A Taste of Belgium
Three cities. Four Museums. Three Churches. One Boat. One Bell Tower. 89,091 Steps.
I recently took an incredible vacation that launched in Belgium. My husband and I spent a quick 3.5 days exploring Belgium and loved every moment. I’ve offered a quick recap here, higlighting my favourite experiences and reflecting on the trip as a whole.
We arrived late in the evening on our first day, so we didn’t get much of a chance to see or do much. But we got out for a quick look around and had our first visit to the Grand Place; then it was back to our Airbnb to get a good rest for our first full day.
Day One
On our first day, we focused on Brussels. We walked our way through the city, enjoying the early morning hours while the air was crisp and the streets were quiet. We found the Manneken Pis, the world-famous statue of a peeing little boy, which is regularly dressed up in costumes. We headed up to the Mont Des Arts for a gorgeous view overlooking the city. We were even lucky enough to have someone playing the accordion nearby, adding to the ambience of the moment.
As we wandered through the Galleries Royales Saint-Hubert, we decided to purchase the Brussels City Pass for the day, allowing us to visit several museums. We settled on visiting the Comic Strip Museum, the Palais du Coudenberg, the Magritte Museum, and the grand finale was the Belgian World Beer Tour. Each had its own highlights, and I am glad we got to see so much. But, since the beer tour ended with a rooftop bar with a stunning view, it may have been the winner.
Day Two
For our second day, we took the train to Brugge. Since we arrived relatively early, everything was still quiet and easy to explore. It was the quintessential small European town. Many areas feel like they are captured in history, with the cobblestone streets and old buildings. We jumped onto a canal boat tour almost immediately and were so glad we did. Very quickly after us, the tours got busy and the boats full. We enjoyed a coffee while waiting for our scheduled time to climb the Belfort Belfry Tower. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the streets, seeking out photo opportunities and immersing ourselves in the atmosphere of the small Belgian town. We broke up the afternoon with a stop at De Halve Maan Brewing. We enjoyed one of their beers and some Belgian fries, making for a perfect afternoon break. Back in Brussels, we topped off our day with a visit to Delirium Village. My. My husband and I are big lovers of Delirium beer and really wanted to check out this alley of bars. We decided to lean into our tourist personas and get the famous metre of beer. It’s a set of 10 Delirium beer samples stretching one metre long. In all honesty, many of the flavoured beers were not really my thing, but there was a lot of fun in the experience.
Day Three
Time for another day trip! This time we headed off to Antwerp. This city seems like a hidden gem. A lot of my research suggested Bruges and Ghent, but Antwerp was not mentioned as often. It is one of those cities that has the hustle and bustle of a larger city but allows you to escape to small, historical and quiet areas quickly. To start, you arrive at the most stunning train station. This type of thing is what truly amazes me about travelling to Europe: the architecture. In North America, we do not see the elaborately detailed structures that exist in Europe. We visited the Cathedral of Our Lady, yet another stunning church, another incredible display of architecture and beauty. Along the way, we stumbled across a small courtyard that is part of the Meir Royal Palace, previously owned by Napoleon. These moments, the following something that is caught out of the corner of my eye, are my favourites when travelling. We’ve discovered some of our favourite sights this way. We, of course, had to check out the Brabo Monument, which depicts the legend of Brabo, the soldier who defeated the giant who controlled the city, cutting off his hand and throwing it in the river. It’s understood that this is where the name Antwerp comes from (throwing the hand = handwerpen in Flemish). Other main stops included the Museum Aan De Storm (MAS) for the panoramic view of the city and the De Koninck Brewery. But, I cannot wrap up Antwerp without highlighting the waffles we had from Wafelhuis Van Hecke. This Waffle House was founded in 1903, and my reading informed me that its founder initially sold waffles in pubs before establishing its brick-and-mortar location. We were greeted by the incredibly friendly cook and settled on the “White Raspody” with Creme de la Creme - a waffle coated in icing sugar with a side of whipped cream. We chanced upon a bench outside and enjoyed this incredible treat in the sunshine. After a full day of exploring, we hopped back on the train for our final evening in Brussels.
My time in Brussels was short but sweet. Typically, when I travel, I stick primarily in one city, trying to see everything and really digging into the area. This was the first time that we decided to do multiple-day trips, taking advantage of the incredible train system and broadening the scope of our visit. This decision led to more opportunities to highlight those values of adventure, curiosity and freedom. I was incredibly pleased with our time here and felt that we really fulfilled our expectations and intentions.