Welcome to Belgium, the land of chocolate, waffles and beer!
It’s been a while since I had an adventure. I had a traumatic experience at Christmas (traumatic for me, maybe not for other people). I ended up spending my entire school holidays (3 weeks!) in covid isolation. All alone, with no-one to talk to. My Christmas meal was a cup of soup. Obviously, I was not happy. Anyway, that scarred me, and it took me a while to recover. A few months ago, I was able to convince a friend to come to Amsterdam with me for Easter and the planning began!
So, part 1 of my Easter holidays sees me travelling solo in Belgium, and part 2 will take me to Amsterdam.
Day 1 Bruges
Because we booked in advance, the Eurostar was the same price as flying so I booked myself a ticket from London to Brussels. Believe it or not but the Eurostar is normally EXTREMELY expensive. I’m talking £200+. EasyJet and Ryan Air both have flights for under £20!
Anyway, I woke up very early as I had to be at London St Pancras about 7am. I got myself a coffee and a pastry, then was permitted to join the Eurostar check in queue. It is interesting that I had multiple emails from Eurostar regarding covid certificates and Belgium passenger locator forms, but the only thing that was checked was my ticket (electronic scan only) and passport at the 2 immigration checkpoints. Not one single check of any other travel document. Life is clearly back to normal in the UK/Europe!
The train is only a 2hr trip from London to Brussels which is quite quick! Once I got to Brussels, I found a train to Bruges, my first stop. This second trip is only 1hr. It was a 12min walk to my hostel and the streets on the way were very pretty.
At my hostel, the check in desk was closed. Reception is open 8am-11pm, but at 2pm it was closed. They left envelopes on the desk for people to self-check in. My room is nice, 4 bed female dorm and I am sharing with an older French lady.
After dropping my stuff, I went out to explore. I walked in search of the Markt Square, a big public square in the centre of town that has a market on Wednesdays. My immediate observations were that there are a LOT of chocolate shops in Bruges. Like every third shop is a chocolate shop! All the streets are cobblestones, lots of pretty buildings and they have horse & carriages taking tourists on a tour of the city.
The Markt
Square didn’t have any market stalls, just showground rides. It is surrounded
by lots of restaurants. Then I kept walking around exploring. Unfortunately, it
was raining, cold and quite miserable.
I went in search of a place I had seen online. Belgium is famous for fries so I found a place that sells loaded fries. I got some fries that were topped with chopped burger patty, crispy fried onions, onion rings, BBQ sauce, ketchup, cheese and truffle mayo. It was delicious but huge.
I visited some of the chocolate shops and bought myself a cat shaped chocolate. The lady who runs the shop makes the chocolates with her husband and son so they are homemade.
I also found a shop that sells lots of Belgian beers, including fruit beer. I had read that it is delicious and tastes nothing like beer and I was curious. They had apple, cherry and raspberry so I bought a raspberry one. It was actually nice! It definitely doesn’t take like beer, and is kind of fruity and a bit tangy at the same time. Would have been better colder, but I would be happy to have it again.
Then I headed back to my room to chill out as I had a horrible headache. I ended up falling asleep while reading my book!
Day 2 Bruges
This morning I had a lazy morning. I slept poorly and had no set plans so just got up slowly. Fortunately, it was patchy sun this morning but unfortunately there was a severe wind warning. Boy did the wind gods really wreak havoc today!
I went in search of a coffee but ended up finding a canal boat cruise that accepted card payments. There are lots of people running canal cruises and they are all identical. They cost €12 and take 30min. My boat had a mixture of languages, so the driver/guide had to say everything in English, French and Dutch. It was really pretty seeing the city from the canal. We went up to a big church, then all the way down to Minnewater Lake. I highly recommend taking a canal cruise if you find yourself in Bruges.
I walked around a bit more, looked in a few chocolate shops, then went in search of food. I selected a café in Markt Square, which offered a 3 course meal for €18. I chose cheese croquettes for entrée and Flemish beef stew for main. Dessert was a scoop of vanilla ice cream, made with real vanilla paste. To be honest, the whole meal was delicious. The cheese croquettes were cheese and flavoursome and the Flemish beef stew was just amazing. The base of the stew is dark beer, and it literally only had beef & onion in it, other than the sauce. It didn’t taste overly beery, and the meat was so tender it melted in the mouth. For me, the cost is a lot higher than I like to pay for meals when I travel, but it was very nice.
Then I went in search of some windmills I had read about. I walked to an old city gate and along the path. I noticed that in the residential areas, they were unbelievably dead. No-one walking around, butcher shop empty, no windows open, nothing. It is like a ghost town.
There are 4 windmills in Bruges. They are very
big, well not compared to a wind turbine, but I think they are big. 3 of them
are from the 1700’s!
