Frites, Chocolates, Waffels, and other Belgian Delights

The Grand Place in Brussels

Our trip to Belgium that we took last weekend might have been my favorite trip that we have been on since we moved to Europe. It was just so fun! We didn't do a ton of sightseeing, it was kind of more of a relaxed trip where we did more of soaking up the ambiance of Brussels and Bruges, rather than try to learn all of the history behind them. Don't get me wrong, I love a great art museum or historic site, but it was nice to have a change of pace on this trip. We were able to slow down, walk around the cities, and lounge in the parks and cafes.

We began last Saturday morning when we flew out of the Venice Marco Polo airport on Ryanair to Charleroi airport, which is about an hour south of Brussels. From Charleroi, it was a bit stressful because we had a lot of tight connections. We had only 15 minutes between when our plane was supposed to land and when we were supposed to catch a bus to go to the train station and then about 10 minutes between when we were supposed to get to the train station and when we were supposed to catch our train to Brussels. It was stressful, because if we missed either, or both of these connections, we would be set behind our schedule 2 hours or more because the buses and trains are so infrequent. We made the bus to the train station without a hitch, however at the train station, we hadn't bought our tickets yet. We had to stand in a long line to buy them because the stupid machines didn't take cash, only European debit and credit cards. It was close. We finally got our tickets 3 minutes before our train was supposed to leave, then we sprinted to our platform and we made it, sitting down in our seats just as the train started to leave.

An hour later we arrived in Brussels, the capital of the European Union! We were starving, so the first thing we did was search out a delicious cafe called Mokafe, which was located in the Galeries Royales St. Hubert, a gorgeous, glass-covered, shopping area.

Galeries Royales St. Hubert

Lunch was so yummy. At least for me. I got a delicious omelet and salad. But unfortunately, Dally didn't order as well. He got a crab sandwich that sounded great, but it had a ton of mayonnaise on it... and we hate mayonnaise. But it was super cheap, which was surprising because it was such a nice little place.

After lunch we headed over to the Grand Place, which is supposed to be the most impressive square in Europe. I won't lie, I was impressed.

Me and Dal in front of the Town Hall in the Grand Place.

These buildings are former guildhalls, the offices for the towns different professions. They now house different shops and restaurants.

More former guildhalls.

We then, of course, had to do a little chocolate shopping...

Godiva: the original, since 1926

The best chocolate-covered strawberries ever!!!

Dal was hungry for another snack so we got some delicious "french" fries, or frites, as the Belgians call them. French fries really aren't French. They are Belgian! So we got some of these delicious fried potatoes straight from the source! Yum. Also, the Belgians like to eat their fries with mayonnaise, not ketchup. Once again, we hate mayonnaise, so we went au naturale.

We like how the Europeans eat their fries with little forks. They don't seem to like finger foods that much. Haha. They all eat pizza, hamburgers, and anything else with a knife and fork!

We then continued to walk around the beautiful city of Brussels.

These murals are all over Brussels. They are scenes from Belgian comics. Apparently, Belgians love comics. If a young Belgian states he wants to write comic books when he grows up he is taken completely seriously. The "Smurfs" are a Belgian comic creation.

We saw the Manneken-Pis in all his glory. He was wearing a funny outfit this time, but still a-peeing. He's under two feet tall-- tiny. The statue was commissioned by the city of Brussels to show the freedom and joie de vivre of living in the city, where happy people eat, drink... and drink... and then pee.

This is the Notre-Dame du Sablon Church.

Next we stopped by the Mercedes house which had some free exhibits and a show room with some sweet automobiles.

Dallin playing the a Mercedes driving video game. I thought he looked funny :)

Then we walked by the Royal palace where the King and royal family of Belgium live.

Like most European countries, the king of Belgium is a figurehead king, but he attempts to create harmony and a bond between the Flemish and Walloon (French-speaking) citizens of Belgium.

And then we ended our time in Brussels with a short walk through the Parc de Bruxelles eventually back to the train station.

Parc du Bruxelles

After exploring Brussels we headed off to our main destination, Bruges. When I first booked the tickets on Ryanair, I was planning to spend most of our time in Brussels with maybe a side trip to Bruges. But I as I started to do more research and talk to more people, I discovered that Brussels is nice, but Bruges is where its at. So we hopped back on the train and made our way to Bruges.

