Article Travelogue Brussels 2017

I got a weekend stay in Brussels from my beloved husband and brother-in-law Martin. I didn't find out where I would actually fly until the evening at the airport and it was a really nice surprise. The whole flight went without complications. We landed at Charleroi Airport and from there we continued by bus to Brussels. The bus stop was full of people and we got to the second bus, which arrived after about twenty minutes. The journey took an hour. From the stop we headed straight for the hotel and to bed. A challenging day awaits us tomorrow.

In the morning we finally head to the center to see the beauty of Brussels. We take the metro and choose the Atomium as the first tourist attraction in Brupark. The first look is amazing to me. Of course, I only found out on the spot that it was a 165 billion times magnified crystal lattice of iron. As it is early Saturday morning, the Atomium is under siege by tourists. We are a little ahead, we pay the entrance fee and we want to be inside as soon as possible. We go through the check at the entrance and go around all the open balls. Of course, we will also visit the restaurant in the highest sphere, where we will finally see the staff and refreshments after a few minutes. It is a beautiful view of the Mini-Europe and the surrounding area. We will not miss a visit to the Mini-Europe, which is a park with about 300 scale models of important European buildings. We receive a brochure right at the entrance and we are stopped by a photographer with a clown in a costume, so we take a nice photo for about 6 euros. The models are really nicely elaborated and we also like the button for each of them, which triggers the national anthem of the country. This attraction is definitely worth a visit. It's shortly after one o'clock in the afternoon and we set out for the next point of our visit, the peeing boy Menneken Pis, located on the corner of Rue de l'Etuve (Stoofstraat) and Rue des Grands Carmes (Lievevrouwbro­ersstraat), near the Grand-Place. This little boy is a symbol of Brussels and despite being really small, he has a lot of visitors. His clothes change every day. One day we saw a national costume and the next day a prison outfit. Since 1987, he also has a counterpart, the peeing girl Jaenneke Pis. In 1998, the peeing dog Zinneke Pis joined them. Immediately afterwards, we arrive at the Grande-Palace Square, which completely captivated me. The most beautiful square I've ever seen. We were lucky to see a tall Christmas tree, a market place and a nativity scene. Of course, there are also a number of cafes, restaurants and patisseries. On the tower is a statue of St. Michael, who is the patron saint of Brussels. I was surprised that Belgium is a country of fries. According to legend, this is allegedly due to American soldiers who arrived in Belgium during World War II, where Belgian French-speaking soldiers served them french fries for the first time. According to French-speaking colleagues, the French designation for French fries, which over time has spread throughout the world, has remained. Pommes frites has become a national delicacy that Belgians and Dutch are rightly proud of, which is why in some regions they have retained the Flemish designation – as on the southern border of the Netherlands with Belgium, where they are still called Vlaamese frieten. That's why we couldn't resist the cone of fries, which are sold here on almost every corner. There are a lot of different sauces served, and we didn't know which one before. They are excellent! As soon as I finished eating, I sailed to the stall with hot drinks and adorable Christmas mugs in the shape of a shoe for about 5 euros. I know they are slow in every market, but I liked it so much that I had to buy it. We walk around the city and we are overwhelmed by the taste of waffles, which are also sold on every corner and which are an integral part of Belgium. It sells with so many different ingredients that you don't know how soon. Martin and I went to a specialized waffle shop. I didn't feel like any fruit, so I had a waffle with whipped cream and chocolate for a total of 5 euros. Martin ordered a waffle with strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate. With an ironic smile, the saleswoman grabbed a calculator and began counting the individual ingredients. Her expression read that she was saying, „Yeah boy, when you find out how much it will cost you, you'll just have a waffle with sugar like everyone else“ as soon as it turned out that she would pay 9 euros, Martin surprised with his stony expression and answer : „yes, it's okey“ and the lady went to the spin. That really made me laugh. We walked around the square for a while, and because we were quite tired and planned more fun in the evening, we decided to relax at the hotel. Rested, we went to the pub, which was just around the corner. Jupiler beer was excellent, but of course it doesn't work for Czech redheads. Belgium is a famous beer producer. Although the Belgians drink it a little less than the Czechs, they produce clearly the most types of beer in the world in relation to the size of the country. We were a little surprised that the lady brought us small beers (0.25l) without question. During the second round, we warned her that we were drinking big and the fun continued. The pub was nice, the lady was nice and willing to bring us goodies with the beer. Once it was potato chips, the second time nuts, then salami and cheese. Great. Of course, she didn't serve it to us out of sympathy, they charged everything. We returned to the room late in the evening and gained energy for the third day of our visit.

As soon as we woke up, it was snowing beautifully. The disadvantage was that we had the whole day spent outside. The plane flies to us in the evening at 20:15. We wasted our time walking around the city. We came across a sensational smurf shop, we went to an Italian restaurant and tasted not only pizza but also Maes beer and bought souvenirs. Only the weather was not very successful, when it did not snow, it rained, but we did not let the day go bad. The last time we took it on the way through the peeing boy and we took a few photos. He was in prison today and it suited him very well. We want to see the Royal Palace and so we continue on our way according to the navigation. As for the Royal Palace, it is said to be one of the most beautiful buildings in Brussels, a jewel of neoclassical architecture, located opposite the landscaped Parc de Bruxelles, where we can find, among other things, the building that houses the Belgian Parliament. King Philip of Belgium does not live in the palace, the building serves only representative and administrative purposes – audiences, festivities, banquets are held here, foreign delegations are received here. The hofmaster, military commander or head of the royal cabinet is in office here. It escaped very quickly, and since the bus to Charleroi Airport is waiting at the bus stop, we're going with it. We are soaked and happy to relax. We have a lot of time, because the plane flies at 20:20 and will be delayed by two hours. Anyway, Brussels fascinated me and it was the most beautiful holiday gift I have ever received.

view from the restaurant in the highest sphere of Atomia

model

specialized beer shop

Showcase of a specialized praline shop

Specialized smurf shop, for children stunning. But also for us :-)