Believe it or not, this is the last stop on our 2-month European trip. Today is the last day of our Eurail Pass. After Brussels, we'll be taking the last Eurail Pass train ride back to Hamburg, where we started 2 months ago. If you've been following my blog, thank you for reading it. I still have a few more posts - at least one to summarize this wonderful once-in-a-lifetime trip. I will be Hamburg for a few more days before flying back to Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, October 30th.
I've been through Belgium a few times but never actually stop in Brussels. Being one of the biggest cities in Europe, I often wonderful what it's like. We took a long-winded train from Paris. Long-winded because the direct, fast train from Paris to Brussels would costs us 42 euros each, even with the Eurail Pass. I don't know why the French train charge so much. However, we took 3 slower trains and paid only about 6 euros each but it took almost 3 hours to get to Brussels.
We took a 20-minute walk from Brussels' Midi Station on Stalingrad Avenue to the hotel. I was surprised by the diversity of the people on the street. I expected to see mostly white Europeans but I saw many light-skinned Arabs. I assume they are from Tunisia or Algeria. I also saw quite a few Asians (including Indians) and Blacks on the street and businesses. The Arabs run mostly the produce stores and some restaurants.
We've been staying in hostels all along but once in a while it is difficult to find hostels in a city. Brussels is one of them. We checked into the Hotel Mirabeau but the hotel didn't look too good. I went upstairs to check the room and found that I can't close the window. The room didn't look too good either. I immediately came downstairs and told the hotel clerk. I told him I can't take the room because it is in bad condition. He got his boss to agree to give me a refund, including the deposit. I was surprised but definitely delighted.
So we started walking towards the Grand Place, which is the major tourist attraction in Brussels. I've seen a few hostels on hostelworld.com that look promising. Unfortunately, we didn't come across any. We passed a police station and I went in to ask if they know of a hostel nearby. I think the clerk at the station misunderstood me and thought I was looking for a hotel. She pointed me in the direction where I can find a hotel. We found the hotel but it was full but there was a hotel next door that has a room available. So, for 79 euros we slept in a 2-star hotel that is not in the best shape. The lights in the bathroom did not work (I think it was shorted out). For that amount of money we could've stayed in a hostel for 2 nights. At least they had a pretty good breakfast.
Brussels is probably one of the least interesting cities that we've been to on this trip. Other than the area around the Grand Place, there is not much to see. The Grand Place is just a square with a few beautiful old buildings. Around this square are narrow streets with restaurants and tourist shops, a lot of them selling chocolates. Another must-see in Brussels is Le Manneken Pis or "Little Man Piss." It's a 2-foot high statue built in 1619. They dress him in different costumes out of a collection of about 600 that are kept in a museum. On the day that I was there, he was naked, as shown in the 2nd picture below. For whatever reason, this little statue attracts throngs of tourists from all over the world.
Besides the above tourist attractions, Belgium is most famous for its waffles, chocolates and beer. You can buy waffles from a small waffle shop for 1 euro. I added a little strawberry topping to mine for 2 euros. There are chocolate shops everywhere. I didn't try any as I am not a big chocolate fan and they are pricey as well.
We tasted local beer wherever we went on this trip. Whenever I asked Europeans who they think brew the best beer, Belgian beer is always on the list. Their most famous brand is Stella Artois, which is sold in the US. Other countries that are frequently mentioned are Czech, German and Dutch. On who has the best wine, most would say French, Hungarian, and Portuguese. Even among our French friends that we met in Paris, they agree on this list as well.
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| Sunset View of buildings in Grand Palace |
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| Manneken Piss |
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| Waffles with strawberry |
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| A chocolate shop |
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