Belgium has never really been on my radar as a particularly attractive place to visit, and it never gets considered on my ever-changing “places to see before I die” list. However, I had a 5-day window of time between Paris and Amsterdam, so Belgium seemed like the natural choice. What I found was a completely understated country with awesome culture and charm.
I started in Brussels. In truth, there’s not a ton to do in that city. It’s the seat of the European Union, but I had little interest in doing sightseeing of diplomatic buildings. The center of the city surrounds Grand Place, a beautiful square lined with Gothic buildings. My stay happened to coincide with an annual jazz festival, so a great live blues/jazz band offered a soundtrack to my first night in Brussels. I met 3 guys (a father, his son, and his stepson) in my hostel. We all went out together, trading rounds of Belgian beer, eating Greek food (there are tons of pita places on a street just off the Grand Place), and listening to live music. The next day, I wandered around the city in daylight, taking in the tourist sights. Honestly, this does not take very long, as they’re mostly concentrated in an easily navigated central area. Nothing terribly noteworthy happened in Brussels, but I definitely enjoyed myself. Here are some photos:
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| The world-famous "piss" fountain in Brussels. |
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| The start of the live music in the Grand Place, Brussels. |
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| Grand Place. |
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| Cool buildings in Grand Place. |
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| Main square... again. |
On my third day in Belgium, I hopped on a train to Bruges, the most-visited city in Belgium. I knew absolutely nothing about this city, and (until today) I had not even watched In Bruges, the recent Colin Farrell movie that takes place in the quaint city. Bruges is loaded with tourists, but (much like Paris) this is for good reason. The architecture and pace of Bruges feels totally lost in time, and it feels like it never made it out of the Middle Ages. The city almost looks like an Epcot exhibit. The whole town has cobblestone streets, medieval-looking facades, a series of Venice-style canals that runs through the whole city, and some beautiful churches to boot. As if that weren’t enough, there are actually age-old windmills on the edge of town. I stayed at the Snuffel Youth Hostel, which is the best hostel I’ve stayed in so far. It was extremely easy to meet people there, so the cast of characters with whom I explored the old town was constantly rearranging.
I won’t waste time going into too much detail, but here are the highlights of my visit to Bruges: the Basillica of the Holy Blood, a church that (supposedly) has a few drops of Christ’s blood as a religious relic; the aforementioned windmills, which were an awesome place to relax in the afternoon; Markt, the city’s center square, which is surrounded by cafes and amazing buildings; the Belfort, a medieval structure that towers over the Markt square and offers postcard-worthy views of the city; a boat ride on the canals; and Beginjhof, a centuries-old nunnery in a quiet garden with swans and flowers. On my final day in Bruges, I finally watched In Bruges. One of the characters summed up the city very well: “How can a f***ing fairy tale city not be your thing?!” After visiting this land that time seemingly forgot, it’s hard not to understand the character's point. I can’t imagine anyone not feeling impressed with the buildings, scenery, and atmosphere of Bruges. Even in spite of the hyper-polished, Epcot-esque feel of the town, it was still one of the more beautiful towns I’ve seen:
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| The canal. |
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| Cool street in Bruges. |
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| Nothing to do with Bruges, but how awesome is this dog I saw? |
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| Tall buildings in the main square. |
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| The canal again. |
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| ...And with the Belfort in the background. |
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| Windmill! |
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| Me atop the windmill. |
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| The massive Belfort up close. |
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| Tourists touching the (alleged) blood of Jesus. |
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| The Belfort and pretty sky. |
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| Swan at the nunnery. |
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| The entrance to the nunnery. |
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| The view of the Belfort. |
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| A nearby church. |
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| Not from this century. |
Belgium is definitely a wonderful country architecturally, culturally, and scenically. Arguably, though, its best attribute is the food—or, more specifically, the beer and the sweets. All of the clichés and stereotypes are true about Belgium: you can get the most rich chocolate drizzled over an authentically sugared Belgian waffle, all while enjoying one of countless local beers. All of it was delicious, particularly the beers. I am not too much of a drinker, but the beer in Belgium really was—at the risk of sounding completely lame—a delight to drink. Belgium is a country that knows and appreciates good beer, and it shows. In fact, it’s infectious. I could almost feel myself becoming a beer snob, and it really doesn’t matter that I know very little about beer. Coupled with the sweets, my snack-time experiences here put Belgium near the top of my culinary list for this trip. As Kevin, always mindful of my diabetes, told me via Skype: “Belgium can literally kill you.” You only need to see the photos for proof:
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| I know. |
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| Such good beer. |
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| Enjoying the best waffel of my life. |
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| Still more good beer. |
Tomorrow, I head to Amsterdam to meet my cousin Maggie and (hopefully) a few other people we know in the area. I am definitely eager to get to Amsterdam, and I think it will be the last city I hit in Western Europe. There will be a blog within a week about my experiences there. Until then, I look forward to hearing from everyone.
“Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
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