Chris.Derecola

This time last year, we attended a Formula 1 race at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. It was a fantastic experience that I’m far enough removed from to question my level of detail. Instead, I’m going to post my journal entry for those days verbatim. Not only is this a great way to support laziness, it gives a direct link into my brain at the time. It’ll also let me put this journal I’ve had lying around for a year away. Sweet. You’ll have to forgive the pointed, somewhat unemotional nature; it’s just how I write journal entries. Facts baby, facts.

Saturday, Practice & Qualifying

Track is in middle of nowhere. 1 lane country roads to get there. Pass many farms & cows. Very hilly, thick/tall trees everywhere. Can hear cars from miles away.

€5 to park at farmhouse. Turned out to be pretty far away. Hitchhiked with 2 Brit guys.

Walked thru muddy field past many tents & campers.

Walked a lot of the track. HUGE hills, a couple dead ends for Bronze tickets. Must see steepness in person. (Eau Rouge!!) Terrain/views were amazing.

Weather was plain crazy. Pouring for 10 min then sunny & hot.

Cars were loud as shit. Forgot my earplugs.

Bought souveniers during Q2 when no one around. Go to see sights, not the race.

Headed back to Maastricht during GP2 race. 45 min. GPS not made for driving but did the job.

Sunday, Race Day!

Up at respectable hour to drive to track.

Breakfast at hotel, pretty good. Ate lots of smoked salmon.

Yellow parking was good idea. Line to get in but our section was full so we had overflow closer to entry. Fiat allowed us to park where others couldn’t, close to path. Walk down hill in woods to get to main entrance.

Race was fun because we were there and could see it. Scoped a spot so we could on TV and take pics thru hole in fence. Crap results, kinda knew it would happen. Weather was all over the place. Started to rain for real after the race.

4 pack of 50 cl bull beer

Walked on Eau Rouge and back straight after race. Took pics, was pretty cool to be on it.

Massive amounts of traffic getting out and on the highway for several miles. Eventually thinned out.

Looking back at this, I didn’t really talk that much about the cars or the racing. Having been to three F1 races now, I can honestly say that’s really not what the experience is about. I mean, it’s the reason you’re there… but it’s not the reason you’re there… if that makes sense. Anyway, if you have the chance to go that track, do it. No seriously, do it. The area will amaze you.

Hard to believe it’s been six months since we got back from Europe. It’s even harder to believe I’ve had this journal sitting on my desk for that long, waiting to finish up my posts about it. The length of time it’s taken me to write this probably had something to do with my overall feeling about it. There was nothing wrong or disappointing per se, but not only did it rain quite a bit, it was also the point in the trip where I was really starting to wear down. I mostly just wanted to drink beer and eat moules and frites, so the rest of our time there was somewhat secondary.

Looking back through my notes, I get the feeling that I was really, really tired during our time in Brussels. There is much talk of walking everywhere, not getting enough sleep, wanting to rest more, being sick of spending several hours eating dinner out every night and rain, rain, rain. I don’t blame the city, but I do think the city was so… common… that it couldn’t overcome the hurdles. What exactly do I mean by common? Well, if I had to pick any city that Brussels reminded me of, it would be DC. I can’t really explain it, but there’s something very governmental about Brussels that is a lot like our national’s capital. I’m sure it being the center of the European Union has a lot to do with it, although it’s a lot more about the “feel” of the city than any specific branding.

I think there are a few things people should know if they’re gonna visit, so here’s my short list.

• Most things are in English and Dutch, but there is quite a bit of English being spoken. Waitstaff know quite a bit of English but they’re still surprised to meet American tourists.
• The french fries are everything they’re supposed to be and more. They are truly the best fries I’ve ever had; things like curry ketchup and mayo as toppings doesn’t hurt. I personally think the waffles are overrated, but I’m not a huge sweet person. I mean they’re good, but I can’t say I feel the need to have another.
• Brussels is a very walkable city. The streets are clean, well marked and the layout is conducive to exploring. Public transportation is efficient and easy to use, although some areas of the city are more prone to riding with questionable characters.
• Beer, beer, beer. The beer is great, there are a ton of places to drink it and I didn’t drink nearly enough of it.
• Skip Atomium and Mini Europe. They’d probably be cool if I was 25 years younger, but as is they’re a wee bit run down and lot bit kitschy.
• The Belgians are extremely friendly and helpful. They often went out of their way to make conversation or help a stranger, which was inspiring. I’ve tried to help more people in DC who are obviously tourists as a way to pay it forward.

So, would I recommend Brussels? I mean it’s worth seeing as much as any other international city, but I’m convinced somewhere like Bruges would be a better use of one’s time in Belgium. All the beer and beer houses are certainly worth seeing, but there isn’t a ton to do while you’re trying to sober up. If anything, I’d say Brussels is best for a business trip. Do all your business-type things during the day and go out to party at night with coworkers. Actually, for your coworkers… just find some randomly friendly Belgians to drink with. Cheers!

[Sweet Movie] Earlier this year, I picked up a hand-held GPS. It comes in handy using topographic maps for hiking in Shenandoah National Park or canoeing the Rappahannock River, but it really earned its keep with the City Navigator Europe map. It was great for getting back to our Paris hostel when the train stopped running at 1 AM and driving from Maastricht to the track. A nice bonus was the ability to track all of our movements. Besides just being cool to see, it’s especially helpful retracing your steps to find that great neighborhood restaurant you had a delicious meal at.

I saved each day as a new track, which I was able to import into Google Earth/Maps. I was also able to color code the different days, not only making it easier to look through but also creating pretty cool map in the process. I don’t think Maps is designed to handle the amount of information I threw at it (days are paginated), but it definitely works if you just want to poke around. You can zoom into the street level, but if you really want to dig around use the View in Google Earth link. If you see a straight line, that generally means the GPS lost its satellite lock on a train and then connected the dots after the fact. Enjoy!