The Land of Waffles

Friday morning, my alarm started buzzing at 5:00. After a few different modes of transportation, Deniz, Anjali, and I arrived in Brussels, Belgium. We strode out of Charleroi Airport all smiles until we hit a crowd of people waiting for the shuttle into the center of the city. We wanted on that bus. This task was not so simple thanks to confusing ticket machines and a feisty crowd of travelers. After some shoving, we made the second shuttle into the center and to our hostel. And then our trip really began...


We wandered off in search for lunch and ended up shuffling into a corner table at a cozy restaurant where we ordered our first waffles. Deniz and I decided to add on a quiche loraine to share, which ended up being a wise choice. The waffles were tasty, however they did not compare to the ones we later tried from the street vendors. The best part was the friendly waiter who tended to us. He was one of our first Belgian interactions and made us feel completely welcome in the country. My heart melted a little when he took two trays with soup out into the cold and handed them to two street vendors. After finishing off our meal, we continued our self-guided, walking tour of the city. The highlight of this exploration was finding Manneqen Pis (Peeing Boy Statue).  I have to admit, I don't know the significance of this statue, but it holds a great importance to the people of Brussels. Plus, it's a great spot for some silly pictures! Day turned into evening, which meant one thing: more food and beer. Deniz and I went to a bar close to the hostel as we waited for Anjali and her friend, Hazel to get ready. We each chose a fruit-flavored beer: mine was raspberry and hers was peach. I had never had anything liked it and savored every sip! While walking back to our hostel, I heard a man yell "Madame!" so I turned and he slowed down from jogging and reached his hand out with my gloves. I had left them sitting on the booth in the bar and this man was king enough to jump out of his seat and run after me. I love Belgians! After this heart-warming interaction, we met the other girls and found a spot for dinner. Blah blah blah, now let's get to the good stuff...we set out for this well-known bar called Delirium. And we found it! It just happened to be right around the corner from the restaurant we ate at...convenient, eh? Delirium is a three-floor establishment with no ban on smoking (like the rest of restaurants and bars in Belgium) and a diverse crowd. Deniz and I decided quite quickly that we wanted a heavy, Belgian beer and that's just what we ordered. After sitting around at a table, the four of us girls ventured downstairs to mingle. Deniz and I just happened to meet two guys from Spain to practice our spanish with. It was refreshing to talk to practical strangers, in a different language, at a bar in Belgium. 


Saturday started off with a brutally cold shower. It was really comforting hearing Deniz shriek in the shower as I sat on my bed waiting for my turn. After a brief breakfast at the hostel, we were off to Bruges. Deniz and I aimed to make the 10:17 train and made it onto the platform one minute before the train pulled into the station. Talk about good timing. One hour and we were in Bruges...one of the most charming towns I have ever seen. I could go on and on about how quaint, romantic, sweet, and whimsical this place is. Climbing the "belfry" (bell tower) had been recommended to us and I was so happy we did it! For me, the best part wasn't getting to the very top, instead it was the climb up. This spiral staircase went on and on and on. It was also the most narrow stairway I had ever been on so when people were passing, we had to push our bodies up against the wall and hold onto a banister. I wasn't scared at all... The rest of the day was spent walking around with an umbrella because yes, it was drizzling, However, the rain did not put a damper on our visit. I absolutely loved my time in Bruges and was slightly saddened when boarding the train back to Brussels. That night, we picked up some food from an organic store and a couple cans of Stella to sip on from the grocery market. Voila! There was our fancy dinner. After munching away, we ventured out into the drizzly night to find Celtica Bar. This place was bumpin with people on two floors. We started off on the bottom floor where there was live music, but eventually made our way upstairs to where dance music boomed. The best part was that Celtica's happy hour goes until midnight. Our game plan was to stay at Celtica until happy hour ended then, return back to Delirium. All in all, it was a really fun night at both establishments. Observing and talking to people is what made that night interesting...we were even approached by an old man with an uncanny resemblance to Matilda's father (Danny DeVito), fedora and all. 


Sunday was our last day in Brussels. We had time to walk around more and enjoy our very last waffles. Thank god we did because these savory treats were the best yet! The mixture of nutella and strawberries was to die for! I'm drooling just thinking about it. We may have also stopped by a french fry place because of how delicious Anjali's order of them had looked. Not piggy at all...we were pretty much obligated to try every type of food Belgium had to offer. However, only Anjali tested their mussels because, like they say: "Mussels in Brussels!"

I didn't sleep a wink on the plane ride back, but the second my head hit the pillow Sunday night, i was out like a light. It was nice to return home to Barcelona after a weekend away. This past weekended in Belgium got me excited to travel and see more of Europe. I'm a lucky girl, I am, I am.