Work trip to Brussels, Belgium - 26th to 27th November 2008

Another of those 2 day, 1 night work trips, this time to my office in Brussels. So, it was off to St Pancras International to get the Eurostar again. Although getting the Eurostar is much more convenient than heading all the way out to the airport (for me at least), it is often cheaper to fly - especially if you want any flexibility, or any modern travel conveniences. My ticket for this journey cost well over £350 return (partly my fault for booking late), and when you get a cold “cooked” breakfast, whilst sat on a tired and tatty seat, you do wonder what they spend the money on.

Talking of tired and tatty, I saw lots of building work going on in Brussels, some of which is long overdue. Parts of the city are gleaming and modern, of course – but others are very run down. Gare du Midi, where the Eurostar arrives, is a good example – on the platforms where domestic trains stop, I would be amazed if there has been any work done for 30 years or more. Much of the city’s infrastructure, and a surprising number of city centre buildings are like this – they look like they haven’t been updated or even touched since the 1970s. So, although the building work is a small annoyance, it needs doing for sure, and there is lots more on the “to do” list!

My hotel on this trip was on Place du Sablon, in an area that I’d never been to before. I was really pleasantly surprised – the square had an amazing looking old church on one side of it, there was a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the square, and the "normal" trees were also decorated with Christmas lights. Given that it was very cold and foggy, there was a lovely winter feel to the place – and there were plenty of bars and restaurants in the streets around the square to warm up in. A really nice part of town, that I will try to stay in again when I visit next.

On the way home after my meetings, I encountered a full lounge – full of EU workers who had knocked off for the weekend (on Thursday afternoon!). It made for an interesting journey home, listening to the sheer number of acronyms they spoke to each other in. Although they were (apparently) speaking in English, much of what they were saying was truly unintelligible. Who needs the arguments over whether to speak French or English, when they have invented a language all of their own?