Belgium Bound!

Last weekend, I got the chance to go to Belgium and to explore the cities of Bruges and Brussels!

Day 1: Bruges

My friend and I left for our flight at 3:30 in the morning to fly into Brussels. When we arrived in Brussels, we immediately got on a train to go to Bruges, which was only about an hour. The train rides are great because you can get a mini-tour of the Belgium and all the scenery. When we arrived, we immediately looked for something to eat and found a cute sandwich place where we could make our own sandwiches and choose what was in it. After that, we found a cafe to get some iced coffee and found the cutest place. It was also the first time I learned that when you get coffee in the cafes of Belgium, they always give you a tiny biscuit or cookie.

After we dropped our bags at our Hostel, we walked around some more before going on a boat tour down the canals of Bruges. The bright colors of the buildings reflected off the water almost as though the water itself was glowing. When our ride was finished, we decided to hike up the bell tower in the Markt, which is the towns main square. The steps seemed endless to get to the top, but the view was worth it. We got to see Bruges in all its entirety. We could see the windmills across the skyline and all the beautiful buildings below our feet.

Walking around was the best part of the trip simply because it allowed us to see everything including shops, houses, and plants. We found a burger place for dinner that had Belgian fries. They gave us so many fries that we almost couldn’t finish them.  Before going to bed for the night, we had to stop for dessert. It was my opportunity to get my first Belgian waffle. It was sooooo good, definitely my favorite food on the trip. The whipped cream was made from scratch and it was the best I’ve ever had. Belgian waffles are definitely sweeter than regular breakfast waffles and I think that’s why I liked them more.

Day 2: Bruges/Brussels

Once we woke up, we immediately looked for a cafe to get some coffee before getting on the train to go to Brussels. Once we finished our coffee, we walked around some more and went inside some beautiful churches. When we later arrived in Brussels, once again we immediately searched for a place to eat lunch. We got sandwiches once again and they really hit the spot. After we finished we dropped off our things before walking around and exploring the city. Brussels is definitely more similar to the cities in the United States with sky scrapers and modern buildings. We found some steps in front of the art museum and got to watch the sunset from one of the best views in Brussels. There was also a street performer playing his guitar and singing while we watched.

Day 3: Brussels

Since we did not have a real plan of things to do, we decided to walk towards the central square and see what we found. We went to two different museums and I got to learn all about the history of Belgium as well as the history of comics. The comic museum was so cool because it was very immersive and colorful. The smurfs exhibit was my favorite because we got to see tiny smurf-sized props that were adorable. When it came to the art museums, my favorite pieces of art were the landscape paintings, specifically the sunsets.

The central square was stunning. There were so many gold details that made the architecture look frozen in time. It was such an elegant touch to the buildings that I was obsessed with. We got to sit in the square to drink some coffee and watch some street dancers. The sun was shining and it was truly a beautiful day. Before we left for the airport, I got to have one last Belgian waffle and it was just as good as the other one I had. We sadly had to leave for the airport after that, but everything with our flight went very smoothly and we even got to see the sunset.

Belgium was not originally on my bucket list of countries before I arrived here, however it has now become one of my favorite places I’ve been.