Belgium Series: Brussels

For this week's Belgium series, I chose Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the home of the European Union. Its a great place to learn about Belgian culture, European politics, and of course beer.  

The first place you should stop by is Mannekin Pis. This is world famous statue and is often stolen. This one dates from 1965. There are multiple different legends of why this statue came about. And...

When you go see the statue, you might also come across a marching band a party! 

Don't forget to stop by the town hall and shop the local flower market. 

There is also the Belgian Beer Museum. Its a tiny little pub near town hall. You pay 5 euros and receive a tour of a typical brewery and a free beer. Good place if you need a break.

Lastly, you have to visit the Atomium. It was the symbol of the 1958 World Fair and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Brussels.

You are first greeted with a gigantic Welcome sign. And there are food trucks and various small activities to do around the monument.

Including a mirror display where you can take a picture of yourself.

And of course you must go into the Atomium. Please take the elevator first! I thought you could get to the very top (the viewing platform) by taking the escalators, but I was sorely mistaken. Don't get out of line like I did. So, inside you will a lot of really cool light and sound exhibits. I was even able to get this really cool shot going down an escalator.



Lastly, don't forget to spend some time just wandering around and seeing the old churches. I was able to find this great fountain and get a great shot of it. Well thats Brussels in a nutshell. Oh and don't forget to stop by the Delirium bar for a beer. They won the Guinness World Records for the most beers in the bar at one point.

Have a great day everyone!

Belgium Series: Brugge

Yippee! On to one of my favorite towns in Belgium, and that is Brugge! Brugge is a great little tourist town that is always talked about by travel enthusiasts, including one of my favorites The Blonde Abroad. She talks about all kinds of beers to drink all over Belgium if you want to take a look. But back to the topic at hand...

Welcome to Brugge! Its a tiny town in north west Belgium known for its Fairy-tale look, canals, and everything Belgian you can think of. Here are a couple of the main sites that I would recommend:

The Clock Tower. You can climb all the way to the top and see a great view of Brugge and the Belgian countryside.

A beautiful cathedral with gardens and shops of all kinds all around it. You can buy chocolate, rare beers, and one of the best things ever, Belgian lace.

Brugge is also famous for its many canals throughout the center of the city. You can even take a boat tour that is pretty inexpensive around the city. If I remember correctly, it lasted about 30 minutes tops and I was able to see some great views that I wouldn't have seen, including...

Close-ups of swans! Aren't they gorgeous? I was able to get this close and capture this beautiful love scene.

Oh and did I mention that there is a Kathe Wolfart store here? Have you ever heard of it? Its basically a Bulgarian Christmas store that is only found in South Germany (Bulgaria) and Brugge! I highly recommend going there because I was able to find SO much Christmas items that I never would have found any where else. I'll make sure to show them to you when Christmas rolls around this year.

Don't forget to stop at the De Halve Maan. Its the last remaining family owned brewery in Brugge. They have a brewery tour, but if you don't have time, just order the beer at one of Brugge's many amazing restaurants.

Another thing you should try is mayonnaise on your fries! I know it sounds disgusting, but its actually quite amazing. Their mayo does not taste like our Hellman's or Duke's. It has its own flavoring that I am honestly missing right now. Another thing to try is the Beef Stew. Its kind of like a pot roast, but tastes amazing! Especially with fries...

Well thats Brugge in a nutshell. I highly encourage going their if you need to do some souvenir shopping or just for a lazy weekend! Have a great day everyone!

Belgium Series: Dinant

For this week's Belgium Series, I will be featuring Dinant, Belgium. Its a small town on a river and is famous for being the birthplace of the saxophone. It has many different shops and a citadel that sits on top of the hill above the cathedral as seen in the picture above. Here are a couple of places I recommend visiting in this town:

Maison Du Tourisme
This is basically a visitor center. They will give you a map of where to go and what to see. I highly recommend stopping here first. Its located on the directly opposite the citadel on the other side of the river.



Citadel of Dinant (La Citadelle de Dinant)
This place is actually pretty cool. We were really lucky and got a beautiful day for photos. You can learn about how this citadel has withstood the test of time even World War II. They are even holding the DisneyLand Paris sand castles in the basement. Here is what the view looks like from that far up:



You can either take a lift found behind the cathedral or do what my friend did, and climb all of the stairs all of the way up. Its a really long climb, heads up.



Church of Our Lady (Collegiale Notre-Dame)
A gorgeous church that sits below the Citadel. Its quite a magnificent building to look at.



Charles-de-Gaulle Bridge
On this bridge, you will find saxophones representing the various countries from all over the European Union. You can see me standing next to Ireland's saxophone.



Adolphe Sax Statue
And of course you have to visit the founder of the saxophone, Adolphe Sax. He has a small museum with various different quotes about music and the development of the saxophone.

Well, thats Dinant in a nutshell. I hope you enjoyed this post! Have a great day everyone!