Day 5 - Brussels

Alethios

New Zealand2765 Posts

January 13 2010 20:30 GMT

Howdy. Heading to Namur in about an hour, hopefully have time to knock this up before then, not a very eventful day.

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Day 5 was a Monday, and all the museums and things in Brussels are closed on Mondays apparently. So it was a chance for me to do what I did during my first day in Paris, wander around and take in the sights.

I headed off a little before lunchtime and out into the snow. I quickly became a fan of the city. Where Paris is uniformly magnificent, Brussels is much more varied. The architecture of its buildings change as you move about the city, and from house to house. The people come from all over the world, and from all walks of life. In particular, the meeting of the three main cultures in Belgium: French, Flemish and German, seemed to work. I understand there are many political problems, but it was all great for a tourist like myself.

The streets of Brussels, not far from where I am staying

It being lunchtime, I headed into a chip shop and ordered, remembering a suggestion of Kelly's from a few days back, something called a 'Machine Gun'. The machine gun is essentially a baguette stuffed full of meat, salad and fries and covered in sauce. An excellent well rounded meal which, i'd imagine, is good for lining the stomach before going out drinking, or recovering from a mighty hangover the day after. Delicious.

Unlike in Paris, I had no map. So when I wandered up the street, turned a corner, and saw the building in the picture below I was a tad gobsmacked. In particular, the kids playing in the frozen over pond really made the sight special for me. Nothing of the sort ever happens in New Zealand.

The Musée royal in the Cinquantenaire park

I took the metro a couple times, which is as impressive a system as Paris, though with a little less coverage (the remainder is covered by the trams and busses, all on one ticket). Popping out to see Cathedrals and eventually the Grand Place.

The magnificient Grand Place

What an amazing place. Each side of the quadrangle has these magnificent buildings in what i'm told is, correct me if i'm wrong, the Gothic and Neo Gothic styles. Simply amazing. I wasn't able to go into any of them unfortunately, because it was Monday. Gah.

I really liked the rough, uneven and undulating cobblestone streets around that area. Never seen anything of it's like before.

I managed to get my hands on, at some point, my first freshly cooked Belgian waffle. I can see why I keep hearing all about them now. Nom nom nom.

Damned tasty!

After walking around all day, I eventually retired back to the house. The city managed to really capture me that day, and since. I'm told the city has very grey skies all year around, and if it weren't for that, I could really see myself making a life here at some point.

+ Show Spoiler [Brusselian Images galore!] +

Much about Brussels impressed me, this statue really didn’t

Statue of Field Marshall Montgomery, they also named a suburb after him

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Click here for part 6!

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So there you have it. A much lighter day all in all. Didn’t really do all that much, but I certainly enjoyed myself.

Until next time,

Alethios

Latham

9589 Posts

January 13 2010 20:54 GMT

Dude, in that 1st photo you posted, you were like 200 meters from my house O.o

Alethios

New Zealand2765 Posts

January 13 2010 20:55 GMT

On January 14 2010 05:54 Latham wrote:
Dude, in that 1st photo you posted, you were like 200 meters from my house O.o

You could well live next door then.

selboN

United States2523 Posts

January 13 2010 21:14 GMT

Amazing! I'm so pumped for my study abroad. I've never been outside of the United States (unless you count Mexico). Thanks for sharing!

Boblion

France8043 Posts

January 13 2010 21:17 GMT

lol

DwmC_Foefen

Belgium2186 Posts

January 13 2010 21:19 GMT

On January 14 2010 06:14 selboN wrote:
Amazing! I'm so pumped for my study abroad. I've never been outside of the United States (unless you count Mexico). Thanks for sharing!

Coming to Belgium perhaps?

7mk

Germany10157 Posts

January 13 2010 21:23 GMT

On January 14 2010 06:14 selboN wrote:
Amazing! I'm so pumped for my study abroad. I've never been outside of the United States (unless you count Mexico). Thanks for sharing!

where are you gonna go to?

Alethios

New Zealand2765 Posts

January 13 2010 21:32 GMT

On January 14 2010 06:14 selboN wrote:
Amazing! I'm so pumped for my study abroad. I've never been outside of the United States (unless you count Mexico). Thanks for sharing!

Cheers, always glad to hear my work is appreciated! I'm sure you're going to love your overseas experience. I certainly am.

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