Speaking French in Bruxelles and Geneve

Brussels

Aside from from an army rucksack, Chris brought nothing else with him to Europe with the exception of the clothes on his back and the shoes on his feet. The bottomless rucksack also managed to hold my winter coat, mittens, tights and a pair of winter riding boots. With these few things I converted my hot-weather Liberian clothing into a Brussels ready outfit. Brussels clocked in at the thermostat at 11 C/ 50 F. While this is not exactly freezing, the wind and the rain made the climate less than friendly.

That and French. I just don't speak French. The people in Brussels do, as well as Dutch. And while Dutch and German (which I do understand to some degree) can be similar, the French was cornering me at every turn.

Along the less than friendly lines, Chris and I quickly learned the value of the Euro versus the dollar. It didn't take a struggling economy to wake us up to the fact that a freelance artist and a humanitarian volunteer were traveling together. With that in mind, I had stocked up on some tea bags and hot chocolate. Store some tea bags with you before you head out for a day of sightseeing. At your restaurant/cafe of choice, ask for a glass of hot water (they won't deny you. It's water!), dunk, mix and sip. You just saved yourself 3 Euros (4 USD)! It worked for us, it'll work for you.

In addition to that, we mastered the art of the camera timer.

Thought the first time, is not always accurate...



Better on the second try... .



Otherwise, when you travel as a couple, you just end up taking alot of photos each other.



Chris so owns this place.



It is true that Brussels has Seattle-like weather (Or Seattle has Brussels-like weather. Whatever). Rain, mist, wind came at every corner and it rushed us into at least one tourist trap of a restaurant sitting on La Grand Place. From a distance between the falling rain, Chris' freezing cold and the chill that was setting into my skin, the warm fire snared us and we ended up at La Blanche Rose. I had Chicken Waterzooi and Chris had a lovely beef stew. I had better Chicken Waterzooi at our hotel restaurant and Chris had to pay extra to substitute his pomme frites for veggies. Had we known this we would've eaten the pommes frites. Then. We asked for water. We knew our wallets would be drained when they set that beautiful glass bottle on the table. Four Euros each. For. Water. Au revoir, La Blanche Rose. And never again.



Geneva

One of the best benefits of having been on the Africa Mercy is meeting people from all over the world. That means, you have reasons to visit many places all the around the world! In an attempt to visit my friend Fritz, who lives in western Switzerland, we found it was cheaper to fly into Geneva, stay one night and then take a four hour train ride, than to fly into Zurich and take a train. Thank you, EasyJet.

We stayed at a wonderful, clean, English-speaking hostel in Geneva right next to the train station. Speaking of the train station, Gare du Cornavin is the same as Geneva Central. When one arrives at the station, there is a friendly sign that reads 'Geneva Central'. Unhelpful.

Now back to the wonderful hostel. Clean, affordable, and centrally located, City Hostel is not your typical youth hostel. Boasting not only youth, but couples, families and elderlies, City Hostel is a repeat especially since they had a cappucino vending machine where you can get free hot water 24/7.



Geneva was colder than Brussels, but the sun was out, the streets were clean, we were well rested and what can I say, we were in Switzerland. The place emits peace. Home to thousands of NGOs, United Nations and the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland's history of neutrality in WWII and multi-ethnic status still resonates today through every day things. And while Geneva is French-speaking, no one seemed to mind that we were a couple Americans stumbling along the Left Bank marvelling at the Jet d'Eau and its surroundings.





One hundred and thirty two gallons of water are forced out of this jet per second at a towering height of a 45 story building. It was originally built as a temporary outlet after businesses had closed, turned off their turbines for the night, and extra pressure was building up along the Rhine. Now, sunbathers, swimmers, tourists and locals enjoy it alike.



Next up: Fritz, medieval towns, and the joy of a home cooked meal.