Belgium: Home of the Best Waffles, Chocolate and Not Much Else

Kelley and I arrived in Brussels, Belgium feeling a bit worn out and frustrated with Ryanair's "not so cheap" fares. The ticket prices may have been cheap, but checking multiple bags because you are only allowed one carry on is not. And by one carry on I mean you are literally only allowed one piece of luggage, be it a purse, backpack, or small suitcase. I had to carefully pack a rolled up map, which probably weighed as much as a quarter, because they would not let me carry it in my hands and it did not fit in my purse. I can’t imagine what they make you do if you are traveling with a baby or an urn of ashes. However, Ryanair did provide a wide variety of merchandise to be purchased while up in the air. Flight attendants managed to walk the contents of a small convenient store down the aisle of the plane, shamelessly soliciting everything from smokeless cigarettes to scented body lotions. This brings me to the cab ride from Charleroi to Brussels which was 170 euros. Apparently, Ryanair is very cheap because they fly in to airports outside of Europe's main cities.

Luckily our spirits improved when we came to our small hostel resembling a bed and breakfast, run by a man named Karel and his Australian Shepherd named Caesar. We were escorted to a room with 3 beds with moderately comfortable pillows and blackout curtains. This was heaven compared to our cramped accommodations in Dublin. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and walking around our neighborhood spotting some great chocolate shops along the way. By dinner we had met our third roommate Samy, a German girl completing an internship in the city. I was thankful she seemed pretty normal and felt that I no longer needed to sleep with one eye open.

On Tuesday we slept in and walked around the city noting that aside from visiting the Grand Place, window shopping, and going to museums there was not a whole lot to do in Brussels. We tried to remember why we decided to visit Brussels and neither of us had a very good answer besides the fact that our friend Mary Patton spent a semester here in college. It was nice to have some extra down time though and with Brussels seen and done Kelley and I decided to visit Bruges the next day.

Bruges was only a short train ride away and upon arriving we walked through the winding streets of what felt like a medieval village. We went to the center of town and picked an outdoor cafe to eat at - moules and frites with a cherry flavored beer for me and an omelet and frites with a traditional blonde Belgium beer for Kelley. After lunch we decided to climb the Belfry (almost 400 steep steps up a seemingly endless circular staircase) and take in the amazing view from the top. This semi-athletic activity led us to believe we deserved a sweet treat. We entered Da Vinci’s ice cream shop and were hit with the delicious smell of homemade waffles and ice cream. Who wouldn’t be ecstatic in this place? The answer: the future uni-bomber scowling in the corner. 

In all, Belgium was very charming and it was nice to have a few low key days where Kelley and I could catch up on our sleep and relax before the final three weeks of our trip. We woke up before dawn to catch a flight to Berlin and before leaving I asked Kelley to take a picture of Caesar, the dog, and I. I felt that Caesar and I had really bonded and I wanted a memento of our time together. As I leaned in to put my arm around his neck he growled and lunged forward biting my hand in the process. Kelley and I were both literally in shock and I high tailed it out of there noting that I did receive a rabies shot last November as a precaution before I traveled to Rwanda. I will no longer be petting or interacting with any other animals on this trip. Lesson learned. Unless there is a baby panda in Berlin. 

xo

Merrin