When
- Bruges in November 2011 for a day
- Brussels in December 2011 for two days
Places
Bruges
- Of course fill yourself up on the amazing food (chocolate, waffles, fries and beer);
- Walk up the Belfry Tower for a great view of the city (366 stairs!);
- I went there for the Christmas markets so it had a great feel to it;
- A boat trip in the canals is very picturesque;
- Have some mulled wine if you are there at Christmas time!
Brussels
- We wandered about this small town and saw some of the sights which included the Mannekin Pis dressed up in a Christmas outfit, the Grand Place/Grote Markt which is stunning – such a medieval feel about it and some impressive buildings;
- The Christmas markets were cool here as well and it meant more food. We also gave ice skating a go where I managed not to stacked it – pretty proud with myself;
- Head to Délirium Café for a choice of over 1000 different beers;
- There is a pedestrian street full of shops called Rue Neuve which was, of course, full of people also;
- My diet in one day consisted of: croissant, choc croissant, Belgian fries, waffle topped with strawberries chocolate sauce and whipped cream, some Belgian chocolates and topped off with some Cherry Beer at Délirium Café!
- We woke early one morning and went to check out some flea markets which contained various bits and bobs.
Accommodation
- Sleep Well Hostel in Brussels was fine and did the job for us – just around the corner from the main shopping street of Rue Neuve
Language
- French, Dutch and German but English is widely spoken and you will not have any issues. Flemish is considered the most common language in Belgium.
- Hello: Hallo (Flemish)
- Thank you: Dank U
- Good bye: Dag
- Yes / No: ja/nee
Visa
- Visa not required for Australians for a stay of up to 90 days
Money
- Euro (0.73 EUR = $1 USD)
Food
- Waffles– there is something about just plain hot waffles as well as the deluxe with strawberries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream;
- Belgian beer – there are an incredible amount of different types (I didn’t mind the cherry beer!) Go to Délirium Café in Brussels for quite a selection
- Belgian fries (pommes frites) – yum! Apparently fries originated here so you can only imagine how good they are – have them topped with mayonnaise and ketchup
- Chocolate – again everywhere and delicious. Very fancy too and consist of ganache, gianduja, pralines, manons, truffles, marzipan and liqueur sorts, to name a few.
Tips and tricks
- Eat up big – they definitely have a lot of great food here even though it’s not ‘healthy’, it’s delicious!!
- Sit down somewhere in Grand Place in Brussels and just people watch – it has a great feel about it being surrounding by medieval-looking buildings.
Belgium blog posts
