I took full advantage of my unlimited Eurail pass by catching a train from Antwerp to Gent for the day. I took the tram near the station up to the main part of town and hopped off right underneath the Belfry (the old city watchtower). I walked a short ways to Gravensteen, a 12th century castle on the edge of downtown and I was exploring the medieval halls when I met a Russian girl named Polina. We walked through the entire castle and then decided to explore the r...

I packed up my stuff and off I was to a new city. Antwerp (or Antwerpen) was only 2 hours away so I arrived sometime in the afternoon. A 15 minute walk took me to my hostel, which was converted from an old chocolate factory! I was rather exhausted so I crashed for a few hours in my bunk. Energized from my nap, I rented a bike for the day online and picked it up from one of the kiosks around town. I went to a kebab place down the street and chatted with the owner ...

After a bit of a late start, I went off to explore the city. I grabbed lunch from a food cart underneath the Belfry and ate in Markt, an excellent spot for people-watching. I walked past innumerable chocolate and waffle shops, stopped briefly at the Church of our Lady (which houses Michelangelo's Madonna and Child) and then continued on to Begijnhof, a compound of white buildings originating from 1245 where a group of women have lived like nuns (but without takin...

The last few hours I spent in Amsterdam were short but sweet. Raquel and I got around to some souvenir shopping and then lunch in Chinatown at a restaurant with a sign stating 'where the Chinese go'. They weren't lying, we were the only non- Asian customers in the place. We spent the rest of our time just hanging out by a canal and talking (it's become part of our daily schedule by now). I connected with Raquel in a way that I can't explain and after only a coupl...