After heading back to the main city area, I went and bought some chocolate. It would be rude to be in Belgium and not sample their chocolates! I went to a shop called Pralinette and got a 250g box. I ended up with 21 chocolates! I got all sorts of flavours and I cannot wait to try them!
Then I headed back to my room for a rest. A bit later I decided to go out for a Belgian waffle for dinner. My roommate decided to join me which was nice. We had a challenging conversation as her English is limited and my French is almost non-existent. But the waffles were delicious! I had pre-selected the place I wanted to try: Chez Albert. I ended up with a waffle topped with strawberries, milk chocolate sauce and cream. And it was so good! Hot, fresh, crispy, sweet, perfection. I plan to sample a few more before I leave Belgium!
We went for a walk around the streets while we ate and then went back to our room.
Day 3 Ghent
This morning I planned to take a day trip to Ghent. It is only a 28min train trip so not far away. I bought train tickets online and headed out in search of coffee. One of my aunty’s suggested a place that has good cakes so I went there. They have a variety of meringue and cream creations. I got a coffee and 2 mini meringue cakes: a cherry one and a white chocolate one. They also have the most amazing chandelier. Then I walked to the station and boarded a train. I ate my meringue cakes on the train and they were delicious!
Upon arriving in Ghent, I had a 25min walk to the centre of Ghent, as the train station is not near the central tourist area. It was 10.30am and the streets were dead in the residential areas. Once I got closer to the historic area, the streets got much busier. Ghent is full of really old, beautiful buildings. I found a street that is filled with graffiti and made my way to the market square. It was full of stalls selling a range of clothes, shoes, fruit, meat, fish, cheese, books and so much more.
By now, I was getting a bit peckish so I went in search of a restaurant that served a Ghent special dish called waterzooi. It is a creamy chicken stew and is a Ghent tradition. I found a restaurant and couldn’t wait to try it. When it came, it was quite soupy and full of chicken. It was absolutely delicious! It was buttery and creamy and exactly what I was looking for.
Then I went for a walk through the streets to find Gravensteen Castle. It is called the Castle of the Counts, and was built in 1180. It is a huge castle, and it very good condition. With your ticket, you get a free audio guide. The audio guide was very funny! It made learning about the history of the castle and Count Philip much more interesting!
Afterwards, I walked back to the train station along the opposite side of the river, and headed back to Bruges. I immediately headed straight for the main street in search of a chocolate shop I had seen on Wednesday. They have these weird sweet things here called cuberdons. They are shaped like a traffic cone, and are kind of like a jelly bean texture with a jelly middle. I wanted to get some in case I didn’t see them in Brussels, and I am leaving early tomorrow morning.
I also decided to get a waffle, because why not?! I went to the House of Waffles and got a banana one, with cream, banana, caramel sauce and chocolate sauce. Delicious!
Then I headed back to my room to chill until tea time. So far, I had done just over 22,200 steps so I deserve a rest!
At 7pm I headed out to a place called Bohemian Burgers. I saw it on the map and the menu had some interesting flavours! When I got there, it was really busy and they gave me their last inside table. Currently the weather is 6oC with a real feel is -1oC so nobody wants to sit outside. I chose the Radar Love, which was grilled chicken, camembert and peach jam, along with the standard salad of lettuce, tomato, onion & mayo. It was absolutely delicious! I would have that again, no questions asked.
Then I headed back to my hostel to pack and sleep.
Day 4 Brussels
I woke up early for my train to Brussels. It was a long crappy night as the room next door to me and on the floor above me were male dorms, who were out drinking until midnight, and very noisy upon their return. Then one of my roommates came back at 1.30am turning on the light, slamming the door, rusting plastic bags and her suitcase. Ah, the joys of staying in a hostel.
I took a 9am train and was in Brussels at 10am. The moment I hit the threshold of the station doorway, I was smacked in the face with the stench of weed & pee. Gross! It was a 10min walk to my hostel and because it was early, I could just store my luggage and check in later.
I discovered I was staying very close to Manneken Pis, a famous statue of a boy peeing into a fountain base, so I decided to check that out first. There was a whole crowd of people around so it was easy to find. The original statue was installed in 1618 or 1619 and this one is a replica, installed in 1965. Even back in the 1600’s they had dirty minds!
There are multiple shops surrounding the statue, selling manneken products, fries, souvenirs and waffles. One of them has taken the dirty mind theme and created penis and vagina waffles! Of course, I had to try one…..but should I get a penis or a vagina???? I ended up choosing a vagina because I had penis biscuits in Portugal. I had banana, ruby chocolate and cream on it. Delicious!
Then I walked to the Grand Place, a big square in the centre of the town. I was shocked by how intricate, fancy and gold the buildings were! It is a massive square, and the buildings are huge! There were lots of people there, and lots of tour groups. There are also some cafes and restaurants lining the edges.
