With Heather enjoying a weekend away with friends this provided me with the opportunity for a trip away with my good friend Tim, from Norfolk. We had decided on using Brussels as a base for a few days in which to explore a couple of areas of Belgium.

After catching Eurostar on Thursday evening from London to Brussels Midi we were soon in our hotel, the Aris, located close to Central station (we needed another from Midi to Central station) and the Grand Place. Being the first night away we decided that a few Belgian beers were in order and just around the corner from the hotel was the Delirium Bar. It was a lively place and we turned in rather later than planned.

On the Friday morning we headed to Ypres by train from Brussels Central via Ghent. Ypres was at the centre of the WW1 battlefield in the Flanders area and was completely flattened and then subsequently rebuilt, almost brick by brick, to its original design. There is much to see and do in Ypres related to WW1 but in the afternoon we took a battlefield trip with 'Over the Top Tours' to see some of the cemeteries and other key locations of the war.

It was an interesting way to get an overview of the destruction and loss of life involved in WW1, although the harrowing tales of months of fighting to gain a few yards of extra land seemed so tragic. Lest we forget.

On Saturday we travelled south from Brussels to Mariembourg to travel on the Three Valley Steam Railway. This was a new railway for both myself and Tim and it was an interesting experience. The main line railway and the steam railway service did not really connect very well (time wise) so we either had plenty of time to fill before we could catch the seam hauled service or not quite enough time! Having some extra time did give us the chance to get some food at a local restaurant, or fritterie, however and it was a great experience and very local.

Not having had enough railway excitement on the Saturday we were in for a treat on the Sunday morning as we travelled to Schaarbeek station in Brussels to visit Train World, the Belgiam equivalent of the National Railway Museum. It was a great place to visit, especially for those with a railway interest. After a few hours exploring it was time to head back to Brussels Midi station and catch our Eurostar service back to London St Pancras.