an Eastern Euro's views on backpacking Western Euro - Germany and Belgium (post #4)

Dortmund, Germany
From Amsterdam, a side-stop to Germany.

Visiting a dear friend from Brisbane, now living in Germany! Enjoyed some delicious food such as curry-wurst and homemade breaky and dinners with her lovely new family. Food in Germany very much reminded me of Hungarian cuisine and therefore, here I felt right at home.





Antwerp, Belgium
The diamond capital of the world...for my surprise :)

I am absolutely stoked to be in this country.  Belgium is saturated with history and cultural facts but I am here for research!  I absolutely love their public health research work as they are one of the best in the field, particularly in HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

My first stop is Antwerp, which I actually did not know to be the diamond capital of the world.  And funnily enough, next to the diamond capital is where I stayed in a cute hostel, which was based in the orthodox Jewish quarters of the city. It is a very quirky place with modern shopping districts (no shortage of McDonald's and H&Ms) all mixed within beautiful century old architecture.  Dolce & Gabbana cannot come up with this kind of architecture even if they tried to make a replica.

I managed to find every second-hand shop in the city which was a bonus after drooling over the diamonds which blinded me each time I walked back to my hostel.  I managed to stock up on a few souvenirs and clothes for myself also. My meeting also went well which I was really happy about.

Here are some photos to show you around:








































Next stop, Ghent!

Ghent, Belgium 

I fell in in love with Ghent as soon as I got off the train. The timing was a little rushed, as I had to find the university to attend my meeting, carrying all my bags with me.  After a wonderful discussion, I said my goodbyes and was off to find my next hostel.

Once heading to the hostel, I started to relax and become a tourist again.  My hostel ended up being directly on the river in the heart of the city.  I could see all 4 clock towers from my place.  The hostel was a traditional Flemish stone building structure with stained glass windows. I felt like being taken back centuries and landed in medieval times.

I spent most of my days eating, attending walking tours, and eating some more !





View from my hostel:




My hostel on the right










Next stop, Brussels....more waffles!


Brussels, Belgium 

Here I spent mote time on eating, attending walking tours, second-hand shops and the markets. More sunny but chilly days however, for tourism it is the best time to travel.  So far, everything is half priced and crowds are minimal....seems much more relaxed to be around the tour companies also.