If It’s Tuesday 🤡 This Must Be Belgium
Funnily enough, it was a Tuesday when we arrived in Belgium. We knew this must be Belgium because of all the bicycles and the scary clowns…
Belgium would be the prelude to our trip to Malaysia.
More on the clowns later.
Highlights
- Life Imitating Art
- Eindhoven’s Bicycle Bonanza
- Send in the Clowns!
- Antwerp Station Grandeur
- Tickets, Coffee, Schiphol
- Europe’s Cold, Malaysia’s Heat
- An Amsterdam Layover 🌷
- What we Carry on the Train
- Trains from Belgium to Holland
- All Hotel Deals in Antwerp
Life Imitating Art
For those of you (especially Americans) who aren’t familiar with the movie, If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium is a 1969 romantic comedy film made on location throughout Europe.
The title was taken from an American cartoon depicting a young woman near a tour bus frustratedly exclaiming “But if it’s Tuesday, it has to be Sienna”, thereby humorously illustrating the whirlwind nature of European tour schedules. This concept formed the premise of the film’s plot.
And so, it was with this cinematic, slightly unhinged backdrop that we found ourselves – quite literally – in Belgium.
Eindhoven’s Bicycle Bonanza
Our grand European escapade, a rather chilly prelude to the glorious, sweat-inducing humidity of Malaysia , began with an ungodly early Ryanair flight to the Netherlands.
Ryanair, for the uninitiated, is the biggest European budget airline that operates on the principle that the less you pay, the more you suffer. It’s a beautifully simple, if slightly masochistic, business model.
Our vessel of misery (or extreme frugality, depending on your perspective) whisked us away to a rather diminutive airport near Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
Now, Eindhoven, it turns out, is not exactly the glittering heart of Dutch tourism. But it did serve as a crucial stepping stone, via a somewhat cramped shuttle bus, to the grand nexus of all things Dutch and two-wheeled: Eindhoven train station.
Upon arrival, we had a brief, precious window of time to, as one does, wander around the bicycle park.
Bicycle park in front of Eindhoven train station
And let me tell you, it wasn’t just a bicycle park. This was a bicycle park of epic proportions. A monument to pedal power, a silent, gleaming testament to the daily commute of thousands. I’ve seen fewer bicycles in some professional cycling races. It was a fascinating, albeit slightly overwhelming, spectacle.
I swear, the sheer volume of two-wheeled contraptions could power a small village. Or, at the very least, make you feel terribly inadequate about your own carbon footprint.
Send in the Clowns!
Now, here’s where the plot began to thicken, due to an unexpected encounter with Pennywise’s extended family.
What we, in our infinite wisdom (read: utter cluelessness), hadn’t realised was that our perfectly timed travel day coincided with Carnival in Holland. Not just any Carnival, mind you, but a full-blown, no-holds-barred, embrace-the-weird festival.
The streets, already bustling with everyday Dutch life, were now teeming with individuals adorned in the most peculiar, wonderful, and occasionally terrifying costumes. My initial thought, a genuinely rational one, was that there must have been some sort of colossal Stephen King convention to which everyone seemed to be heading.
Early March and it’s Carnival!
The sheer proliferation of unsettling clown ensembles was… profound. If I’d had even a whisper of forewarning, you can bet your last Euro I’d have donned my own scary clown get-up.
I mean, when in Rome (or, in this case, Eindhoven), do as the terrifyingly costumed locals do, right?
Antwerp Station Grandeur
With our minds well and truly skewed by the Dutch Carnival contingent, we finally boarded our train for Antwerp Central Station in Belgium. And let me tell you, this is where the mundane journey transformed into something truly magnificent.
If you’ve ever found yourself in the presence of a truly awe-inspiring architectural marvel, you’ll understand the feeling. Built between 1895 and 1905, this isn’t just a railway station; it’s a Railway Cathedral. A glorious, soaring testament to a bygone era of grandeur. It’s a major landmark in Antwerp for a reason.
The splendour that’s Antwerp Central Station
The interior is a lavish symphony of more than twenty different kinds of marble and stone. Seriously, not a single square meter, inside or out, is left unadorned.
It’s the sort of architectural triumph that makes you question why modern train stations often resemble glorified airport lounges with a distinct lack of decorative panache.
Tickets, Coffee, Schiphol
It was within this opulent station setting, in a small, almost unassuming ticket office tucked away amidst all the marble and majesty, that we finally received our KLM airline tickets and boarding passes. Yes, the very ones we’d ordered online a full three weeks prior.
Because, apparently, digital convenience is all well and good, but sometimes you just need a physical piece of paper handed to you by a human being in a ridiculously grand setting to truly feel like your trip is real.
With an hour or so to spare before our next leg, we did what any self-respecting traveller would do: we indulged in coffee and cakes at a charming little cafe. Because what’s a European adventure without a strategically placed pastry break?
Refuelled and slightly sugared, we then boarded the sleek, efficient Thalys high-speed train, which whisked us directly to Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam.
Thalys high-speed train
Europe’s Cold, Malaysia’s Heat
The European prelude to our epic Malaysian adventure was drawing to a close. The crisp, invigorating (read: bone-chilling) cold of Europe was about to be swapped for the glorious, embrace-it-all heat of the tropics.
The slightly surreal encounters with Dutch carnival-goers and the architectural splendour of Antwerp were now firmly etched into the memory bank.
European Politicians on Tea Break
Our next stop, a land of humidity, incredible food, and (hopefully) a distinct lack of scary clowns, would be Kuala Lumpur. And honestly, after the delightful chaos of Europe, we were more than ready for it.
Just please, no more Tuesdays. Or clowns.
Unless they’re juggling pineapples. Then maybe.
If you enjoyed If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium, check out our East Malaysia & Borneo adventures. You may also like:
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