BRUSSELS – BELGIUM

Wishing you’ve all had a great start to 2018.

This is a recollection post of our Belgium trip, from France last year.

As the European summer was biding us adieu, the trees were still green and there was a hint of autumn in the air. We prepared ourselves for a small getaway to Brussels, the capital city of the Kingdom of Belgium.

If you’ve read my earlier travel posts, you’ll see the trend of how we love booking our stays away from the main cities, so we get to enjoy a mix of both the suburbs and city life. While the countryside has it’s own charm, the city of Brussels has a pretty landscape especially with its admirable gingerbread shaped buildings.

Our Stay

Have you ever experienced a thing such as this ; that the accommodation you booked for your vacation was so enticing, you preferred to stay indoors longer than you intended ? Well if yes, then you will totally understand our experience with this particular airbnb booking. Nestled in the Belgian countryside in a village close to Brussels named Huldenberg, our cottage was the cutest on the street. It was hosted by a lovely couple Michael & Nancy who made us feel very welcomed and our stay was absolutely cozy and comfortable.

After a well rested night, waking up to this view while the morning sun crept in slowly, was one of the best starts to the day.

I hope these snapshots convey the serenity and tranquility of the place.

It was simply perfect for a relaxing long weekend.

Some quiet me time.

Stepped out of the cottage to bask in the sun and access Wi-Fi. The cottage lures you to disconnect devices and truly spend some quality time.

Now that we’d got a glimpse of the beauty of the countryside, it was time to step out for some city sight seeing. With twin toddlers and their tantrums in tow, I’m so happy we had a fruitful trip.

So here we go – below are just few of the iconic places we visited at Brussels.

Brussels you beauty… 

This is the central square of Brussels called the Grand Place and rightly so ; you will be in awe of it’s grandeur once you arrive here and look around. It’s an enclosed square and you have to get to it by foot, that’s after walking through one of it’s many side alleys. Of the many buildings surrounding this square were the town hall and the city museum.

The summer sun was still up when we visited this beautiful place and so the whole place was alive and buzzing. Open air restaurants, people everywhere, flower markets taking centre stage, surrounding buildings adorned with the prettiest pots of colourful flowers, music being played in the background ; all this made up the lovely scene we thoroughly got immersed in at the square.

Taking a look around, we found tucked in a corner of this vivid place, a beer museum and walked right in taking the stairways that led underground, finding ourselves sitting in such a unique rustic place, clinking our beer mugs to say “Cheers”. The square lit up at night is truly magical – a gorgeous place just to be and enjoy the moment.

The following day we made it to the Atomium and did a Mini Europe park tour located in the vicinity. There are individual as well as combination tickets available on site as well as online for these places. It’s well worth it to spend at least half a day here.

The Atomium is an iconic building of Brussels. It’ one of the most popular touristic attraction in Europe. Built in 1958 for a World’s Fair Expo, it today serves as a museum exhibiting varied themes. But what’s exciting is the whole walk through these spheres and getting a panoramic view of the city from atop.

Mini Europe as the name suggests is a park made up of miniature monuments of several cities of the European union. So the experience is a lot of fun, kind of like time traveling through Europe as giants. One moment you can see the Eiffel tower and the Sacre Couer church and the next you can hear chimes of Big Ben. Before you know it, you could find yourself in Pisa or Greece or Croatia or Amsterdam. It definitely is the best miniature park of Europe. This tour sure is informative and lures you to travel and explore more of the EU.

Ending this post with a sweet as well as savoury taste. Bon appétit!