Belgium - Day 3 (Part 1) GHENT

Today I decided to venture outside of Brussels.  I booked an excursion that would take me to Ghent and Brugges (www.viator.com). The bus was leaving at 9:00 am, so I set the alarm to get up making sure I had time to devour the awesome hotel breakfast, then packed my backpack, bought a bottle of water, and headed out to find where the tour meets.  Lucky for me the tour company was actually right around the corner from the hotel so I arrived early.  Once it was time to board the buses, I was happy to see that the tour was not completely full and I was able to get an entire row to myself.

Our fist stop was Ghent. Here's a little history. . .

Ghent's historic centre was originally built during the 13th and 14th centuries when the city prospered as a result of the cloth trade.  The Count of Flanders, built a castle (which is still standing and still contains the original torture chamber) to protect two abbeys from Viking raids.  Ghent continued to flourish until 1648 when the Dutch sealed and closed vital canal links leading to the decline of the city.  Then in the 19th century it became revitalized due in part to a boom in cotton spinning.

The tour I was on was only making a quick stop in Ghent, about an hour, to tour St. Baafakathedral (St. Bavo's Cathedral.) This particular Cathedral was built in several stages, and represents every phase of the Gothic style.   The Emporer Charles was baptised in this church while it was still incompleted, and in 1550 granted a sum of money to the church to fill the arched windows with stained glass.  The most interesting piece of furniture is the pulpit which was completed in 1745. In a small side chapel is one of Europe's most remarkable paintings (Jan van Eyck's "Adoration of the Lamb")  To see the painting cost 4 Euro, and the line was quite long, so I opted to pass.  I was so glad I did this, because as I was walking around the Church I ran into a lady from my tour, and found out in conversation that she was a United Flight Attendant on her overnight.  We became fast friends.  And I was greatful to hang out with her for the day, not only for companionship, but to have someone to take pictures of me.  As we boarded the bus I was a little disappointed that we were not able to tour the Count of Flanders Castle.  We did pass by it, and I was able to get some pictures from the window of the bus, but it was not quite the same.  The town itself looked cute and would have liked some time to explore, but when on a tour, you don't always get that option.  I decided to shut my eyes and rest a little on the way to Brugges.  I was still having trouble with jet lag, and was already tired.   So far the day amazing and couldn't wait for more. . .

 

 

 

Belgium - Day 2

After a restless night of sleep, I couldn't wait to start exploring.  First thing first though, Breakfast.  The hotel I was staying at included breakfast in the price, and what a spread it was, not your typical European breakfast.  There were fresh baked goods, meats, cheese, fruits, fish, eggs, bacon, etc. etc.  A great way to start the day.


My first stop today was the Chocolate Museum.  Just a little FYI Belgium produces 172,000 tons of chocolate per year, and has over 2,000 chocolate shops.  I was in Love.  The museum was an old home located in the Grand Place, and every 15 minutes had a demonstration along with a tasting.  Although the history of chocolate was interesting, I was most amazed by the fact that there was actual clothing made out of chocolate, that looked as real and wearable as anything you would find at a department store.   There were also sculptures of all sizes with such detail, it appeared to be art. 




These dresses and hats are 100% chocolate!

After the chocolate museum I headed back to the Grand Place area.  It seems that every European city has a square, and the Grand Place did not disappoint, with it's guild houses, and Hotel de Ville, it is Flemish Renaissance at perfection. Even though this is a definite tourist spot, where you might pay a little more for a beer or snack then you would at the cafe around the corner, I just couldn't get enough.  I found myself on several occasions imagining what life would have been like in this Medieval and Baroque square 400 hundred years ago.  " Who stood where I'm standing?", and "Who walked these same cobblestone streets I'm walking?"  

As I was walking around I started to notice how many Greek restaurants there were.  Then as I turned the corner I couldn't believe my eyes.  Greek Town in Brussels.  An entire street of Greek restaurants, about 20 or so.  I literally burst out laughing, and started taking pictures.  My husband is not going to believe this.  Since he had no desire to see Brussels, he decided to skip this trip, I bet he would have liked it now.

 



 

I decided at this point to head towards the Palais Royal (the Palace.)  While the Royal family is on Summer Holiday they open up the formal rooms to the public, and it is FREE!  I am a sucker for Palaces and Castles, and although it was not the most grand of Palaces that I have seen, It was still breathtaking.  It amazes me that people actually lived, and still live like this.  The most beautiful thing about this place was the chandeliers.  They were gorgeous, and they were everywhere.  Every door that I would pass through seemed to lead to an even more impressive room than the last.  As with every palace though, the most impressive room is always the ballroom.  I stood there just taking it all in, imagining the costumes, and the dances that had taken place in this grand space.  Honestly, standing there in my sundress and sandals, I felt completely under dressed.  Time to move on. 

