticket to the Anne Frank House. Don is working with the credit card company to dispute the charge. It would be nice if the train company would automatically issue a refund, or if I could simply walk into a train station to get a refund, but that's not how it works. There is an online form, but in order to use that I need an IBAN (International Bank Account Number) to complete the form. There is no option to say: put it back on my credit card. The Anne Frank ticket I asked to donate to a tourist who showed up without one.
The rest of the day was spent trying to salvage the day. I went to an archaeology museum, and to see the cathedral's treasures (minus the most famous one someone tried to steal last year and is now kept under lock and key). The weather was beautiful -- a rarity in Belgium.
Back to yesterday.
I woke up with a migraine and went back to sleep for a couple of hours.
No, that wasn't what made the day good.
I regrouped my plans and took a train to Antwerp. I thought I must have gone to Antwerp at some point, but clearly I didn't as nothing looked familiar. It looked like it was described in a list of 15 things to do in Antwerp, but not familiar as Liege did the moment I walked past the school I attended, and the bus stop I used daily.
It was another blue sky day. The gold statues on the tops of the Guild Houses absolutely sparkled. I saw most everything on the list, and made plans to return with Don to see the rest later this year. Antwerp is very bike-friendly, and walkable. I'm not sure it is a city I would want to live in because of all of the tourists, but with the train station featuring 24 tracks, it is a place I could see staying in for an extended period of time as I explored other places. I think this is where Don and I will stay the next time we visit Belgium.
The day was good because I realized I do enjoy traveling. I enjoy seeing new places and meeting new people. I felt reconnected to something I thought I lost inside me.