The train was running a little late so we arrived about an hour and half later (it normally would have taken us an hour). We then took the bus from the train station to our cute little bed and breakfast, the Royal Stewart.

After settling in our room we decided to take a walk around town and get some dinner. We found a yummy little restaurant with lots of different foods. Dallin got spaghetti, which was very different from the spaghetti we are used to in Italy, and I got a Croque Madame. YUM.

Cute Dally.

Beautiful canal in Bruges.

After dinner we got a treat that I had long been excited for, and boy was it worth the wait. These Belgian waffles were one of the best things I have ever eaten my life! They were piping hot, dense, with a sugary crust on the outside. I got one slathered in Nutella the first night, but each time we got waffles after, I got them with out any toppings at all, because they were just so good on their own.

A taste of heaven.

Just like in Paris, we experienced very long days in Belgium because we were so far North. So it didn't get dark until after 10 pm. It was great. After the sun went down that night, we walked back to our bed and breakfast and slept.

The next morning we woke up to a lovely breakfast spread of meats and cheeses, rolls, croissants, crepes, and juice prepared by our lovely hostess, Maggie, a Scottish woman who runs the Royal Stewart. It was delicious, and a great change from our normal breakfasts when we travel. We usually just bring poptarts or fiberone bars from home to eat for breakfast, and save our money for lunch, dinner, and treats.

After breakfast we walked out of the B&B towards downtown Bruges. It was great sleeping so near the center of town. We were only a five minute walk from the market square. But Bruges is a great city, because pretty much anywhere you go in town it is quaint and beautiful. Most European cities have a nice, manicured, and pedestrianized historic center of town, and then there is the rest of the town where most of the people actually live and work, which isn't usually as pretty. But I loved Bruges because the whole town seemed like a beautiful, quaint historic district. There was not an ugly square inch in any of the city. Anywhere you went, you were walking along a little canal dotted with white swans, or down a little street  filled with brick houses flaunting colorful flower boxes. The whole city is just the definition of CUTE. I loved it.

Dal and I sitting by a canal in Bruges.

We decided to do a little tour of Bruges reading our Rick Steve's guidebook along the way.

Our tour began in the Markt, the market square in Bruges. This is me in front of the Belfort (the bell tower).

This is the other side of the Markt, a wall of restaurants and stores built in the Neo-Gothic style.

We then made our way to Burg square which is the historical birthplace of Bruges. This square holds the City Hall (left) and the Basilica of the Holy Blood (right). The Basilica of the Holy Blood contains a vial of what the churchgoers believe is a few drops of Christ's blood. Every year on Ascension Day, the vial is paraded through the streets of Bruges.

Then we saw a chocolate store, and we kinda wanted some chocolate, so we got some, and ate it, and it was delicious.

We continued to walk along the pleasant canals and streets of Bruges.

Then we went into the Groeninge Museum which was supposed to have a good collection of Flemish paintings. Unfortunately most of the museum was being renovated, so we didn't get to see all the paintings that I had hoped to see. However, I think this circumstance was a fortunate one Dal. He is getting a little burned out on museums.

Then we made our way to the Church of Our Lady, a Gothic church that stands as a memorial to the power and wealth of Bruges in its heyday.

I creeped on people passing by in the boats from my jail cell for a while.

The Church of Our Lady was still closed when we got there, so we decided to get some lunch at this cute cafe called, Bittersweet.

The food here was delicious. I got some amazing French onion soup. YUM! And the people watching here was great. It was a joy to lounge in this cafe for an hour or so.

Poor Dally. Always falls asleep at lunch time.

After lunch we went back to the Church of Our Lady to go inside and see the Madonna and Child statue by Michelangelo.

It is said that this is the only one of Michelangelo's works to leave Italy during his lifetime.

After seeing the Church of Our Lady we went on a canal cruise tour of Bruges!

Dal being a creeper as we waited for the boat.

I'm on a boat.

After our tour of Bruges via the canals, we walked back over to the Markt to climb up the grand Belfry tower.

The Markt and the Belfry tower.

It was quite the journey getting up to the top. There is only one very narrow, very steep staircase that people have to use in order to get up the tower, as well as down the tower. There were a lot of traffic jams.

