Was a little relieved the leave Brussels this morning. The city is filthy- apart from the tourist areas. Where I was staying (near Brussels-Midi) it was like a third world country. Piles of garbage, beggars every 20m (some were very aggressive) and a smell like the toilets after five days of cricket at the SCG. The charming shops, hotels and restaurants in this part of town have all closed and now are dirty kebab shops or boarded up. The refugee issue in Europe is on display all around this city and I am not too sure if they have a solution. It's such a weird story because not 20 minutes from downtown you can be driving through some of the most beautiful countryside in Europe - eastern Belgium. This is where they fought the Battle of the Bulge (or Ardennes offensive) in WW2 and the Battle of Aachen. It is also the place to find the fifth largest American Cemetery in the world to honour the achievement and sacrifice of American soldiers. The bigger ones are: Margraten (Netherlands), Colleville-sur-mer & Saint-Avold (France) and Manilla (Phillipines). Nearly 8,000 headstones tell a story at the Henri-Chapelle Cemetery & Memorial. The foggy weather made the whole place seem rather sombre. Arrived in Cologne late this afternoon, after driving through the bottom bit of the Netherlands and look forward to exploring this town tomorrow.
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