Today = trains + train stations + train station food. There wasn't much else besides these three components to our day. It was spent pretty much sleeping and listening in on arguments that other couples had on the trains, which were very entertaining :)

Our day actually began at 1:12 am. Abhinav, in his incredibly alert state in the middle of the night, picked up his watch and looked at it upside down, thinking it was actually 7:30 AM. He  frantically woke me up and we even got started with our morning routine. It wasn't until I looked at the phone clock that I started to think that something was wrong. At first, I thought the phone had messed up because it had run out of battery the night before. But one look at the watch made it all click. I gave Abhinav a disappointed nod, we both heaved a huge sigh of relief, and proceeded to get a great night's sleep. I'm glad that Abhinav felt better after a night of good sleep, cause his cold looked pretty killer at 1:30.

We woke up for real around 7:45 and were showered and ready to go by 8:30. The showers and rooms at 2GO4 Hostel in Brussels were fantastic and even impressed the neat-freak standards that I have. Families stayed there as well in private rooms and I'm sure they got a great price since it was a budget-friendly place. They even had delicious Belgian chocolates for us to eat for free at the counter. Abhinav got upset that I didn't mention that to him... I probably should have but I was too busy stuffing my mouth and savoring the wonderful taste of Belgian chocoalte. Next time, I'll make sure to take two (and maybe give one to him, lol). I'm kidding! I'll make sure to save just 2 for him next time.

So, my overall impression of Brussels was fantastic. I really wish that we had more time to spend there since I wanted to try Belgian waffles and mussles and explore their chocolates. Even after a life-changing trip like this, it seems like it's only whetting my appetite for more!

When we got to Brussels Midi, I noticed a small chocolate shop that was selling delicious Belgian chocolates... I really wanted to go in and get some for my mom, but we only had 10 minutes before our train so I decided to pass it up in exchange for ensuring that we wouldn't miss our train reservation. But, when we got to the platform, we realized that the train was running late. Abhinav told me to run down quickly and get some, but I was still debating whether there was enough time. After about 10 minutes out on the platform, I decided to risk it and run back down the shop. The lady at the counter was very sweet, but VERY VERY VERY slow. I chose one of each of the Belgian chocoalte truffles and paid as quickly as a could before running out of there before she had a chance to say "thank you and have a nice day." As soon as I ran up the platform, the train was about the leave. Our car had already closed its doors and Abhinav was running around trying to find an open entrance with all the bags and waiting for me, worried that we were gonna miss our train. But, we made it just in time and got inside right before the doors closed and the train took off. I hope these chocolates are scrumptious enough for all the work I put into getting them!

Our train ride from Brussels Midi to Koeln Hbf in Cologne, Germany was nothing special. Abhinav slept for a bit. We had WiFi access, so we checked email and facebook in addition to looking up directions to our hotel in Milan from "Milano Centrale," the main train station in Milan. We had about an hour and a half to kill in Cologne, Germany so I wanted to explore a little bit of the city before we hopped in between trains all day. The three main things I wanted to see were the Cathedral, the Gestapo prison, and the chocolate factory. Unfortunately, we only had time for one, so we decided to see the Cathedral in Cologne, which was the closest one to the train station and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.