Breathtaking Brussels @ Belgium

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”

Brussels

The Capital of Belgium which is located right in the middle of the country was founded since 979 and has an estimated population of 176,000.

Barely 42 minutes train ride from Antwerp main station and 23 minutes train ride from Brussels International Airport. 

Brussels hosts several political organizations like the European Union, European Commission, European Council and even NATO, it is known as "Political City". 

As mentioned earlier that this city was founded in 979, this is a relic city for us to explore.

Besides going sightseeing, we are going to hit the famous fries, waffles and chocolates.

As our home base is in Antwerp, we bought the train ticket for this 45-minute journey.

Mont des Arts

The Mont des Arts is a garden complex full of colors from various flowers. At the time of visit, it was winter, so we do not have the chance to see any flowers except for bulbs. In weeks' time, spring will be here, and this place will be blooming with colours.

Originally first constructed in 1910, the present day of the garden was set up since 1954.

The symbolic view of Brussels is located here at the terraces of Mont des Arts. 

Walk through the garden and cross the road, it will lead you to the heart of the town. 

Here are more sights of Brussels as we walked towards the Grote Markt.

Cafe Tiera

Was attracted by window's displays of beautiful snacks and desserts so we decided to go in for a break.

This cafe is located within the Grote Markt where passers-by will stop by and admire the window's displays.

I think this is a good place to start of exploration of the Grote Markt.

We ordered 2 cappuccinos, 1 caramel waffle and 1 chocolate waffle. 

Finally, we had Belgian chocolate and Belgian waffle.

The texture of the waffle is crispy outside, soft and fluffy inside. Unlike in Singapore, I do not taste any fluffy in the insides. Anyway, both countries ones are good.

This meal cost us SGD28 which is not cheap, but we are expected for this price in Belgium. 

These photos below are the attraction of the shop.

Grand Place / Grote Markt

A historic central square in Brussels which is surrounded by many ancients' buildings which were used as guildhalls (town halls) in the older days. It has been busy shuttling people to and fro since the 14^th century and had since gone through several restorations. Nowadays, Grand Place is the most important tourist destination in Brussels and is considered one of the most beautiful squares in the world that frequently hosts evets and festivals. The location of this square is so centralized that you are expected to walk past a few times per day if you are here.

It has been a UNESCO World Heritage since 1998. Below are the photos we captured on the Square.

Euro60 for 30 minutes ride.

Le Mannekin Pis & Jeanneke Pis

There is also another pissing statue of a dog which is named Het Zinneke but it is located quite far away from the heart of the city. Here is the photo that I got from goggle. 

The little boy was constructed in the 17th century while the little girl and the dog are built in the 20^th century.

These 3 pissing statues are erected to bring smiles to people who pass by from their daily lives.

Just take note that the boy is located at left corner while the girl is located at the right corner of the Grand Place. 

Le Mannekin Pis

Original of the boy without clothes

This boy is so popular with everyone that seasonal clothes with many different designs are dressed on him. 

Jeanneke Pis

Here is how the girl look like.

Belgium Fries @ La Fruitière

So, who was the one who invented the fries ?

I cannot answer that question because as long as it is tasty to me, it doesn't matter who really invented it. One of the national foods that can be found almost everywhere in the shops or street vendors. Belgian fries taste much flossier than the usual French fries I had in Singapore.

Galeries Royals Saint-Hubert 

An elegant mall dated back to the 1850s, this mall with magnificent interior designs is a perfect place for photographs.

Customers shop and dine in luxury style.

Au Bon Bol (Lan Zhou La Mian)

We are delighted to see this eatery. Looking forward for some hot soup on this cold winter.

Handmade noodles in Europe by Chinese owners!!

To our surprise, this place is full within 15-minutes after opening. So, in our heart, this place must be very good!

Noodles making counter.

Waited for more than 30 minutes for our food and within a minute, the high expectation in our heart fell!

The soup is blander than I expected so I have to add some chilli sauce to enhance the taste.

The texture of the noodles is not consistent, some are thick some are thin.

Overall, we accepted it as we believed that this place suits the taste of the locals.

I bought 20 packet of this Belgian waffle biscuits in Belgian Chocolates as souvenirs. 

We have come to the end of this blog, during this trip, beside Nijmegen, we went to Antwerp, Brussels and Bruges. 

please spare some of your time to visit my other blogs of The Netherlands 2022 where we visited The Hague , Rotterdam , Kinderdijk , Naarden ,Muiden and my favorite Haarlem .

Feel free, you are most welcome to browse through my other blogs to France, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia and cruises etc. I will be deeply blessed if you can like my facebook page:: followblueginger