📸 —Antwerp & Brussels, Belgium
The land of waffles, chocolate, fries, gold and beer! Oli had the chance to visit Brussels for the first time 4 years ago, so this time he had a list of things lined up to check out, and of course eat.
As we were planning a friend of Olivier from school was also going to be in Brussels the same time as us. They hadn’t seen each other in a couple years and an afternoon of catching up was in order.
One thing that really sticks out in the two cities we visited was the city centre or grand place is so shiny and covered in gold. Beautiful buildings that stand out from the rest.
With a week to visit, we were well fed and relaxed as we toured around.
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Over the past year, it is crazy how many buildings and landmarks have been under restoration. Most major spots across Europe have been in a similar state. 2018 is the year of rebuilding!
This is a bar where an old couple lives. They pioneered the craft beer scene in Europe offering all styles of experimental and traditional beer, and organized the first festivals. You can visit their house, where you will find old trinkets and things and of course, a ridiculous list of beer.
Oli ordered a bottle to share with a new friend we made from Boston. And the poor old man had to run across the street to their other cellar to get the beer for us since they have so much stored!
There are two types of waffles you can try — the Brussels waffles, or Liège waffles. Belgian is lighter and rectangular shaped. The other is more doughy, fluffy and irregular. Both with sugar, or whipped cream, or fruit, or chocolate is a winner!
Like many places in Europe, you can drink a beer on the street. You have to be careful in the Grand Place, it is pickpocket and selfie central! :P
We walked to dinner at a very old restaurant famous for their mussels. The saying mussels in Brussels NEVER gets old!
There is a strip of bars called the Delirium and a block long, all have their own theme / drink style you can enjoy. We stopped by the and had a glass of Absinthe, the first time Maeghan had ever had it! This is her trying to melt the sugar cube with water into the glass.
Brussels is also the home of the European Union offices, and 188,000~ people work at these offices… which means that almost 10% of the entire city population of Brussels works at the EU!
You can walk through the city and enjoy the art works mostly in comic type form across the walls. The above picture is in the gay village. It shows how happy and inclusive the city is.
Manneken Pis. The 8th wonder of the world.
Just kidding… but it is a hot spot for tourists. The translation of Manneken Pis is “little boy peeing” and this was the area of town that the poor people of Brussels would sell their urine that was used for dying leather.
This is also where the saying “piss poor” comes from!
Also, Manneken Pis has over 1000 different outfits and every day you walk by, you can see him dressed differently. There is even a museum of all his outfits
When we were in Amsterdam, Oli had to make a choice if he wanted to participate in the Cantillon yearly release of the Zwanze beer, or go to a concert by The Pineapple Thief. We picked the concert which was a lot of fun.. and the best lucky occurred, when we got to the brewery we had the chance to taste the Zwanze beer a week after its release (You can’t find this stuff anywhere but the brewery!) Best of both worlds.
On Saturday, our new Belgian friend Clara spent the day with us walking around and talking about the city. We learned lots about Brussels.
Belgium is a country cut in half when it comes to Language: they speak mostly Flemish (Dutch) and French. The South speaks french and the North speaks Flemish, but the city capital is in the middle of the Dutch speaking zone, and speaks majority of French! Phew, how’s that for a complex situation.
University is cheap and well recognized across the EU there, so many French students come to get their degrees. And they have two of the biggest offices in Europe, the European Union HQ and United Nations HQ.
There is over 180 different cultures or nationalities that live in Brussels making it one of the most unique places when it comes to hearing so many different languages in one spot at one time.
Little things you notice when you have free time :) But in the air, there are dozens of cloud streams from planes. In Canada, you are lucky to see one or two stand alone jet streams but in Europe, especially in Amsterdam and Brussels, there are dozens streaming at all points of the day.
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