We boarded the 6 AM Wizzair flight from Prague to Brussels and reached Brussels Charleroi airport on time at 7:30 AM. As guided by the information desk, we headed for Spa Francorchamps right away. We boarded a shuttle bus to the nearest station Charleroi-Sud, took a train to Liege Guelemins, followed by a train to Pepinster and finally another train to Spa. 

(To summarize for the benefit of all heading for an F1 race at the Spa Francorchamps:
Charleroi Airport -> (bus) Charleroi Sud -> (train) Liege Guelemins -> (train) Pepinster -> (train) Spa)

It started raining when we reached Spa at around 10:30. Got totally drenched while making at attempt to board the bus that would take us directly to the race circuit of Francorchamps. The rain subsided and we reached Francorchamps in 15-20 mins. Then the usual walk started. Thankfully it was not much but realized that tickets to the qualifying is not readily available. Without taking any chance, or rather foolishly, we accepted the offer of the first tout on view and we purchased a silver and a bronze ticket for 110 EUR, only to realize that the silver ticket makes little sense since to be together we can only be in the bronze area.

Checked out souvenirs. I bought a blue Spa t-shirt while Asmi shortlisted a few. This was followed by a Mercedes cap for me and a Force India t-shirt for Asmi. It was time for the start by then and we proceeded to our bronze area for the view of the action. Started feeling hungry so got myself a hot dog and soon heard the roar of the v8 engines. We were close to the pit-lane so despite not having the luxury of a seat, the view was quite good. Spa is the longest circuit with a lengh of over 7 Km so its quite normal that it rains in one part of the circuit while the other side is facing bright sunshine. Throughout the one hour, the sun played hide and seek with occassional droplets of rain. At one moment you run for shelter while the very next moment you look for your shades. So imagine the plight of the pit-lane tyre strategists. Possibly intermediates were the best option. Finally settled for the best view for Q3 where we could view the cars from the front, each charging towards you and then zooming past one after the other. Webber, my favorite for the season got pole and Hamilton came a close second. All the while had a view of the giant TV screens

to get a clear picture of the positions. Qualifiers got over at 3 PM and we wasted no time to head for the nearest transport available in order to have as much time in Brussels. This is where things got messed up. Not many buses were waiting for us and after a long tiring walk to the main bus stand (tiring despite hitching a ride from a dutch tour operator) all we could get was a bus to Verviers (specially run for the race) where we would get the train to Brussels at 5:40 PM. The bus resembled my back-pack (in terms of the no. of items stacked in) and had to cover the journey standing and barely able to hold on to something. The 21 kms seemed longer by the minute and thankfully when we reached Verviers station, we did not have to use a machine to buy the ticket as the counter was still operational. Grabbed a bite at the canteen which Asmi badly needed since she did not consume the hot dog that I did. Set off for Brussels through the beautiful, green Belgian countryside. Towards the end of the journey we started the guess work as to which station to get off – Nord, Central or Midi. We were booked at Husa President but had no idea where it was. It was at the city center as per google maps but the centre spanned from Nord to Midi. So we decided to take the middle path and got down at the centre of the centre i.e. the central station. As usual, we got it wrong as the hotel was just next to Nord station. Tired that we were (thanks to that out’standing’ bus ride), we took a 5-min taxi ride for which we paid EUR 16 and reached the hotel. The hotel was lavish as we somehow got a heavily discounted rate for that night. By that time I was hardly in a position to walk. However had to get the best of the remaining time available so set off for Brussels city. Took the tram to Grand Place, the city center.

It was huge open area with fancy buildings all around and buzzing with people. Turned out to be quite an amazing atmosphere and some light show later in the evening added to the glamour. Bought some lace souveniers (specialty of Belgium) and of course Belgian chocolates. At the end when the legs were almost numb and no longer wanted to move, we settled for dinner at an Indian restuarant close to Grand Place. I am not a fan of fish but was treated to a heavenly dish of Fish Tikka masala in the “Indian” restuarant run by Bangladeshis. Never relished a fish dish so much. Certainly could not have asked for a better dinner at that stage. It was almost midnight when we headed back for the hotel and as soon as I saw the super luxurious bed, I crashed and the next thing I know was the alarm ringing reminding us that we have a flight to catch. We still wanted to enjoy the luxuries of the hotel and before checking out had the buffet breakfast paying an extra 13 EUR per head.

Charleroi airport is almost in a different city so by the time we left, we thought we would be in the middle of nowhere when our flight takes off for Prague. We reached the pick-up point at Midi station and thankfully we got a share taxi which would take us to the airport at a reasonable rate along with another family. We reached on time after a long, enjoyable 60 km drive (a bonus). Reached Prague by 1:30 PM.