Like my Berlin post, this entry will be slightly abridged. Partly because I’m behind a few weeks in writing, partly because I’ve become a bit exhausted and jaded from these 3000+ word recollections, and partly because Bruxelles did not offer much of an extraordinary experience.
I think the biggest highlight of my trip was my hostel/bed-and-breakfast, Sleephere. An 8-bed, 3-story apartment just outside the centre of town, the place is run solely by a Belgian native, Karel, and his adorable dog, César. It is a cozy place, and each guest is treated as if he or she were one of Karel’s own family. It has a living room with a grand piano, a kitchen and a dining room on the first floor. The upper floors contain all of the bedrooms. There are private and shared options, like a hostel, but since it can only house 8 guests, it creates the intimate vibe of a bed and breakfast. Karel works every day of the year, with the exception of just a few weeks in the summer where in which he finds a bit of time for himself.
The encounter was a bit of a seductive experience for me – I saw the life of a man, who lives in a house with a grand piano and a dog, and has dedicated his life to meeting and hosting countless strangers on a daily basis. I spent the weekend dreaming up the possibility of doing something similar in the future, and maybe in the process kick-starting the long-awaited hostel trend in the States. Any takers?
The night I arrived I met a traveler from Brasil who was studying in Deutschland. Lazarro and I would end up spending the entire next day exploring Bruxelles together.
Without Sandeman’s to guide us (they will not open up shop in Bruxelles until the Spring), we had to make due with our own tour. We had a few sightseeing books and map that Karel gave us with a route marked throughout the city centre. We ventured along this path, learning what we could and taking in the sights on a very chilly Saturday. Despite the cold, the weather was gorgeous, giving us blue skies for what little daytime Winter offered us.
We hit up every major site, including Mannequin Pis, which was a bit of a let-down. Bruxelles had dressed him up – forgive me, but I was hoping to see the statue of a chubby nude boy pissing in the streets. Is that too much to ask for? Along with the sightseeing, we made it a point to indulge in some of Belgium’s internationally famous delicacies: we had their chocolate, their beer (particularly Mort Subite’s Kriekbier, a blood red Cherry-infused lambic), and their waffles straight from a side-of-the-road Waffle Van (Karel said it’s the only way to try a Belgian Waffle). Unfortunately, I spaced and forgot to have their famed Pommes Fritas (Belgian Fries). Maybe next time.
At night we found dinner at an Italian place near Saint Catherine, and headed to Delirium, quite possibly the most famous bar in the entire world. Though, that is a bit of a misnomer. Delirium is not just one bar, but a series of bars that have taken over a dead-end alley in the heart of the city centre, just steps away from the Grand Palace. Between all of its bars, Delirium offers an astounding list of over 2,000 different kinds of beers. Certainly, this is one place that would require a hefty meal prior to visiting. Lazarro and I closed out the night at Delirium, making friends with some Belgian locals and exchange students that were in the middle of a reunion. Out of all the bars in the alley, I only made it to two.
As you can imagine, it took a bit of effort to wake up the next morning. This was unfortunate, as Lazarro and I had made plans to leave by 08:00 in order for him to see the European Union city before his early train at noon. I ended up rolling out of bed around 09:30. It is hard to explain how bad I felt when I woke to see Lazarro waiting on his bed next to mine, his face expressing a mix of regret, sadness, and most of all, disappointment. I let my new friend down, and for that, I am deeply sorry.
We went our own ways, and I paired up with a very quiet Chinese girl for my second and last day in Bruxelles. As I originally planned with Lazarro, we first hit up the European Union city, looking at all of the huge buildings that play host to some of Europe’s most powerful people. We strolled through a park and headed by the Parliament building. I got off some good shots and then made my way to see some museums.
I wanted to see the Magritte Museum and the MIM, the Musical Instruments Museum, but time ended up only allowing for the latter. I took my time seeing a much larger version of the one I saw in Praha, and thought it was much more worth my while (except for, of course, Praha’s Beatles exhibit). It was amazing to see all of the different and similar ways cultures from all over the world came up with revolutionary innovations to converse in a universal language that has spanned centuries. Walking through this museum reinforced music as a timeless thread of our human nature.
My new friend and I ended the day with dinner at another Italian place, and I headed back for the train. Like I said before, Bruxelles did not really offer anything extraordinary, but it was still a worthwhile trip. It is described as the capital of Europe, and that fact came to life while walking around the city. You could feel a sense of so many different cultures crammed into one place, despite its reliance on just the French and Flemish languages. Bruxelles would be a reasonable place to live, yet it does not top my list of the cities I’ve visited. It is tempting, however, to live amongst people that champion waffles, chocolate, and beer.
