Brussels for 36 hours

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In order to avoid what was deemed to be travel chaos, as well as a workers' strike in London, I decided to see where else Emirates flew to for options. I was to meet my friend in London on Friday, but I figured I could take an extra day or two elsewhere. Brussels seemed like a good alternative. I could visit a city I had not yet seen and take a train through the Chunnel, one of my dreams... My flight was very nice; I upgraded to Business. The flight attendants were so great - lately I have experienced up and down service with Emirates. But this guy was awesome. He asked me what I wanted to drink, and I guess I picked one very low in alcohol and he said, that's not much.... maybe try something else and suggested the Nespresso Martini. It was delicious!

Agora Hotel

I arrived around 7 pm on Wednesday night and was easily through customs and quickly found a train, with the help of a couple of people. The first train I was actually on was broken down and an announcement was made in French (?), so a woman told me what happened and we crossed to the next platform. I figured out my station and the short walk to my hotel, located near the famous Grand Place. Even with the delay, I was still about 30 minutes early to the hotel I had booked. Thankfully, because this was a boutique hotel that closed at 10pm.

The guy, Alex, at the front desk was super nice and gave me a quick tour of this quaint place. It was built in 1696 and was now considered a protected structure. As such, they are quite limited in the improvements and upgrades they can do. So, it was a climb up 3 stories of steep steps to my room at the top. I loved my room! It was just like the picture. As there is no AC in this protected building, they had a fan plugged in that I pretty much kept on me at night - for the air and white noise. They had lots of little thoughtful touches and it was in a prime location.

Grand Place

That night, I did not want to waste time, so I walked down the street and found my way to the Grand Place. I will have more to say further down, but it was quite lovely. I also loved how so many people were out and about, enjoying the great weather. They were in outdoor cafes, many lining the sides of Grand Place. There was even an individual doing stunts as a bit of street show. However, what really blew me away was the architecture. It was getting late at night, even though it was still quite light out, so I could not really do touristy things. I took a few photos, then found my way to a little side restaurant to try some Belgian frites and beer. Then I went back to my room for bed.

The next morning, a former co-worker from Dubai (my former manager actually), picked me up and drove me to the Brussels office to see it. I got to tour the very nice lab and met some of his colleagues, enjoying a nice lunch with them outside in the cute courtyard. Then I took a taxi back and continued my tour of the old city.

I walked around the Town Hall, which has amazing sculptures on the outside as well as some interesting fountains inside the courtyard. I did not go in the building, but walked around the area a bit. The surrounding buildings are also of stunning architecture, generally in the Baroque style. The majority of these are former Guild Halls, and are just beautiful and well preserved.

Brussels City Museum

I then headed to the Museum, just on the other side of Grand Place. It is housed in a building constructed in the early 16th century, on orders of the Duke of Brabant. The building is Flamboyant style and on the site of the former bread guilds, often referred to its nickname of the Bread House. It is also sometimes called the King's House, as the Duke of Brabant later became King of Spain. However, it did go through quite a few renovation changes throughout the years. In 1887, the building's use was changed to house a museum.

Within are many different artifacts, tapestries, art, statues, etc. They have quite a bit of kitchenware in one room, some door borders in another, beautiful tapestries in another... Then you walk up stairs with these beautiful stained glass windows to another floor, which is basically devoted to the history of the construction of the city. The top floor houses the "Mannekin Pis", a famous fountain statue of a little boy peeing and is replicated all over the place, including some interesting examples within the room. Another room here also contains a timeline of the city with some other artwork.

After this, I went to get Belgian waffles - my choices were Nutella and strawberries. Yum! I bought a few souvenirs, even venturing into a chocolate shop! I had no idea what to buy so I grabbed a few gift packages.

I then decided to take a break, because it had been a long day. I took a nap and came back out, this time walking across the street away from Grand Place to get a view uphill of the city at sunset. Again, many people just hanging out and enjoying the day. It was a great view! I came back down and headed back to Grand Place where I got dinner at a little corner seafood restaurant - mussels and wine! So, at this point I had pretty much hit the culinary offerings of Belgium.

Chunnel

In the morning, I easily made my way to the train station, Brussels Midi, just one stop away from my current location. It was a bit confusing to find the international departures, which were all the way on the complete opposite side of the huge station. But found it I did. Since Brexit, you now have to go through customs before you board the train, and you even come up to a sign that says "Welcome to the UK". Once inside, I found the business lounge, much better than the busy regular lounge, though very limited food selection. I loved my seat on the train - forward facing single seat. We got some breakfast, which I picked at. But the ride was smooth with just one stop - no disembarking, just picking up a few more passengers. Then we were on our way. I must say, I was a bit disappointed. The train and ride was great.... I just figured there would be an announcement or something when we approached the Chunnel. Instead I only realized we were there when the darkness consumed us. I thought it would be a bit more of a big deal, this engineering marvel. Maybe I am just an uber nerd.

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Comments

[Home and Away]

Thanks for the memories...
we lived in Brussels from 1984 to 1995. I would love a Belgian waffle and a box of chocolates about now...

[D MJ Binkley]

Exploring
Looks like you started off on the right foot!