Belgium and other things, in brief

During our entire stay in Belgium our diet predominantly consisted of:

• Waffles 
• Beer
• and Fries

Needless to say, both Chelsea and I have gone a little soft around the edges...

Some more observations about Europe so far:
European milk tastes like crap. It's just long life milk that people have decided to refrigerate. The first taste of real milk I've had since arriving was in Ghent and kindly donated by two Irish guys who had miraculously found a supply at an obscure supermarket.

Good bread only comes from France or a Turkish bakery in Ghent. I don't know why. All other bread has so far had the texture and taste of cardboard.

Food in general is quite processed and/or heavy. Especially coming from Australia, from eating veggies and fruit all day everyday and where meat and carbohydrates were the minority of my daily food intake. I've really been missing fresh, light food. Note: Since arriving in Croatia yesterday we have eaten 4 nectarines, a quarter of a watermelon, two bunches of grapes and 5 bananas; food in the South is proving to be a lot more to our liking.

Nacht Winkels (Night Shops) are probably the best things about Belgium. Open-all-night suppliers of alcohol, chips and cigarettes, the only things that people seem to need after hours.

In Bruges

1. 2. 3. Buildings in Bruges.

4. Nutella and Speculoos waffles.

The day before we left Belgium, we took a day trip to Bruges; one of the most romantic cities in the world, Venice of the North, the place that movie that I haven't watched was set.

First off, if you ever find yourself in Bruges, go eat spaghetti for 4 euros at Brasserie Medard on Sint-Amandsstraat and get a small one because you may explode if you attempt to eat the large.

Next, go on a free tour. We were lucky to find out about Kai in Ghent; an American guy living in Bruges who hosts tourist activities that are actually fun. We went on his free tour in Ghent, and decided to tag along his Bruges tour (all of which are free) and saw and learnt a lot more in one day than if we'd done it alone. It was also really nice to meet other travellers as the group was quite large (but it doesn't detract from how entertaining Kai is) and have prolonged conversations in English. 

It's always hard leaving people you've just met and we reluctantly left to get the last train back to Ghent after a beer tasting, a dinner of fries and another beer; we had to run to the station because we'd left it so late.

1. This is what happens when your country is well known for its chocolate.
2. Paper-covered tree in Astridpark.
3. Free drink tokens!

All in all, Bruges is tiny and cute, and has a lot of charm. And I honestly can't think of anything else to say about the city as a whole..

Gent

1. Near our hostel. If you ever go to Ghent, stay at Hostel 47.
2. 8. 9. 10. 12. Graffiti.
3. Medieval Castle.
4. Canal.
5. Artwork part of TRACK.
6. Unfinished church (see the tower with no top on the right).
7. The belfort.
11. View from the medieval castle Gravensteen.
13. Buildings with gable-stepped roofs.

We arrived a couple of days after the annual Gentse Feesten; a 10 day festival where the entire city parties for 10 days straight, so everyone was still in hibernation and the people we encountered all asked if we'd been here for it.. and we wished we had. It took another two days from when we arrived for the rubbish to be cleaned, all the plastic cups and random bits of debris left around all the squares.

Story time -
On our first night we found Café Video within a maze of deserted streets and discovered that we'd stumbled across a really good night. An incredibly talented live band Sleepers' Reign had a gig and the atmosphere in the tiny bar was buzzing. We met some locals (one of the most awesome things that you're able to do when travelling) and drank and sat in awe at how unbelievable it was to be sitting there in a Belge bar listening to great music and chatting with people from the other side of the world.

Saturday night, we decided to go out to the 'Student Street' in the south of Ghent which is near Universiteit Gent and all the student housing and subsequently is where all the youth of Ghent go to party. Apparently. It was dead. It was only after we'd gotten back to the hostel, while talking to another guest that we realised that the school year had finished and all the students had probably stayed for the Gentse Feesten and then gone home to hibernate. And that was our Saturday night in Ghent.

Bruxelles, Belgique

Chels on the Brussels metro. Our first move from Paris to Brussels was definitely a trip to remember. The train trip took 1.5 hours. The next 2 hours it took to get to our hostel involved getting stuck inbetween the ticket barriers, repeatedly, ending up on the wrong platform and sweating.

1. St. Goedele/ St. Michiels cathedral.

2. The 'Veggie' hot sandwich from L'n'M Soul Food; grilled eggplant, sundried tomatoes, salad, fresh tomato, zucchini and homemade tartare for 4 euros. The highlight of my stay in Brussels.

1. 2. Behind the Congress Column. An abondoned area that was built for 14,000 government workers and is now... a good lookout.

3. Botanical Gardens.

If you travel through Belgium, use USE-IT.  There are now several maps for an increasing number of cities in Europe, but Belgium has the most. They provide tourist information for young people, and are made my young people. That's how we ended up at Parking 58 with a panoramic view of Brussels, for free! And don't forget to buy a couple of beers from the supermarket for less than 2 euros each. 

Long story short, we ended up getting kicked out of the carpark because I convinced Chelsea it would be a good idea to climb over a spiked fence to join some Belgians who were filming a music video. My parents will be proud.

1. Alcoholic Winnie the Pooh
2. 3. Grand Place. Even better after a couple of beers!

1. Voila the Manneken Pis.. a little underwhelming... probably not worth going to see it. Even to just take a photo. Find Delirium bar to see the Jeanneke Pis, actually no, skip the squatting pissing girl and have a couple of beers at Delirium.
2. Cartoon Murals; Tin Tin on the left there.
4. Pissing Dog - out of all the pissing landmarks in Brussels, this was the most impressive.

Waffles the Belgian way at Mokafé - with a knife and fork and powdered sugar on top. Surprisingly light and sooo good.

Being in Brussels, beer was a must. And most know that I am not a beer person. But beer is different here, there are beers that aren't beers. Beers made from cherries, peaches, apples, cactus, honey...
1. Kasteel Red.
2. Floris Cactus.
3. Pink Killer, Floris Pomme.
4. Bourgogne des Flandres, free unidentified beer.
5. Delirium bar. No. 1 destination for tourists with about 27 beers on tap.
When bartenders in Belgium pour beer it's an art, they sweep the excess head off the tops of glasses like they were born to do it.

Flea Markets at Place du jeu de Balle.

Honestly, Brussels was a little underwhelming. It probably didn't help that we didn't know anyone and didn't know where to go. As two young females, we felt unsafe a lot of the time, even in the main tourist area. And no we were not traipsing around scantily dressed welcoming the staring and leering men. It was a lot more comfortable when we ventured to the southern end of the city but I'm not sure I would return to Brussels in the future.

However, everyone experiences everything differently and a day or two in Brussels is plenty and probably worth going just to see it for yourself. So don't take what I say and paint an ugly picture of Brussels. Go and eat at L'n'M and have a couple of beers and eat fries and waffles for a couple of days and then let me know what you think.