Hello Travelers!
Monday, May 23rd
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| Amsterdam Canal |
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| Water Taxis Near Centraal |
Loren: Dina and I got up early with the help of an alarm clock rented from the front desk at the StayOkay. 8 Euro deposit, fully refundable. We had breakfast and took a tram to Centraal Station. Once there, we bought tickets, which was very easy this time, and stashed the bags in a locker ( 7 Euro!). We had Croissants and coffee at a nice little cafe near the station. Here's a little insight about train station wheelchair ramps: We had asked the clerk at the StayOkay to call the station the night before to secure a ramp at the siding. They told him we should just go 2 hours early and arrange it. In my opinion, don't bother going so early. After travelling around for a week on various trains, we found out the best way was to go to the station about 30 minutes before the train leaves and tell the ticket clerk that you reserved a ramp. The clerk will complain that he wasn't told. If you call the day before like some guide books recommend, you will be told that no one had informed them. So, same result either way. Also, don't count on a ramp waiting on the other end. Especially if you are travelling between countries.
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| No Caption Needed |
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| Antwerp Station |
When we got to Antwerp station, there was no ramp waiting. I muscled Dina's scooter off of the train since I did not want her going on without me.
We missed our connection to Brugge and had to wait an hour for the next train. No big deal since
the station at Antwerp is a fascinating old Baroque
building and the hour flew by. We got on the train and continued on to Brugge. Since we had the scooter the conductor had us sit in First Class which was almost empty. In fact the entire train was nearly empty.
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| The Courtyard of Boterhuis |
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| Brugge Skyline |
We ended up talking to the conductor for most of the trip and she gave us some interesting back-story about Belgian people, customs, and prejudices. A ramp
was waiting in Brugge. Since our hotel was near the station and it was a beautiful day, we decided to walk. The hotel was named Boterhuis (Butter house) It was a great little privately owned inn with a nice big accessible room and bath. It was run by a mother and her daughter. I would give it an A or A plus for accessibility, comfort, cleanliness, and ambiance. It was a 3 minute walk to the Town Square. Dina took a nap and I walked around a little and had a beer at a little pub by a canal.
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| Brugge Town Square |
Very relaxing.