Then I decided to head to a café where I was meeting some fellow Aussies for a coffee. One of them is a teacher at the same agency as me, and he is travelling with his wife. They are doing the same trip as me but in reverse. We met at this cute little café and had a chat and coffee. Then it was time for them to go as they were catching the Eurostar back to London this afternoon.
I decided to take the tram to the Atomium. It is a large unique structure built for the World’s Fair Expo in 1958, and built to represent the crystal structure of iron. It consists of 9 spheres all connected. I was actually very surprised to see how busy it was! Most of the places I have been have not been very busy at all but maybe because every tourist was at the Atomium this afternoon! You have to wait in a LONG queue to be able to get the elevator to the top sphere, which has a viewing platform. Took about 55mins for this. After you have a short walk around half the sphere, you join the elevator queue again and can see the rest of the views whilst you move through the queue. From the ground, you then take the escalators and some stairs to each of the other accessible spheres. They contain a mixture of historic documents, art, sculptures, photos etc. Then you go up a funky dark escalator with a light show into a dark sphere that has a light & sound installation. Apparently, it changes every year or so, and, I must admit, it was really awesome. It was definitely the best part of the whole experience.
I took a different tram back to the centre of Brussels and by now I was starving. I went in search of some Belgian frites. I found a highly rated place and had to wait in another queue. Queues all day today! I got a frites with mayo, and they were very good. Price was decent too, only €3.80, which is cheap for here.
Then I headed back to my hostel to check in, finally be able to pee (you have to pay to pee everywhere and I am trying to not get cash out if I can help it!) and charge my phone. My room is really nice, 6 bed female dorm, with curtains, lockers and ensuite. I was the only person but another girl has just arrived. We are both on the top bunks so I think there will be more people coming.
I decided to go for a walk after it got dark as I had read that the Grand Place square looks pretty at night. I was not disappointed. Obviously, there were still lots of tourists, but the buildings were very pretty!
Day 5 Brussels
This morning my roommates and I work up at a lovely 8.30am. One by one we gradually headed out on our adventures. I was starving so I decided to head to a nearby café that advertised an “Aussie style breakfast”. It was a 12min walk so not too far. I chose a signature special, which was sourdough bread, beetroot hummus, poached eggs and halloumi. I added bacon to mine. I also had an apple raspberry juice and a coffee. Belgium is really quite expensive so that breakfast cost me €27! Yikes!
After breakfast, I decided to head to the Royal Palace and Gardens. It was meant to be a sunny and ‘mild’ day of 11oC. The sunshine was amazing, but in the shade or wind and it was cool. The palace is huge and has a lovely front garden.
Then I headed across the road to the gardens to sit in the sun and read my book. It was lovely and relaxing.
After a while I decided to head back to the Grand Place square and find somewhere to sit in the sun. I chose a café and a sunny table and chilled out with my virgin bellini (peach cordial with soda water). It was very nice, people watching, reading my book and soaking up some sunshine.
Then it got cold as the sun went behind a big cloud so I decided to go walkies around the streets and look in some shops. I found a nice gallery, filled with lots of expensive shops (Rolex anyone?) and lots of chocolate shops.
After walking a bit more, I went back to my hostel to chill. I found a different flavour of the fruit beer (peach) so I decided to try that one too. After a mission to open the damn thing (I don’t have a bottle opening with me and it isn’t a twist top), I finally got to try it and wow, it was excellent. Even better than the raspberry one!
One of the girls came into my room a bit later and we got talking. She is from Chile and lives in Bristol. We decided to go for an early dinner together to a place called Wolf Sharing Food Market, which is a big room with individual food stalls around the outside edge, a bar in the middle and big long tables. I ended up getting a carbonara with truffle, which was very good.
Then we decided to find the Jeanneke Pis statue. In full gender equality, if you have a statue of a boy peeing, then you need one of a girl peeing. This statue is behind a fence and high up so it is a challenge to get a good pic, but here is it…..a peeing girl statue!
After this, my companion wanted to try her first Belgian waffle so we went to a shop she had been told has the best waffles in Brussels. There are 2 main types of waffle here: a Brussels waffle which is a rectangular shape and light, crispy and not super sweet, and the Liege waffle which is a round/oval shape, dense, chewy, caramelised and sweet. All the ones I have tried have been Liege waffles. So, even though I didn’t NEED to have a waffle, I WANTED to try a Brussels one on my last night in Belgium. I ended up getting one with strawberries and chocolate sauce. It was nice, and after having both types, I prefer the Liege waffle.
Then we headed back to our hostel and I packed my things ready for tomorrow. In the morning I am catching a train to Amsterdam with a stop in Rotterdam for a few hours. It is going to be an amazing day hopefully with temperatures of 20oC!
As this is the end of my Belgian adventure, this will be the end of this blog post. Part 2 will be coming to you from the Netherlands. Stay tuned for my Dutch adventures!