I was only in Brussels for a short time, but I feel like I saw much of what it had to offer. I arrived at my hostel a little bit too early for check in, but I put my bag into the storage room and signed up for a free walking tour. Then, I walked into the city (only 15 minute walk!) to get food and start the tour. My impression was that I would walk into the city center and immediately see food trucks selling waffles everywhere, but I couldn’t find any. I was so bummed, I wanted to have a nice, unhealthy, sugary waffle for lunch. Instead I wandered into a place called Mannekin Frites and ordered a cheeseburger. It was not like any cheeseburger I’ve ever had, it might even have been a veggie burger. I have no idea.
I walked to the Grand Place, which is the big city square where everything goes down. I met up with the tour group and we began this three hour walking tour. I talked to three other girls who were all traveling alone too. One from the US, one from the UK, and one from Canada. On the tour, we pretty much saw everything, as was to be expected. We saw lots of architecture in the Grand Place, and then walked over to Belgium’s pride and joy, the Mannekin Pis. This is a small statue/fountain of a boy peeing. The tour guide started off by saying, “Each city has something it is known for. In Paris, it’s the Eiffel Tower. In New York, it’s the Statue of Liberty. In Brussels, it’s the Mannekin Pis.” I thought it was funny that the symbol of this city was a small statue of a boy peeing. We walked along and saw a cathedral that looked kind of like Notre Dame, and we stopped and took a break at a pub.
Next, we talked about food. The guide explained that French fries are actually Belgian, but I don’t remember why they are called French fries then. She also said that beer, waffles, and chocolate are huge parts of the culture, which anyone would be able to tell after walking down a street. Our tour also included some political history, and ended at the Palace, which was closed, unfortunately.
I went with the girls I met on the tour to get dinner and we talked about life in our respective countries. Afterwards, we split paths and I went back to the Grand Place to see an exhibit in the town hall. Every two years there is a flower show set up, and people make installations made of flowers. It reminded me of a show I was in once called Fleurotica, where designers made clothes out of flowers. These installations were very lovely, but everything was SO crowded and everyone was fighting to get photos.
Afterwards, I walked down the busiest street and that’s when I found the waffles. There were shops left and right selling waffles, chocolate, and beer. I waited in line for my waffle with whipped cream and strawberries, which definitely lived up to the hype. I spent the next half hour just walking around; the city was bustling at this point. Earlier in the day, it was so dead. Since it was Sunday, a lot of the shops were closed. But at night, at least in the center of the city, shops were up and running.
I went back to the hostel pretty soon after that because it was getting dark and I still needed to iron out some details for my Ireland trip. My room was a six bed mixed room, which made me a little nervous because I’ve always stayed in all female rooms before this. When I got into the room, there was a couple in their late thirties/early forties there. They went to sleep at 8:30 and I was very perplexed. The rest of the people were guys, and they all had no qualms about walking around in just underwear, which made me pretty uncomfortable, not going to lie.
I went to sleep, only to be woken up at 5:30 AM by a bunch of people speaking VERY loudly in Spanish. Only two of them were actually staying in our room, so I’m not sure who the rest of these loud people were but it was a little upsetting. When you are in a room with four other people, you have to be respectful.
In the morning, I went to the breakfast buffet, which was pretty underwhelming. I had some watermelon, bread with jam, and cereal. However, there was a machine with completely chocolate drinks, so I got a hot chocolate which was delicious.
I walked into the city and took a train to the airport, which is where I am writing from now. I’m super early for my flight to Heathrow, but I didn’t want to risk being late. From Heathrow I’ll pick up my suitcase and fly to Dublin. I am looking forward to Ireland, because I anticipate that it’ll be more like Scotland – scenic and peaceful. I’m kinda over visiting big cities so I’m very excited!
Again, pictures will be added when I can upload 🙂
The Charm of Cambridge 