Day 5 - Brussels

Today is the day we move from Amsterdam to Brussels. We boarded a train (very European) and headed out. We got into the first car that had the smallest line. It was kind of weird that there weren't a lot of people in our car but, hey - whatever! We were able to stow our suitcases up on the rack so we weren't blocking the aisle, which was something that had concerned us. The trip was about 2 1/2 hours.
This was the kind of train we took.

When the conductor came through about 30 minutes into the ride we found out why the car was so empty. We were in first class. Doh! Well, we didn't want to move so we paid the upcharge. The conductor, very conveniently, had a credit card machine so that we didn't have to do anything but had him the credit card. I think it was like 30 additional Euros. A bargain! We had the whole car to ourselves.
Another of my windmills. Not sure which town this is.

We passed through so many towns. The scenery was gorgeous. Pardon the reflection of the train window in the pictures that follow.
There was a LOT of farmland between towns. There would be acres and acres of land and then this lone house right in the middle. The neighbors would be a mile away. I bet it gets pretty dark out here at night.
I think every village in Europe is required to have a magnificent church that is at least 200 years old. This looks like it could be Aalsmeer. That was the town where they grew all the flowers.
This actually looks like a town. There are multiple houses around the one that's by the train. Now, why would you want a house next to the railroad tracks?
John just chillin' and reading his iPad. That was his life saver for the entire trip. Sitting in the airport, sitting on the plane, sitting on the train...He always had something to keep him entertained.
I'm not sure where we are here. I know that we passed through Haarlem and I thought, wow! this is gorgeous.
An ex-windmill.
I think here we are pulling into Delft. Ahh, Delft. I wish we'd known how fabulous you were going to be so we could have arranged to spend more time with you.
Delft.
Everything's under construction. Sheesh! Still, pretty nice.
Most of the train ride, the scenery looked like this. Lot's of farmland. We saw sheep and cows.
Our room at the Sofitel in Brussels.

Once we got into Brussels, we took a cab to the hotel. We stayed at the Sofitel Brussels Louise. It was very nice. As you can see by the decor, the hotel was very modern. It doesn't look like much from the street. In fact, when we pulled up in the cab, the doormen came out of no where to get our bags and I didn't see the hotel right away. It was just a doorway in a line of buildings. BUT once you went inside, wow! It was nice.
View of the courtyard from our room.

So this was kind of weird. The hotel had these pods out in the garden. I think that they were for people to go and sit in and enjoy the patio even if the weather was not so nice. I wanted to go have a drink out there. John thought they were lame.

Our hotel was located in the shopping district. We were right next to the Brussels version of the Galleria. In fact, that's what it was called. All the famous design houses had stores along Louise Avenue. There was Gucci, Louis Vitton, blah blah blah.. I'm not much of a shopper.

When we got to Brussels we found it to be very different from Amsterdam. Brussels was a lot more cosmopolitan - at least the area we were staying was. There was a bit of a language barrier. Belgium is 1/2 Dutch (Flanders) and 1/2 French. Brussels is kind of the meeting in the middle. All the signs are in both languages. At first I found it a little off-putting but by the next day, it was all good.