Brussels

“Eindelijk, eindelijk heb ik de post over mijn reis naar Brussel geschreven. Ik ging naar Brussel al een tijdje geleden dus wist dat het tijd was om samen stuk van de reis en zet het onder woorden zou nemen . Tot slot kan ik dit aan u allen. Hoop dat je geniet”

For those who do not know Dutch, basically, welcome to my post about my trip to Brussels.

This trip took place a few years ago, so all the ins and outs of it I can’t quite piece together. However, photos are a wonderful thing and I know that it was a brilliant trip. I am quite a solo traveller nowadays and this was my first adventure abroad. A bit daunting but at the time, “What the hell?”

Let’s start with some basic facts. I travelled to Brussels via Eurostar, in Premier Standard Class. I thought I’d treat myself to a few extra perks on route to a new country. You get a bit of extra legroom, a meal, bigger seat and large tray/table. I remember walking through the train to get to a vacant toilet and passed through a standard class carriage where there were a lot of big families. I was glad I chose Premier Standard Class where I had peace and quiet. I recommend giving this upgrade a go sometime.

I stayed at a hotel in a ground floor room. The room was nice, but what I remember most about it was that there was a fire exit door inside the room. A very odd place to have it I thought. If that happens to you in the future make sure you wear your nice pj’s to avoid total embarrassment during a fire alarm. It did not go off whilst I was there thank goodness, can you imagine!

When I was booking the trip I researched in depth into where to stay, the travel, and what to see and do. From this, I came across the Brussels Pass. Most cities nowadays will have something like this available, as was the case when I went to New York and Rome. The pass gives you free access to nearly all of the major tourist attractions, discounts on food/shops and travel on the metro. You can’t really go wrong with it.

I stayed a few nights so I could see a lot of things. My days were crammed and yet there were still places I didn’t see. That’s just always the way, isn’t it? The biggest disappoint was missing out on going to the Tintin museum just outside of Brussels. It was either fully booked or not open on the days I chose to go. By the time I saw that I had already chosen the dates, looked for hotels, travels costs, etc. Changing all of that to go to one place didn’t seem worth it. It’s a perfect reason to go back, though.

The majority of writing on this post you have read, so now I will let the photos speak a thousand words.

Porte de Hal (castle)

Atomium

Mini-Europe

Mini-Europe was right next door from the Atomium so very convenient. Here you could visit all the famous places in Europe without the travel and expense. I was amazed to see the small models of famous places and imagined what they were like full scale. There were a few model trains running through the site with mini figures dotted around every country.

How many landmarks do you recognise?

Belgium comic strip centre – Kinky and Cosy, Tintin.

I am such a Tintin fan. I loved watching it as a child. I may not have gone to the Tintin museum but the sections here were very engaging.

Grand Place

Probably the central attraction in Brussels. The building is absolutely beautiful.

Museum of Natural Sciences

Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert

Famous shopping arcade in Brussels.

Royal Palace of Brussels

Chocolate museum

The final place I went was something I couldn’t miss. You can’t come to Brussels without doing something related to chocolate. It was fascinating to see how chocolate can be turned into a piece of art.

Other photos

Looking back at all these photos reminds me of how much I actually saw and enjoyed. As you can probably tell the weather was pretty perfect most of the time I was there. I thought this would be a massive issue in the chocolate museum but it was okay.

I was very happy I went. I booked it at quite short notice and it was worth it. It was a good choice because it was easy to get to. Eurostar is quite handy in that regard.

As for a particular highlight, I really couldn’t pick just one thing. The Atomium is such a unique structure and experience, mini-europe was actually huge (ironic!) with so much to see, Grand Place was beautiful and the comic strip centre was a lot of fun. For a solo travel adventure is was a wonderful experience.

Have you been to Brussels?

Is there one thing you enjoyed most?

Is there something I missed seeing?

No need for postcards, feel free to leave a comment below…