Band Practice in Belgium

Verse and I set off early in the morning to go from Den Haag to Antwerp, Belgium for the day. He was going to practice with the Asham band for the first time and I was excited to hop across the border for a day of music and adventure. Many moons ago when I lived in London, I travelled to Belgium and stayed in Brussels for a bit but I had never been to Antwerp and was looking forward to seeing a new section of the country. Due to the short distance, I bent my rule of avoiding travel by bus and agreed to go on Eurolines. This rule was made over a decade ago during my first trip to Europe when bus was primarily my main mode of transport to different countries. Some of the distances were so long and the ride was sometimes complicated (and uncomfortable) that I vowed never to do that again. As we found the Eurolines bus stop memories flooded back. (There was that time a bus station we were supposed to go to to get a transfer bus decided to close early and we had to re route our journey adding hours on to our travel time in the bus. Or the time we were one of the only people pulled off the bus at a checkpoint and our bags searched!) Luckily this bus ride turned out to be comfortable and enjoyable with no extra drama or delays. Maybe this bus thing wasn’t half as bad as I remembered. Within an hour and a half we arrived in a very sunny and warm Antwerp.

The manager of the band collected us and we drove for about 20 minutes outside of the center to the band room. It was a lovely space located in a wood factory. The day flew by as the band rehearsed 6 of Verse’s songs. The vibe was right and they sounded great together. I took photos and videos as the band grooved and worked out the flow. I danced and sang along to all the tunes and as I watched Verse do his thing, I silently wished him continued blessings with his musical journey. I was feeling so excited to see it all come together at the ‘Smile! Antwerp Reggae Festival’ where Verse is scheduled to perform with the band for the first time! After many hours in the band room, the manager dropped us back to the bus stop.

We had about ten minutes before the bus was scheduled to arrive so we walked up the road and ordered two broodje sandwiches. They were different than the ones we usually have in Den Haag as the bread was thicker and there were French fries inside. Back at the bus stop we ate the Broodje’s while waiting for the bus, which was late. Half an hour later the bus finally arrived and after people came off at the stop and we got on, we were treated to a full bag of garbage hanging on the back of the seat in front of us. It was gross. Thankfully Verse dealt with it right away by tying it up and placing it under the seat. The journey back was delayed by a lot of traffic on the road and we ended up taking a different route, one the bus driver admitted he didn’t know. “I have a Tom Tom, so we should be fine,” the bus driver announced reassuringly. The return trip ended up being not as trouble-free as the first leg but I was able to have a comfortable nap (with the help of Verse’s lap). We arrived, four hours later to a dark and cold Den Haag. We were very tired by then but the excitement from the day lingered around us as we walked briskly home laughing and reminiscing about the days events.

Taking a 5 on the bus to Antwerp

A cool feature on the side of a school in Antwerp 

The beautiful Antwerp train station

The beautiful Antwerp train station

The wood factory/ band room spot!

Jammin in the band room

Vibes are nice with the Asham Band

Portrait time!

L: An Asham Band sticker displayed on a window, R: Lunch break vibes with the band

L: The Asham Band has backed many reggae greats! R: Verse doing his thing

Verse iTal singing a new tune with passion

Broodje with french fries inside for dinner

Photoshoot while waiting for the bus

L: The Eurolines bus station, R: The street that the bus stops on