Brussels, Belgium

Home to the best beer, chocolate, waffles, and french fries "frites" around--needless to say it was a weekend of indulgence!! I boarded a 6:45 pm plane Thursday evening to Brussels and the 1 hour 20 minute flight arrived seamlessly. I was greeted at the airport by Oz at the other end :) (The other end of the longest airport ever haha---I thought I would never find my way out!)

The train/metro ride back to his apartment was a bit of a transition from what I am accustomed to in Copenhagen. It was much more crowded (most likely due to the fact that the Copenhageners are obsessed with their bikes and don't use public transportation quite as heavily as people in Belgium), and the people seemed more hurried. Although Brussels and Copenhagen are similar in size, the atmosphere of the two cities are very different. Brussels is tall buildings, dirtier streets and metro stations, more impersonal and a whole eclectic mix of people--definitely much more city feel than "cozy" Copenhagen. The fact that Brussels is an international city, housing the EU and people employed there from all parts of Europe (and commuting each day) probably translates into a more impersonal big city feel (or the fact that I only spent a few days there could be a factor as well!) I have to say, I really did enjoy my time in Brussels-- it was nice breathing some city life for the weekend! (OK-Brussels isn't really that big city, it just seemed so compared to what I am used to in Copenhagen--I'm sure once I go to London or an actual big city I will retract my words about Brussels haha)

It was getting late by the time we got back to Oz's apartment, so we grabbed some dinner to go on our way home, got ready quick and headed out to experience a little of the Brussels nightlife. I was anxious to sample this famous Belgian beer everyone had been raving about! We went to two different bars, Celtica was the first one--had a dance floor on the top and then a funny guy playing sing-a-long (Tom Petty-ish) songs with a guitar downstairs, which was really entertaining. We then went to "Delirium"--although really smokey, GREAT bar overall. They have over 2000 beers on tap, and serving beer here is an art--each beer is served in its own distinct glass (drinking beer out of stemware-classy!), they pour the beer in one quick pour and it overflows, then they lop the head of the beer off with a knife and slide it across the bar. I was impressed with the beers-delicious! The night was pretty laidback overall, and I really enjoyed myself--we didn't do anything too crazy because we were catching a train to Amsterdam in the morning!


Friday (and part of Saturday):
Amsterdam--great!!! (see other blog)


Sunday:
I forced Oz to be my running buddy Sunday morning--It was my excuse to eat more waffles and chocolate and beer haha :)

Our first stop after the run--The Atomium. The Atomium is a 103 meter (335 feet) tall monument originally built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, and was intended to stay standing for only 6 months. It gained quick popularity and became a modern symbol of architecture and Brussels and still remains standing (obviously!!) It is in the shape of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times (cool huh?) and you can go all the way to the top and get a stunning view of the city. Check out my pictures--they explain a little better what I'm talking about! :)

Following the adventure at the atomium, we popped open our umbrellas (its always raining in Brussels), and took a walk through a big park to explore some more sights. We came across the Royal Palace, a King Leopold memorial, and a beautiful chinese pavillion bought/built by King Leopold. We walked through Grand Place (main square in Brussels-really beautiful), and the saw the famous Manneken pis (dutch for little man pee)--a small statue (61 cm) of a little boy who is continually peeing into the fountain that once supplied drinking water to the city. There are a few legends behind the statue and he is often dressed in funny costumes including elvis, saint nicholas, mozart, and tons of others! Not much to see, but there was a constant crowd around the little guy claiming their space to snap a photo with the legendary pee-er.

After a day of sightseeing, Oz took me across the street from Mannekin to a bar called Poechenellekelder--funky decorations, fun environment, and an authentic atmosphere to it. I tried two beers-"La Divine" and "Triple Karmeliet"--both very tasty. I also tasted Oz's "Rochefort 10" and "chimay Bleu" (I think??). Although the service was ridiculously slow, it was one of my favorite times of the weekend--just relaxing, talking, slowing down for a bit and sipping a delicious drink. It was refreshing to just get a break from all the running around and just be with eachother and catch up--really perfect end to a great day!


Monday:
REALLLLLY rainy and windy. Horrible, terrible weather! I got a very brief showing of the European Union buildings (just snapped a few pictures haha), before jumping back on the metro to visit the Justice Palace. The Justice Palace is Brussels' enormous, beautiful court house. The inside is really impressive, with great architecture and incredibly high, intricate ceilings. The outside is being renovated so I couldnt get a good view, but overall it was an interesting building to get a glimpse of.

The weather was awful for sightseeing, so we opted to take a quick tour of the Brussel's mall, exciting! We walked around for a bit, grabbed a few groceries for dinner, and headed back to his place to relax, watch a movie and hang out for a bit before I had to catch my plane home! It was sad leaving him again, but we will be in Greece in a week for spring break so I don't have too much to cry about!!

I left Brussels feeling spoiled (chocolate, waffles, beer, fries!!!!) and satisfied from an amazing weekend. Off to spring break (Lisbon, Portugal--Madrid, Spain--Greek Islands)...update you when I get home. CHEERS!!!!!