Brussels, Thursday

Return day. Due to being unable to find an ATM which dispenses less than 60 Euros, I wake up with 6 Euros in my pocket. A bit less than the EU 60 taxi fare to the airport, but I have another plan – this morning, under pressure to get to the airport, I am going to take my “Public transport in French” exam.

The plan goes like this – get on the trolley just outside my hotel, then transfer to the Metro (same fare, or at least I think), then transfer to the train station and figure out how to get to the airport.

Things got off to a bad start, as I had planned to use my credit card to buy my trolley ticket, but this did not work. So I spent my 1.50 to get a ticket. 4.50 left.

The trolley (which in this case was indistinguishable from the Metro – you got on underground and exited underground) and the transfer to the Metro went fine. And I managed to figure out the underground connecting tunnels to the train station (Gare Centrale). I bought my ticket (EU 2.50) to the airport, was proud of myself for finding the correct track, and although the train to the airport was delayed a bit (they run about every 20 minutes), all went well. Total time from hotel to airport was just under an hour – only about 10 minutes slower than the cab ride.

Airport check-in was uneventful once I found the Delta counter – no real map, you just walk around a huge terminal until you find the familiar symbol. And security was essentially identical to the US, although they don’t make you take off your shoes. From entering the terminal to being at my gate took about 15 minutes – there was no line at all in security.

The flight back was boring – the plane delayed on the runway for 2 hours for de-icing, and frantic run through JFK airport to catch my connecting flight, but otherwise normal stuff.