I arrived in Brussels around 7, and made my way to the Grand Place, where my hostel was. But first, I had to use the bathroom. The only problem is that you have to pay to use the bathroom in most places, even a train station. I absolutely REFUSE to pay to "relieve" myself. I ran into this problem, not only in Belgium, but everywhere I have traveled. I would rather pee on your buildings than pay you to use the toilet. And after all, Brussels is known for their peeing statues.
So I wondered up to the square, where my eyes were met with the most majestic looking buildings. While Lille may be my favorite city I have seen so far, the Grand Place in Brussels is my favorite square. On one side, there sits the Hotel de Ville, an old Gothic styled building with a rising tower that makes the Grand Place easy to find. On the other side sits another Gothic structure known as the Palais du Roi. Both are amazing, as are the rest of the buildings in the square. All of the pillars that rise, and the intricacy of the designs blew me away. I also love the gold accents that you can find on some of the buildings.
I let the images sink in before trying to find my hostel. I had misplace the paper with the address, but I knew it was right next to the square, so I started looking up and down the streets.
After awhile of not finding anything, let alone another hostel, I started asking people. I went into one hotel, and I asked the guy if he new where the Grand Place Hostel was. He told me that if I go to the Grand Place, I will find many hostels......so a helpful response.
I finally talked to one guy who knew where it was. He told me, so I went to the street. I walked down it, and saw nothing that said where the hostel was. So, I walked down the next street, again nothing. The hostel ended up being on the first street, but I must have walked past it 4-5 times. The only sign that they had was a small piece of paper in the window saying Hostel Grand Place. They really need a bigger sign.
But, I had another setback. I had to walk to another hostel to check in, and then come back. I got my key card, but decided to make one more stop before going to my room.
I ordered myself a Belgian waffle. It was the best waffle I ever had. They cooked the waffle right there, and then put some Nutella on it, drizzled some chocolate syrup on it as well, and topped it off with some sprinkles. Delicious. The batter of the waffle also has sugar in it. It was the best waffle I had ever had. I enjoyed my dessert in the grandeur of the Grand Place.
Once I finished off my chocolaty treat, I found my room. I was blown away at how nice the room was. Wood floors, nice beds, all new fixtures in the bathroom. It was more like a hotel. I wished I lived there versus in my crappy room in Allix. If this is a hostel, then the one I stayed at in Lyon was some sort of trailer park hostel.
The only drawback was that I was rooming with some guys who were there for a bachelor party. I met them while writing in my journal downstairs. I was hoping they wouldn't be loud when they came in for the night. But, it was off to bed as I awaited my tour of the town the next day.
When they did come in, they were pretty quiet, and even rose and were out by 8 I think, so that was a relief.
I rose around 10 and got ready for my day. The first stop was back to the Grand Place, 10 yards away, to see what it looked like during the day. Unfortunately, there was still no sun as the clouds covered the sky. I went to take a photo, and then a grave misfortune struck. My camera died! I had only taken about 4 pictures the night before, and now I had no camera to take any pictures of Brussels. And that is why this post does not have many pictures to go along with it.
After that, I went to see Manneken Pis, the famous statue of a peeing boy. There are several myths surrounding the origins of the statue. But today, Mr. Pis stands on his pedestal, peeing proudly. He is even decorated in a changing wardrobe.
I got there right as a man was finishing putting on his clothes. Then, he turned on the statue, and Manneken pissed for the world to see. The sight brought a tear to my eye.
After that, I went to the museum that occupied the Palais du Roi. I learned all about Brussels and saw some amazing artwork. The whole third floor of the museum was dedicated to Manneken Pis, displaying all of the outfits he has worn. From Elvis, a cowboy, a samurai, a cosmonaut and everything in between, Manneken has worn it all.
After that, I bought some postcards, due to the lack of my picture taking ability. I was putting my postcards away when I ran into Nate, a fellow Americain I had met the night before. He was going to go watch an old film somewhere, and I joined him. We ate lunch, and then went to the museum/movie house.
This marked the second time that I watched a black and white, silent film. The 1926 film, Tramp,Tramp,Tramp, was even accompanied by a real, live pianist as it would have been back in the day.
Unfortunately, about halfway through the movie, the projector stopped. They said there was some sort of electrical problem, and the movie was over. It was a great film up till then, and very funny too. Hopefully I'll see the end one day. I have now seen two black and white films.....well, 1 1/2.
Then, I went out on my own and roamed the city, seeing churches, castles, and monuments.
My favorite stop was the Botanic garden. The center piece was a fountain and pond, with low lying shrubs cut into hexagonal shapes preceding the fountain. All around, other bushes and trees hung close by. The place was so beautiful and relaxing. It would have been a great place to spend the rest of the afternoon, but I had to keep walking. Maybe if the sun was out, I would have been more tempted to stay.
I walked around for two more hours before heading back to the hostel for dinner. Before I ate dinner, I stopped by a Belgian chocolate store, Leonidas to partake of their grand chocolate. It was scrumptious. I have now tasted why the Belgians are known for their chocolate.
At dinner, I had some Belgian beer, you know "when in Belgium" and it was actually pretty good. It was a blonde beer and pretty smooth. I also ordered some shrimp. They were really good, but only about 6-7 of them. I don't care how good they are, give me more than that. So, I had a pita afterwards too.
I finished the night off with a chocolate covered waffle, the third of my stay (I'd had a powdered sugar one in the morning). I stood in the Grand Place, eating my waffle and looking at the best part of Brussels.
Before I ended my night, I went to a place where I had seen what I believed was Turkish delight. That's right, the candy mentioned in the Chronicles of Narnia. I had only heard of this confectionery and Googled it once. It looked the same, so I bought a cube of it. Plus, the shop looked Turkish. The candy is a red, jelly cube (kind of like Jello), which is covered in powdered sugar. It was good, and I can finally say that I've had Turkish delight (I looked it up again when I got home, same thing).
I went back to the hostel and back to bed. It was up early at 6 to catch my train at 7. I was not somber the next day, as I had thoroughly enjoyed my weekend trip. It was a great experience and now it was time to return to school and my vacation home in Lyon.
The first three pictures are mine. After that, those pictures I got from the web.
Grand Place during the day
Presenting Manneken Pis
The Botanical Garden
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