Belgium, Numbers, Travels

Hello Flanders

D and I planned to visit the city of Hasselt today. We decided that it will be a good way to use up the last two rides of our free rail pass.

Boy, were we in for an adventure!

The trip from Harelbeke to Brussels South was normal. The short wait at the big station was spent taking photos and taking a short walk outside the building. In no time, we were on the train bound for Hasselt. Or so we thought. The train stopped at Nossegem and the passengers were told that there had been an incident which has caused serious disruptions. D later found out that it was most likely a suicide. We were in the train for a while before it backed up till Zaventem and turned back towards Brussels North.

Because we refused to give up on our city trip, D and I took the train to Antwerp, then hopped on the train to Aarschot. At Aarschot, we needed to switch train again. At five in the afternoon, we finally reached our destination!

Hasselt is a quaint old city with much to offer. It is a place worth going back to. Even though D and I made good use of the hour or so of daylight, there were probably plenty we have missed seeing because of the time constraint. We definitely missed the opportunity of enjoying some local specialities. Next time, when this virus nightmare is over…

The westward bound journey was boring in comparison. We stopped once at Brussels South and only needed to take two trains to get home.

Today, D and I did ‘Dwars door Vlaanderen‘ by train. We crossed and stepped on all five provinces, rode on seven different trains, and was at six stations. We definitely made full use of our Hello Belgium rail pass! 😛

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