Brussels, Belgium

We pulled into train station at Gare Nord in the modern part of the city centre. I remembered it from the first time I breezed through between Amsterdam and Paris two months ago. It was really late at night so all I wanted to do really was just get to the hostel and sleep. I bought a bus ticket and made it to hostel right away. My French is still rusty, but at least people who don’t speak English here speak French and I can read the signs. The Van Gogh hostel was really close to all the sights and Van Gogh himself worked in the building for a year. The hostel was nice but my set-up was kind of shitty. I was in the building down the street and on the top floor. It was a bit of a hike with all my stuff. The pub had all the Belgian beer that Jenny told me to try though, so I was excited for that.

I got up bright and early. I was really excited to see the city. I was well rested, but after only one day, I was already tired. It’s a lot of walking. I saw a big church near the hostel, the Botanical gardens, the WWII memorial statue, and a big park shaped like Freemasons logo. It was in front of the Royal palace. There was a big event being set up out front with lots of chairs and red carpet, so maybe the King was even home at the time. I walked into the embassy area to see the EU headquarters. Brussels is the capital of Europe. There were tons of black limos and people in suits everywhere. The EU building was really big and modern with lots of glass and lots of flags. There are 23 official languages of the EU. I saw the European commission and the big judicial building.

After that I kept walking and saw the Arc du Tiomphe. I think it’s bigger than in Paris, but not as famous. There was a free Army museum with tanks and planes beside it. I walked around quickly and took the elevator to top of arch for an awesome view of the city. Brussels has a lot of really ugly buildings mixed in with all the beautiful buildings. The Cathedral looks like Notre Dame in Paris. There are two ugly towers across the square that “mirror” the bell towers. On the way to the train station to ask about train times to Rotterdam, I got lost for the first time on this trip I think. I figured out that the streets that were shaded aren’t “streets of interest” they are indoor promenade shopping streets. The alleys are also hard to figure out if they are narrow streets or just alleys. I saw another really old and beautiful church, and the Law Courts building. When it was built the only dome bigger was St. Peter’s in Rome, and they look very similar. I took the elevator down to the lower town and saw a castle, the famous Mannekin Pis statue (a boy peeing whose costumes change almost daily, today he was dressed for France’s national holiday), and I made my way to Grande Place. I got my Belgian waffle for the walk with chocolate and whip cream. The main square was really beautiful with tall narrow buildings like Amsterdam and a couple big ornate buildings, the city hall and national museum. I kept walking to see the stock exchange, the restaurant street, and a church with a urinal on the side. I climbed to the top of a 10 storey parking garage with an awesome view. I saw all the way to the Antonium, a famous atom shaped sculpture built for the world fair. I walked up and down the shopping street with all the designer brands and chain stores, and then walked along a canal before going to find some food for dinner.

Dinner was awesome. I picked the restaurant that seamed the busiest and was cheap. I had some famous Belgian Maas beer, mussels, and fries. The moules et frites were awesome, they tasted great plus it was cool to eat them actually in Brussels. At night after dark I walked around to see everything again lit up. The restaurant street was packed and covered in neon. I saw the main square and the big cathedral too. It was a lot of walking, so I just went back to the hostel to relax with some Belgian beers. I tried some Kreik and Geuez, both were awesome.