Hey all, coming et you direct from the train! Will keep posting as the day goes on.

On a train now to Brussels, arriving at 11h.

It may be too early to hit the RLD, so I’m thinking of going on to Antwerp.

I’ve got my train to return at 16h…wondering if I’ll have enough time to hit Antwerp and Brussels, or if I should stay in Antwerp/Brussels.

Thoughts?

EDIT: ~~I think I’ll be staying in Brussels. As much as I’d like to go to Antwerp, it would take too much travel time to get there and back. I could make it work and have 2.5 hours at the Schipperskwartier, but it would be a bit stressful. Easier to take a leisurely stroll up and down Aerschot, go in a window, go have a beer, rinse and repeat…I’m not here to be stressed, quite the opposite!~~

EDIT 2: Man, Brussels is shady. I can’t relax here. Crackheads, drug dealers, construction. I feel like it’s worse than before and the women present don’t justify the weird vibes here. Called an audible and going to Antwerpen, I figure I will have enough time.

I realize you are busy, but I would like to hear what made you decide to bail out on Brussels in more detail.
I always have at least one encounter with a street person there, sometimes 2-3 in an evening.
They didn't strike me as more dangerous than the old "Coke, Charlie" hustlers that used to troll the Wallen. There were just more of them. Is it worse now?

Weasel

I’ve got a draft saved on what I did today, but running low on battery.

But to answer you, I want to preface that I love Brussels. It’s such an old school RLD vibe and I’ve had a lot of memories there over the past 10+ years. I don’t think Brussels has drastically changed one way or the other, my experience was more or less what you detailed.

This morning it just seemed like too much. Right of out the station there was a crackhead starting shit with a bunch of dealers, then walking down the next blocks there were more shady characters, even at like 11h30 people trying to get my attention ’chef, chef’…

I’m already on heightened alert, nothing bad has ever happened to me in Brussels, but I felt like I unwanted a more organized RLD experience instead of wandering up and down the street without needing my guard up to the max.

My time for today was limited, and Brussels feels more like a mixed bag during the day, so I figured why not go for the more pure RLD experience and hit Antwerp. I wasn’t disappointed, the only caveat was my time was even more constrained.

It was a trade off really - constrict my time and get things done quickly in a guaranteed environment (which did not disappoint) or wander up and down the street for a few hours being stressed out about crazies in the street, where I’m unsure if I will have the experiences I’m after.

Post coming soon.