View from the top of the tower and the carillon bells. These bells would ring out beautiful melodies every fifteen minutes.

After climbing the tower we decided to rent some bikes and ride into the countryside to the nearby town of Damme. We saw some windmills along the way.

Riding bikes through the Flemish countryside, was probably one my favorite part of our whole trip. It was so beautiful, the ride was easy and smooth, and it was so fun!

Paradise

When we got to Damme we explored the town a bit on bike. It was kind of like a mini Bruges.

A cool, old, bombed out church in Damme.

We found Smurfs painted on a house in Damme and a pasture of sheep!

After exploring Damme we rode our bikes along the canal back to Bruges.

The canal that leads to Damme.

We then got some dinner at a restaurant called De Hobbit. They had all you can eat ribs. They were delicious! However we also purchase our most expensive bottle of water yet. It was six euro for a one liter bottle!!! That is like quadruple the price of gasoline in Italy. We were amazed.

After dinner, it was still really light outside so we continued to ride around Bruges on our bikes. This was so fun. There are hardly any cars on the streets of Bruges so we were free to ride around the city, diving into narrow back alleys and cruising over bridges. It was so fun, and a great way to see the city.

Peaceful Bruges after sunset.

Cruising around and having a blast.

In the evening, after the tour boats stop running, the canals are peaceful and glassy.

When it finally got dark, we rode our bikes back to the Royal Stewart and retired for the night.

The next day we woke up to another yummy breakfast at our B&B. Then we packed up our stuff and then got back on our bikes. We rode through town again to the southern part of Bruges to the Begijnhof, a community of little houses which were built to house women of the lay order, the Beguines.

Bruges in the morning. It was such a beautiful and sunny day.

The Beguines were women who devoted themselves to piety and service but did not have to take the same vows as the nuns. The Begijhof was so pretty and peaceful.

Begijnhof

After that, Dallin and I continued to ride our bikes through the parks and various streets of Bruges. We sat by canal for a while and relaxed and then searched for some lunch. 

Dallin contemplating life by the canal.

It was really hard to find a place that was open and would be quick enough because we had to start heading to the airport in an hour or so. So we settled for some fast food from the carts below the Belfry. It was not too good. But oh well. Then we went chocolate shopping! We got some truffles and a two kilogram box of pralines from the cutest little chocolate store called Confiserie Jan de Clerck. By the way, Belgian pralines are not what we would think of as pralines. They are chocolates with a hard chocolate shell with various fillings inside. After chocolate shopping we rode back to the B&B to pick up our bags and then we dropped off our bikes at the bike rental shop.

We hopped on the bus to get to the train station. It was starting to get hot and the bus did not have air conditioning and the windows would not open, so it was like a green house in there! It was so hot, and we were so worried that our chocolates that we just purchased would not survive. We were bummed. Luckily we got to the train station and it was cool there. We checked on our chocolates to make sure they were all right, and ate a few too. :) Then we got on our train, and wouldn't you know it, there was no air conditioning on the train either! And the windows would not open. At first we thought the A/C was just broken in the car we were in, so we started walking up and down the train in search of A/C. No luck. Until we found an area in between where two cars were connected, and alas there were opening windows, and also an air conditioning vent! Hooray! We stuck our chocolates right by the air conditioning vent. I felt like we were hobos because there were no seats in this area, and there was no one else in there. But we didn't care because the rest of the train was miserably hot.

Hobo Dally in our secret part of the train that had air conditioning.

We rode this train back to Brussels and then at Brussels we transferred to another train that would take us to Charleroi. Luckily our second train was new and air conditioning. From the Charleroi train station we had to take a bus to get to the airport, and again, this bus had no air conditioning or open windows. It must not get hot very often in Belgium, because so much of the public transportation does not have air conditioning. It was insane. Finally after what seemed like a million transfers we made it to Charleroi airport. Our flight took off from Charleroi without a hitch and we were on our way home to Venice.

I loved this trip so much. Belgium is an awesome country that many people just overlook when they travel to Europe. But I am so glad that we were able to see it. And Bruges has definitely made it to the top of my favorite cities in the world list. Oh! Also, our two kilogram box of chocolates arrived home safely as well, completely intact. Were they worth the trouble of worrying and desperately searching for air conditioning? Oh baby. Yes they were.