“What is Belgium famous for?” we were asking ourselves on our first night… We wanted to immerse ourselves in the capital of Europe before we needed a visa to visit!
Chocolate, yes. Beer, certainly. Detectives? Bien sur. We soon found that Brussels had so much to offer that five days might not be enough to see it all!
The culture
Brussels had at least as many museums as London, and arguably some richer collections. The museum quarter has about half a dozen enormous venues within a mile squared. They include the Palais des Beaux Arts (known locally as “Bozar”), the Royal Palace, the Royal Museum, the Musee Belvue, the Musee Magritte, the Musical Instruments Museum, and so on and so on!
The “Fin de Siecle” exhibit has seven floors of impressionist and modernist art and is so mindbogglingly large that Emily spent two hours trying to find her way out!
On the other hand, history museums are more my game. I spent a very agreeable afternoon in the National Museum. It was almost empty except for a teenage couple on a date. God knows why they chose the neolithic exhibit to amble in. I don’t see the romance in flint arrowheads myself! The only let down was the small furniture/carpentry exhibit I had been looking forward to all day – it had nothing on the V&A.
By complete chance our first metro journey ended at Maelbeek, the metro station involved in the 2016 Brussels terror attacks. It was a sad reminder of recent events.
The food
Dad had pointed us towards a few nice restaurants on the Rue des Bouchers. But when we realised quite how nice they were, we reverted to TripAdvisor’s recommendations.
On the third evening of our stay we splashed out on a good meal at a cosy restaurant in Sablon. The place had a smattering of Belgian flags, football memorabilia and Tintin prints, but it felt really homely all the same.
Emily and I enjoyed some rich Belgian cuisine, while Jenny tried on hats.
But most of our dinners were home-made, using up the last of the food supplies that we had taken for the journey. Our options were pretty limited so we had to get creative. Sausages in one form or another appeared in every meal, and Jenny invented her (now signature) korma-risotto fusion gruel.
For lunches we went to the bakeries dotted all about town, and for an afternoon snack we looked no further than the waffle parlours off the central square.
Of course with no more driving to do, and needing to immerse ourselves in local habits, we turned to alcohol. I know a few of my friends and at least one of my parents would love to indulge in the Belgian beer scene. But I’m not so fond of these blonde beers that taste of banana bread. Emily and I had other ideas.
The scenery
We arrived in Brussels to find the city in bloom! Pink trees covered every street, and when the wind picked up it blew blizzards of blossom through the boulevards. It was absolutely stunning.
The EU
No Brussels blog would be complete without a nod to the EU. Our apartment was housed in the EU administrative quarter. Optimistic posters and banners about the EU were a common sight along streets flanked by high-rise office buildings.
I visited the “Parliamentarium”, or museum of the EU, on our last full day in Brussels. It gave a wonderful account of the history of modern Europe, and featured more interactive displays than you could imagine!
The most recent little plaque on the timeline running through the building was a bland notice about Brexit. On another political note, Jenny, Emily and I want to express how thrilled we are to be in Outer Mongolia for the majority of the UK general election campaign.
That’s all for now – tune in next time for our first posts about Mongolia!
Alex
The Mongolia Ambulance Project 