Brussels

Brussels, home of the Belgian Waffle and Belgian fries, capital of Belgium, and one of my all time favorite cities. Walking through Belgium is as though you are walking through a theme park: at every turn there is something new and exciting. The rows of old buildings with golden highlights accentuate a time in which this city was at the height of culture, art, and industry in Europe. While the castles and churches display a grandeur that was only achieved in the Middle Ages. And just when it seems as though you are stuck in the past all of the sudden modern art and new buildings are erected from the ground highlighting the new age that Brussels has been apart of.

Brussels’ physical manifestation of culture only touches upon the character of the city however. Belgium is split up into three separate areas: the Dutch speaking, the French speaking, and the German speaking. Three areas that bring three cultures together into one country and that country is centered in Brussels. Walking through the streets of Brussels you are able to hear dozens of dialects and languages, you are able to see cultural influences from France the Netherlands and Germany it is as if three countries decided to make a city complete with the best qualities from each nation.

Museums/landmarks:

Atomium

This odd structure was built during the 58th Worlds Fair in Brussels (1957). It is a physical representation of an iron crystal, on a molecular level of course, blown up 5 million times. Inside you can enjoy the history behind the construction of the cube as well as a wonderful panoramic view of Brussels.

BElvue Museum

The BELvue museum goes through the history of Brussels and of Belgium. With interactive videos and displays this is not only an extremely informational museum it’s also kind of fun. Furthermore, it connects directly to the Coudenberg ruins so after your visit of a museum that tells you about the history of Brussels you can walk through a bit of it’s history as well.

Botanical Garden of Brussels

This beautiful park is located on the edge of Brussels center. It houses a variety of different flora and fauna and is honestly a wonderful place to take a nap, read a book, or work on a blog… if your into that sort of thing.

Congress Column

Erected sometime in the mid 19th century, this column is a representation of Belgiums freedom. At the top of the tower is Belgiums first king, King Leopold I, and surrounding the tower are four representations of freedom that are there to commemorate Belgium’s constitution.

Coudenberg

Belgiums former Royal palace, the Coudenberg is now a set of ruins underneath the BELvue museum. Walking through these ruins it’s easy to get lost in the history of a nation that has gone through so much change and turmoil.

Law Courts of Brussels

Alright so I didn’t actually get to go inside of Brussels main court, but I did get to observe. This massive structure sits atop one of the largest hills in Brussels so it is easy to see throughout the city. It is a building that truly encapsulates how the law of a land should be higher than anything else: higher than the royalty and government, higher than the people. Belgium does a wonderful job of displaying this.

Halle Gate

This fairy tale looking structure is actually a guard post for the wall that used to surround the city of Brussels. Inside this post is a museum outlining life in medieval Brussels. It show cases weapons, traditions, clothing, prisons, and so much more. In addition, at the top of the tower you can enjoy a 360 degree view of Brussels. Such a nice find, plus not many people are there to crowd the museum.

Mary Magdalene Chapel

Wondering through the streets in Europe chapels, churches, and cathedrals are common place. This chapel is just one of the thousands that are scatter throughout Europe and yet it holds onto its unique character. I implore anyone to simply go into a small chapel, sit down for half an hour and just watch. Marvel at the stain glass, smell the hundreds of years of history, find peace in the simplicity that surrounds you.

Mini-Europe

Who needs to bike through part of Europe over a few months when you can walk through all of Europe in about an hour?! Me 🙂 This fun little theme park is worth the visit. The attention to detail put into all of these structures is amazing and along with your walk you get a pamphlet telling you where everything is from and it’s significance to the country it is actually housed in. Furthermore, many of the structures have interactive elements, so if you want to see Mt. Vesuvius blow up you can see it here and not, well, not die.

Monument A la Gloire de I’Infanterie Belge

Right next to the Law Courts of Brussels lies a monument commemorating the Belgian infantry who fought in the World Wars. While this structure is wonderful and a true testament to those who sacrificed there lives for the betterment of our own most people do not visit this spot for the statue. Located right next to the memorial is one of the best views in the city. I spent a few nights here trying to catch the sunset.

Musical Instruments Museum

I was pleasantly surprised as I wondered through this museum. For anyone who knows me well, I am not a very musical person so as I made my way to this museum I had no idea what to expect. The MIM houses thousands of different instruments, but instead of describing what the instrument is and where is came from and it’s historical significance the audio guide plays a song featuring the given instrument. It was a pleasant surprise being able to walk through a music to a soundtrack that changes constantly.

Royal Museum of Fine Arts

Disclaimer, this one museum is actually six museums in one. It houses the Old Masters Museum (the 15th century to the 18th century), the Wiertz Museum (dedicated to Antoine Wiertz who was a controversial romantic artist in Belgium), the Meunier Museum (dedicated to Constantin Meunier), the Magritte Museum (dedicated to René Magritte), the Fin-de-Siécle Museum, and finally the Modern Museum. With over 20,000 pieces of art and sculptures this is an extremely impressive and moving museum.

St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral

As Cathedrals go this is one of the more tame that I have been to. While it stands, emitting grandeur, in the middle of the city and is surrounded by the parks and restaurants, the inside is not boastful of it’s past nor is it informational in that regard. Walking into it is as if you were walking into your local church, getting ready to hear a sermon given by the local pastor.

The Peeing Boy

This is one of the more amusing statues in Brussels. The famous peeing boy has been around, although it was replaced to the metal statue you see in the photo in the 20th century, for as long as anyone can remember. No one is quite sure of why it is there though many hypothesis that it was made to signify a certain part of the local market. The pee market. Before we could produce ammonia to make leather pee, which is high in ammonia, was sold at market and a statue like this would signify that.

Restaurants/Food:

WAFFLES!

I had sooo many waffles here. There are stands everywhere, but what you need to know is that there are two kinds that you can get. The traditional Belgian waffle is very fluffy, quite light, and completely delicious. My favorite though, the Leige waffle, is more dense, it has caramelized sugar on top, and it is impeccable with chocolate on the top.

FRIES!

When you are in Belgium you must have the fries. It is what they are known for and the fact that we call them FRENCH fries is beyond me

Yummy Bowl

When your in countries like Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, all of the food is very rich, very fatty, and sometimes you just want a salad. The amount of times I have craved a salad has gone up exponentially since being in San Francisco. This place offers a really healthy, very delicious, salad and noodle bowl.

Bia Mara

Just because were in Belgium doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy fried fish… there are a few constants in this world and one of them is that it’s very hard to mess up fish and chips. This place exceeds that standard and brings a modern twist to this classic dish.

Peck 47

Legitimately the best waffle I had in Brussels came from here. It was not a dessert nor was it breakfast, but a savory waffle. The ability of this place to mesh flavors from different cultures together makes it one of the best places I went to in Brussels.

Le Chou

Look y’all if you want mussels in Brussels (fun to say right?) you need to stop by this place. They have it almost every way you could want it and one of the biggest most pleasant surprises came from this place. Mussels and cheese. It sounds weird I know, but it is delicious!