With the twins back in the States, Andy and I went on an adults only trip to beautiful Belgium. I loved Belgium. With the exception of taking public transport to get from the airport to Central Station, we were able to walk everywhere. That’s our favorite, and actually one of the things we look for when picking a place to visit. We always walk when we can, the better to explore, and Brussels was very walkable. The weather was perfect too. We had a great time- drank a lot of beer, ate a lot of good food. The beer lived up to the hype. Definitely.
A really cool about Belgium was the mix of very old buildings with the more modern structures.
Right around the corner from our hotel was St. Michael and St. Gudula’s Cathedral, the primary place of worship in Brussels. The original chapel was built in the 9th century, and it was replaced by a church in the 11th century. The choir was built and two towers were ordered to be built in the 13th century. The church was finished only 300 years later in 1519. It has since been restored. It holds beautiful sculptures and stained glass windows. Michael and Gudula are the patron saints of Brussels.
Galeries Royales St. Hubert aka the Royal Galleries of Saint Hubert opened in 1847. It is a beautiful glass domed shopping arcade, filled with high end clothing stores (didn’t go in), cafes (skipped), and fancy chocolate shops (yes, please.)
The chocolate was perfection. It was just as amazing as everyone always says Belgian chocolate is- smooth, rich, not too sweet.
I have seen public fountains like this a lot of places in Europe. Such a good idea.
The Grand Place, Brussel’s main square, houses many magnificent opulent buildings. The Gothic Town Hall. (The seating was for World Cup viewing.) It was built in 1421. The main attraction of this building is the 96 meter belfry (bell tower), decorated with a spire.
The Museum of the City of Brussels.
The super ornate Guildhouses. Originally built in late 1600s and rebuilt in early 1900s by each individual guild, each one trying to out do the other in lavishness. They represented trades like bakers, carpenters, boatman, archers, brewers, merchants, butchers, millers, and masons.
Around the corner from the square is the Stock Exchange, finished in 1873.
There was tons of quirky (some kinda hidden) street art all throughout Brussel. I loved it. I’ve really come to appreciate street art (that is well done.)
Andy thinking on our favorite mural. A little TMI, but we decided it looked like an evil fetus crowning during delivery. Yeah…
Past the massive Grand Palace is a quant square, anchored by the simple white St. Catherine’s Church.
In this square, we found a great seafood store/restaurant. It was one of my favorite places I’ve eaten at in our travels. Noordzee. It has all the fish laid out, market style, and you pick what you want, they prepare it and call your name when it’s ready. You eat it standing, at your table in the square. It is casual, informal and amazing. We had crab croquettes, fried razor clams and mussels. The only time here I had wine.
xoxo-sk
xoxo-sk 