Brussels, Belgium

Before going to Brussels, I had to activate my Eurail pass. I ended up taking an earlier train out of Amsterdam as well which was a bad idea in hindsight. I got to Brussels in mid afternoon on the 9th. This was the first place that the language barrier kind of worked against me. In Belgium they speak French. I can't even really read it, much less speak it. Once I got to the train station I just started walking towards the hostel I was staying at. I didn't have the address but I knew it was north of the central station. My wandering around eventually got me about two blocks away and then I had to pull out the trusty Google street view. The crazy thing was that I walked totally around Grand Place. I didn't even notice it! I stayed at 2G04. It was a pretty nice hostel. The internet they had was total garbage though. I ended up meeting a few more Canadians and went out for some Belgian beers with one of the girls. It was fun sharing travel stories and definitely interesting comparing our schedules.

The next morning I got up and hunted down some Belgian waffles. Those things are great! They are nothing like the Eggo waffles you buy back home. I have to admit that in general, I have not eaten many healthy things on this trip because later that day I ate some Frites. They are basically just a plate of French Fries. Really, I did not eat anything healthy in Brussels!

I walked over to Grand Place later that afternoon. The architecture was pretty amazing. Brussels has different districts and skyscrapers as well. One of the experiences I got was trying to find a post office to mail postcards back home. Let's just say that they are not labeled clearly. I walked past so many of the drop boxes because they were covered in graffiti. So if you are in Brussels, just look for unlabeled red boxes covered in graffiti if you need to mail something.

One thing I noticed was everything pretty much shuts down at 6pm. Unless you want to go drink at a bar, you are out of luck in Brussels. I'm just glad I met somebody to go out with and have some great conversation with for the one night I was there! Brussels can easily be done in a day. Everything was within walking distance and really, there is not much there. I don't mean to insult the city, it's just that it's not for everyone. I'm glad I went because I have family history that goes back to Brussels. I've been telling people I went to Brussels to send my Great Grandma back in the states a postcard from my visit there.

I must also say that I THOUGHT Paris, France would be the rudest place out of the eight countries I visited. Not by a long shot. Brussels wins that award. (I'm putting together a ratings list I'll post later.)

Brussels pictures are posted here.