After what seemed like forever, we have finally arrived in Antwerp, Belgium at the Hilton Antwerp Hotel where the event is being hosted at as well as where we will be staying for the duration of the event. Yesterday was an interesting experience to say the least as we spent most of the day traveling and getting our bearings around the city. Joe (nabore), Justin (prank) and David (skinz) all met up at Joe’s house Wednesday morning where they organized their luggage and other belongings before departing to JFK airport around 3PM to board the team’s 5:55PM flight into Brussels. Both Jason (crzg) and Keith took flights from the west coast into JFK which landed between 4-4:40pm. I, on the other hand, took a shuttle from the Philadelphia area to JFK airport and arrived around 2:30PM EST.

Thankfully, we all met up without any trouble at our flight’s terminal before it even began boarding. Unfortunately, due to storms in the area, our flight was delayed to 6:30pm. Not a big deal we thought as we finally boarded onto the plan around 6:15. Now I don’t really know what the deal was, but apparently due to the storms in the area a lot of the flights from the other New York airports were pushed back on JFK and there was a massive line for departures our captain informed us. So we waited, and waited; and then waited some more. We sat on the plan for 3 hours before even moving to the runway to take off! Know I’m a pretty patient guy, but 3 hours in a plane without the plan even on to circulate air? By the end of that time, it was ridiculously humid in the cabin boarding disgusting.

Once we did take off, however, things were quite pleasant. We arrived in Brussels on time for our departure and made our way past customs without trouble. After a little inquiry, we picked up our luggage and discovered there was a shuttle from the airport directly to Antwerp. While waiting for the shuttle to arrive, Keith decided to change into shoes (he had been wearing sandals the whole time) when, upon opening his bag, was surprised to see soccer cleats and other apparel he had obviously not packed. In a panic, Keith soon realized he had took the wrong bag off the baggage claim belt! Someone else on our flight had the exact identical bag as Keith’s and without looking he had taken theirs. Quickly Keith ran back inside (with security escort) and was fortunate enough to get his correct bag which was still on the belt.

From the shuttle, we walked roughly a half mile or so to the Hilton where we discovered our rooms were not ready since they were not clean yet. Exhausted from travel, Keith suggested to go get a bite to eat and then checked into our rooms. After a 3 hour power nap or so to recover from the jet lag and time zone different (+6 from EST), the team spent the rest of the evening roaming around the city, which is simply amazing if I do say so myself.

I admit we are in a very tourist heavy city, but the entire atmosphere here is completely different from anywhere in the US. The streets are all cobblestone, and for the most part, walking or biking are better means of travel then cars as there are numerous streets cars cannot drive on. As you walk down the street, there is a ridiculous number of restaurants, cafés, shops and other vendor type stores. There are enough restaurants and cafes within the two block area of the hotel, we could eat at a different restaurant for every meal while we are here! Matches should begin tomorrow around 8AM local time here or 2AM EST. Pandemic won’t be playing till around 8PM local time or 2PM EST so keep it locked here at TeamPandemic.net!