One thing that a lot of people don't know is that the SMURFS originated in Belgium.  Oh, and they are not called Smurfs, their real name is SCHTROUMPFS.  I grew up watching these blue creatures, and to this day they are still my favorite cartoon.  So I could not pass up a visit to the comic strip museum to see how it all started.  I am not really into comics, but took the time to walk around, and have to say the museum was quite charming with a lovely gift shop, and of course a bar in case you need a beer break.  It was time to find the SCHTROMPFS.  It was interesting to see some origianl drawings and comics, and to see that not much has changed since the beginning.
 



 

After the comic museum I decided to head back to the hotel to freshen up.  Tomorrow I booked a day excursion, and I had to be up early.  So after a quick shower, and relaxing for about an hour, I headed out for dinner.  I headed back to the Grand Place, and treated myself to my staple dish - Beer (actually 2) , Fries, and Carbonnade Flamande.  DELICIOUS!!!

Country 3 - BELGIUM (Day 1)

Country 3 - BELGIUM (Day 1)

When I started planning my next adventure I can honestly say that Belgium was not at the top of my list.  It actually wasn't on my list at all.  I knew I wanted to go somewhere in Europe, and I was debating between Budapest and Bucharest.  How I ended up in Belgium was quite simple, the flights looked good.  Since there are no direct flights from the USA to either of my top choices, I started looking at where I could fly.  After days of checking loads (since I was flying stand-by and not actually purchasing a ticket), and connection options, my plans were taking my to Brussels. Not knowing a whole lot about this city, I started to do a little research, and decided to put Hungary and Romania on the back burner for now.  After all how could a country that is known for Chocolate and Beer be that bad?

The one thing with flying stand-by (as many of my fellow airline friends know) is that you have to be flexible.  By the time the day came for me to leave, the flight to Brussels was oversold.  No Problem, the flight to Dusseldorf, Germany was pretty much empty.  Once arriving in Dusseldorf, I bought a train ticket to Brussels, and waited for my train (I was lucky that there was an actual train station at the airport.)  I got on what I thought was the right train, and settled in.  According to my ticket, I had 2 stops before changing trains, but when we arrived at the first stop the conductor told me this was the end of the line for this train and everyone had to get off.  Hmmm, I'm by myself, in one country trying to get to another, haven't slept, and basically not off to a good start.  After a little investigating I figure out that since I got on the wrong train I now have to buy another ticket for a different train, but it doesn't leave for a couple of hours.  The only thing in the train station is a McDonald's, so I am quite embarrassed to say that my first meal of my trip was french fries and a coke.  

My train finally arrived, but when I boarded I noticed that it was full.  Not a seat to be found.  I saw a girl sitting on her suitcase on the floor, and she asked me to join her.  What the hell, not the most comfortable option, but it will work.  After talking to her, we realized that we were on the same flight together to Dusseldorf from the States, and we were both heading to Brussels.  What a small world!  The train took about an hour, and since I could barely keep my eyes open at this point, made an executive decision to take a taxi to my hotel. 

I stayed at the Scandic Grand Hotel, and after checking in, the first thing I did was take a long hot bath, and an even longer 5 hour nap.  Normally when I travel to Europe, I try to get my body adjusted to local time, and try not to sleep a lot the first day.  I just couldn't help it, what should have taken just over 2 hours to get to Brussels took me 7,

After waking up, I decided to do a little exploring.  I was staying a block away from "The Grand Place", which is an amazing square in Brussels.  I explored Grand Place a Little, and then started searching for a place to eat.  I was starving!  As I was walking through one of the many streets filled with restaurants, and bars, when a  gentleman offered me free Champagne if I ate at his restaurant.  What the hell, I was sold.  Since I am not a huge fan of Champagne, I was actually able to change it for Beer (which turned into 3).  I ordered Carbonnade or Flemish Stew (which is basically Beef braised in Beer), French Fries (everything comes with french fries), and for dessert, a Belgium Waffle (my very first waffle of my life.)  I was in Love.  Everything was amazingly delicious. 

I decided to walk back to the hotel, and call it a night. It has been such a long day, but amazing day, and I couldn't wait to go exploring tomorrow