WanderBellies

I experienced a slightly rocky start, first with a transit flight scare and subsequently, a train station fire scare. My flight route to Belgium was Krakow-Warsaw-Brussels and I only had a 30 minute transit time. My first flight leg was slightly delayed, but thankfully now I know that airlines typically wait for transit passengers. So phew, I made it albeit experiencing a slight heart attack. Immediately after arriving in Brussels, I headed straight to the airport trains leading to the city centre. Whilst waiting, I was told that the train would be delayed due to a fire that broke out at the central station earlier that morning. For how long, no one had any idea. I feared especially since reading terrorist attack articles that took place in Brussels just about a year ago. My instant reaction was to Google search "Brussels news today", but thankfully nothing relevant came up. I eventually made it onto the train, but instead of the promised 18 minute ride to the city, it took about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Bummer. 

By the time I arrived in the city center, the rain stopped and the skies started to clear up. I had to make some modifications to my itinerary and headed straight towards my first pitstop - Manneken Pis. This iconic statue of a boy peeing is popular with tourists and locals, and is often spotted sporting different outfits. Things started to look better from this point on as I was invited to share a free beer by a crowd infront of Manneken Pis. I later found out after speaking to the photographer that they were celebrating the new outfit change!

First tourist stop at the famous Manneken Pis I am glad and honoured to participate in his new outfit change!

After a couple of photos, I was feeling slightly peckish. En route to the Grand Place, I picked up a liege waffle topped with bananas, strawberries and drizzled in chocolate sauce. YUM!

My favourite toppings all included - Bananas, Strawberries and a generous topping of Chocolate sauce atop the freshly made liege waffle!

Waffle in hand, I walked into Grand Place and was immediately in awe of the beauty of the magnificent-looking Gothic structures. The 2D photos that I captured probably do not do this place sufficient justice given that once standing in the middle of the square, one is surrounded by these magnificent structures all around.

This photo was pretty challenging to snap given the busy tourist crowds!

I next headed to Fritland for some freshly made fries - frites as the locals would call it. I still cannot believe why one would ever order buns stuffed with fries, but they are apparently pretty popular here. I ordered fries served with a spicy mayo sauce and it was delicious! Piping hot fries on a cold day - I liked that the fries were chunky, made fresh and more importantly, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside.

Check out the long lines behind for the freshly cooked fries. Thankfully their service was pretty efficient!

I then made a quick stop to check out Galeries Royales St Hubert, a 19th century shopping arcade with beautiful interiors.

I loved the perfect symmetry of this architecture.

After checking in to my accommodation, I headed to Chez Leon to grab a late lunch. It was about 2-ish pm and this popular restaurant was still packed full of people! Perks of a solo traveller is that you get "priority" in long waiting lines if you are open to the idea of sitting by the bar. I ordered the famous Moules-Frites (Mussels and Fries) which came with a beer. And yes, by lunchtime, I already had 2 beers!

The lunch set consisted of freshly cooked Mussels, fries and a small pint of beer.

It was late afternoon by the time I was done with lunch. My next stop was Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula, and thankfully I arrived just minutes before they closed. I was lucky to a catch glimpse of the Cathedral's interior and also learnt to input opening and closing times in my itinerary in future. A couple of tourists that came soon after me did not manage to enter as they were pretty strict with the closing time. The Cathedrals and Churches in Europe still have a strong WOW effect on me in terms of their grandeur and magnificence.

Check out the grand and magnificent looking interiors.

Crowds leaving the Cathedral as it was closing for the day.

An earlier than expected end for my Cathedral visit then led me to Palais Royal. This is the Royal Palace of Brussels and it overlooks a large and beautiful garden right.


The Triumphant Arc in Parc du Cinquantenaire was another beautiful architecture that I would highly recommend a visit. Situated in a park, this was quite a walk from the city centre, but well worth the effort!

A jumpshot captured in front of the Triumphant Arc!

A fellow instagrammer recommended that I try Maison Dandoy. It is a must-try here in Brussels for their crisp and light waffles. Made fresh, they have an open concept kitchen where one can view the whole preparation and baking process!

I was still pretty early for sunset (the sun was due to set around 8.30pm that day) and hence decided to take the local train out to the Atomium. This visit was more spontaneous than anything, especially given the late start in Brussels and that visiting the Atomium required taking the train out of the city centre. I am glad to have done so, and would have paid to enter if I had more time to spare.

A trick eye shot taken with the Atomium.

Last pitstop of the day was at Mont des Arts for sunset. One could walk through the huge garden and up the stairs for a viewpoint of the city. I absolutely loved how the colours blended as the last bits of sun rays signaled the end of the day.

Taken earlier in the day at the park before Mont des Arts.

I was feeling peckish and wanted a nice meal to end my day. Sadly however, having no prior reservations in the densest European city by square foot meant that I had to settle! I spotted a crowded bar by the main street and headed in. Following a 40 minute wait, my day of adventure in Brussels was closed off with a steak.

Stay tuned for the next update on Bruges!

xx,
L