CouchSurfing Waterloo and Namur

When we first arrived in Brussels we had been expecting (hoping) to CouchSurf. Unfortunately we had had no luck and so we stayed in a hotel. Once we already were welcomed to stay with Brad, one Belgian had offered to try and help us out and found the couch of one of his friends for us to stay on. Since it was no longer needed we decided we'd try to hang out at some point instead.

We met with Kevin our first night in town in the Grand Plaza. We happened to be having a drink just across the way from he and his other couchsurfing guests so we all came together at a bar with some great live music. That night we had to get back early but we promised the group that we'd meet up the next night. And we kept meeting up but having to go due to early tram closures in the city, so for our final night we decided to crash at his (thereby he hosted 4 couchsurfers in his 1-room flat). Pretty amazing guy to let strangers take over his place!

On Saturday Kevin had the day off (he works as a sports editor for a media group) so he offered to take us all on a road trip out of the city. We packed into his little car and with windows down and the music blasting we were on a quick European roadtrip.

After about 20 U-turns and a few extra loops around round-abouts we got to the memorial site at Waterloo. A gigantic conic-shaped mound with a large lion (facing toward France as a symbol of pride for winning) marks the spot of the battle. For €6 you get to walk up about 300 stairs to the top of the mound where you get some sweeping views of the surrounding countryside.

Next we drove to Namur, the capital city of the Wallonia province in Brussels. Namur has a large fortress atop one of its largest hills that we decided to go for a wander through. A Huge brick place, even getting there along the main entry road would have posed many challenges for an attacker as it cuts back and forth with brick walls looming on either side. It was quite a hike up to the top to get some sweeping views of the town. In Namur the roofs are made of a unique rock so they all sheen with a blackness that is unlike most things I've seen here.

Venturing down from the fortress, we walked through town and came upon a beach (sand) volleyball tournament in front of a large cathedral. They offered food and drink so presuming it would be a cheap meal we went and dug in to some sausages and fries while watching some locals hit the ball around on the court.

After some more wandering we made our way back to Brussels where we napped before going out on our last night in Brussels. We took it easy of course as the next day we woke up really early to catch our train to Amsterdam!