I waked up at 6 in the morning to catch a 9:15 Ryanair flight to Bruxelles. In case you haven't known, Ryanair is one of many low-cost European airliners which offer flights at sometimes unbelievably cheap prices, ideal for small business owners or student travelers like me. However, there are catches: 1) Watch out for expensive taxes (the listed price is before tax); 2) Prepare to pay for your checked luggage (travel light!); 3) Make sure which airport it is going to (they use smaller airports which might be far away from the city center). As long as you know what you are getting, you can make an informed decision. For example, I had considered another flight by Brussels Airline, which costs about the same if you add the bus ticket (€11) from the South Charleroi Airport (CRL) to the city. But the flight was too early (6am) for me to catch.
I arrived at my hostel, 2GO4, before noon. By the time I settled down, I've made plans for the next one and a half day. As usual, I started walking right away. Before long, I had passed the building of Brussels Stock Exchange.
I must have been attracted by the interesting streets near the church of Ste. Catherine. I smelt something funny there and later found out that it was famous for being "the church to piss against".
I started looking for lunch and found a popular open seafood bar. However, there were too many people and the waiters only responded to French. I gave up and found a small Chinese noodle house. (Yes, there are Chinese everywhere.)
My first destination was a unique brewery, Cantillon.
It was one of the few breweries in the world which still produce beers in an old way called "spontaneous fermentation".
The brewery doubled as a museum. But for a small admission, you get a nice tour and two samples of beers. They were a little too sour for me but would be very interesting to have once a while. I even asked them where I could find it in the States and they were super nice to give me a list of U.S. importers.
The brewery was not in a very good neighborhood. So I walked quickly until I reached the touristy parts of Bruxelles. I wasn't sure what this parade was about but I did fell the city was very diverse and cosmopolitan.
I made my way to the famous "pissing kid" through increasingly busier streets.
Finally, Manneken Pis, the most famous child in Bruxelles. Everyday he is dressed to some occasion in the world. Today might be a National Day of some African country, I guess.
I liked this picture because it gave you the idea that there were many many people watching Manneken Pis without clogging the whole picture.
Leaving the crowd, I took a detour to the Kunstberg/Mont-des-Arts. There were many pretty buildings.
It was an uphill square leading to the Royal Place. But I didn't go that far.
Instead, I went up north to see the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral.
It was a nice church and, to my surprise, the interior was well lighted by a combination of sun and electricity.
After I came out of the Cathedral, I sighted this modern building nearby, clearly inspired by the Cathedral.
Next I walked through Rue de Bouchers to reach the tourist center of Bruxelles, the Grand Place/Grote Markt.
The Grand Place is popular for a reason. Surrounded by breathtakingly exquisite Flemish facades, the Place was full of food (finger food or restaurants), drink (beer tasting stands), shops (souvenirs and chocolates) and performances (day and night).
This was the Town Hall.
Flemish facades.
Flemish facades on the other side.
This was the Bread House, opposing the Town Hall.
From another angle.
I tasted a popular red ale called Duchess de Bourgogne. Its sweet, fruity taste reminded me the English expression of "guilty pleasure", in the sense that "it's so good that you start wondering whether you deserve it".
Details of one building I couldn't name.
As you can imagine, I visited the Place more than one time during my stay. This picture was from the next day. It was another cultural parade. But take a look at a small food stand on the other side of the street with the title "L'ESCARGOT D'OR". That was where I had some nice snails as snacks. Very tasty!
For dinner, I went to Chez Léon on Rue de Bouchers for their famous Belgian-style mussels. It was good. I would like to end my first day in Bruxelles with a picture of a book store I passed by. Why? Read on, my friend. Read on.
I arrived at my hostel, 2GO4, before noon. By the time I settled down, I've made plans for the next one and a half day. As usual, I started walking right away. Before long, I had passed the building of Brussels Stock Exchange.
I must have been attracted by the interesting streets near the church of Ste. Catherine. I smelt something funny there and later found out that it was famous for being "the church to piss against".
I started looking for lunch and found a popular open seafood bar. However, there were too many people and the waiters only responded to French. I gave up and found a small Chinese noodle house. (Yes, there are Chinese everywhere.)
My first destination was a unique brewery, Cantillon.
It was one of the few breweries in the world which still produce beers in an old way called "spontaneous fermentation".
The brewery doubled as a museum. But for a small admission, you get a nice tour and two samples of beers. They were a little too sour for me but would be very interesting to have once a while. I even asked them where I could find it in the States and they were super nice to give me a list of U.S. importers.
The brewery was not in a very good neighborhood. So I walked quickly until I reached the touristy parts of Bruxelles. I wasn't sure what this parade was about but I did fell the city was very diverse and cosmopolitan.
I made my way to the famous "pissing kid" through increasingly busier streets.
Finally, Manneken Pis, the most famous child in Bruxelles. Everyday he is dressed to some occasion in the world. Today might be a National Day of some African country, I guess.
I liked this picture because it gave you the idea that there were many many people watching Manneken Pis without clogging the whole picture.
Leaving the crowd, I took a detour to the Kunstberg/Mont-des-Arts. There were many pretty buildings.
It was an uphill square leading to the Royal Place. But I didn't go that far.
Instead, I went up north to see the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral.
It was a nice church and, to my surprise, the interior was well lighted by a combination of sun and electricity.
After I came out of the Cathedral, I sighted this modern building nearby, clearly inspired by the Cathedral.
Next I walked through Rue de Bouchers to reach the tourist center of Bruxelles, the Grand Place/Grote Markt.
The Grand Place is popular for a reason. Surrounded by breathtakingly exquisite Flemish facades, the Place was full of food (finger food or restaurants), drink (beer tasting stands), shops (souvenirs and chocolates) and performances (day and night).
This was the Town Hall.
Flemish facades.
Flemish facades on the other side.
This was the Bread House, opposing the Town Hall.
From another angle.
I tasted a popular red ale called Duchess de Bourgogne. Its sweet, fruity taste reminded me the English expression of "guilty pleasure", in the sense that "it's so good that you start wondering whether you deserve it".
Details of one building I couldn't name.
As you can imagine, I visited the Place more than one time during my stay. This picture was from the next day. It was another cultural parade. But take a look at a small food stand on the other side of the street with the title "L'ESCARGOT D'OR". That was where I had some nice snails as snacks. Very tasty!
For dinner, I went to Chez Léon on Rue de Bouchers for their famous Belgian-style mussels. It was good. I would like to end my first day in Bruxelles with a picture of a book store I passed by. Why? Read on, my friend. Read on.
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