Europe (Brussels,Belgium) April 2009 D8-D10

After two enjoyable days in Amsterdam, it was time for me to move on. My next destination is Brussels. I woke up early in the morning and took a Metro from the Nieuwmarkt station to Amstel station to catch an Eurolines bus to Brussels. Due to the mal-functioning of the only Metro ticketing machine at the station, I boarded the Metro train without a ticket. The locals advised me not to worry as at 6.30am, there would be no attendants manning at the station so I should be able to exit from the station without any hassle ! So lucky me I had a free train ride this morning.

As I arrived earlier, I walked to the Eurolines office and requested to change my bus ticket ( Euro$17) from 10.00 to 09.00, an hour earlier. The bus journey from Amsterdam to Brussels took around 5 hours. I arrived in Brussels at around 13.00.

In Brussels, I stayed in a newly renovated 2G04 Quality hostel (Euro$20 dorm), about 15 minutes walk from the Eurolines bus terminal. The hostel room was spacious, clean and tidy and not fully booked when I checked in. The guest lounge and kitchen were cozy and user-friendly. For the next two days, I had my own prepared dinner meals at the hostel together with two Chinese student travelers.

Brussels is a small modern city and also the HQ for European Union (Eat U) and NATO (no action talk only). As most of the major tourist sites in Brussels are located within 1-2 km from the city center, so I had no problem visiting most of the tourist sites within the two days. The hostel provided me a free city map so this made my life much easier. However, if you are not prepared to walk , just join the hop on and hop off tourist bus and let them take care of your transport to the major tourist sites in the city for a price. But I prefer to walk anyway.

1) Place des Martyrs - A war hero's square in remembrance of the past.

2) Galleries Royales St Hubert - Europe's oldest glass covered shopping arcade and home to Nuehau, one of the oldest chocolate shop. The galleries are a favorite eating place for locals and tourists.

3) Grand Place / Grote Market - The ideal starting point for tourists in Brussels. Most of the buildings here were built in the 16th & 17th centuries. The Grote market has a number of casual dining cafes catering for food lovers and tourists. I enjoyed my time here and visited this place 3-4 times especially in the evening to enjoy the atmosphere there.

3a) Guild Houses , Grand Place - Most buildings were built in 1696-1700

3b) Church of Notre-Dame du Sablon

4) Royal Palace - Out of bounds to tourists but you could take pictures from the outside. Destroyed by fire in 1731, the present palace was rebuilt with a new design & architecture.

5) Manneken Pis - The famous peeing boy !

6) The old Stock Exchange - Built in 1868

7) The Mont des Arts - A historical site. Perched on a high ground, you could see the Tower of City Hall and Grote market from far.

8) Place Royales / Konnongsplein

9) Petit Sablon Square

10) Cathedral Saint-Michel - Completed in 1235. One of the oldest cathedral in Europe

11) Saint Gillis & 12) St Jean Church

13) Botanique

14) La Fontaine Anspach

15) War Memorial - Honoring the unknown soldiers who died during the First & Second World Wars.

16) Statutes - Bronze and stone figures , some looked creative, others relate to the religion and the glorious past.

Something to ponder in Brussels - mobile toilets in a row for gentlemen to perform their natural duty ! If Engelbart Humperdinck is to stand in front of this mobile toilet, he would probably sing his favorite song " please release me, let me go "

" The presence of EU & NATO, makes Brussels a Eurocrats city, others are of the opinion that Brussels is the capital of Europe ! A smallish city but with abundance of tourist attractions, no wonder Brussels has grown to become a tourist haven. 

The Secrets of Life - Every day, every hour and every minute is special, and you don't know if it will be your last "

Brussels, Belgium - walkabout in downtown Brussels