1/12 - 1/14: Brussels, Belgium
Mike's Time to Read: 5 minutes, 19 seconds
Celebrity Foreword, by Orin from Seattle:
Disclosure: Orin was a fellow traveler staying at the grand Meininger Hostel in Brussels. We really wanted Orin to be our first celebrity writer, unfortunately, however, he pulled a fast one on us and left the hostel a day early to take a train to Amsterdam. In place of his own words, we feel it would be fitting to share what we learned about and from him during the short 24 hours we spent with him.
1) Traveling is a passion many of our fellow Irish studying abroad will catch. Orin, a 25 year old working for Amazon in Seattle (he says big things, besides settlement payments, are coming soon from Mr. Bezos), was on his third journey to Europe in four years after seldom traveling as a kid. His passion for experiencing other cultures pushed him so far as to book this impromptu trip to Brussels and Amsterdam without travel companions or any real plans. While reminiscing about his past travels with his now ex-girlfriend, we learned that traveling to Europe can be very economical using Google Flights searches, lead to incredible experiences, and be great stress tests for romantic relationships.
2) Hostels are a great way to travel. Beyond just meeting Orin, we also learned from him that hostels provide a hotbed of friendship among travelers. He suggested that the events organized at the hostel for the travelers provide ways to experience the city that are both easy on the budget and meet diverse groups of travelers. While we did not take him up on the offer to join him in the pub crawl, we did enjoy a walking tour together.
3) Love sees no international borders. Spending much of that walking tour making new friends on Tinder, Orin demonstrated that to those who put themselves out there, love can be found in foreign places.
Thank you for your words of inspiration and wisdom, Orin. Hopefully, the Dutch roads rose up to meet you in Amsterdam.
Brussels, In Brief
The unassuming city wedged between major global centers like Paris, Amsterdam, and London, Brussels provided us with a much needed transition from the dreamy and effortless travel with family to the difficulties navigating foreign cities and experiencing other cultures by our own intuition and more importantly, on our own dime. While this transition was, at times, akin to a kick in the pants as our struggles to locate the Grand Place or find the right train platform popped our growing “well-traveled” egos, the capital of Belgium provided us with welcoming locals, sufficient cafe wifi, and plenty of opportunities to indulge and forget our (Mike’s) worries. As we quickly discovered from Orin and other hostel travelers, we were not the only ones to book our trip to Brussels solely on the fact that flights in and out of the travel hub were the price of two time machines from the magical CJ’s Pub.
Our 48 hours left us feeling as though people really only go to Brussels for two reasons: a historical center of trade and indulgent gastronomy. The current home of the European Union, the city had quite the history of becoming a center of trade for western Europe. We discovered that most of this history was contained within the architecture of the city center and as you ventured further out of Grand Plaza, the city was really just all business and no fun or games. On the other hand, Belgium’s reputation for world class beer, frites, waffles, and chocolate was truly inescapable in Brussels and Bruges. By our estimates, the shops lining the streets of Brussels were roughly 35% bars, 30% chocolatiers, 20% waffle shops, 10% frites shops, and 5% all other establishments. For travelers with deep pockets, I’m sure this was delightful. For us and our shallow pockets, the smells were just torture.
Highlights
Historical Walking Tour: Per Orin’s suggestion, our trip to Brussels started off with a free walking tour throughout the historic city center. Beyond getting acclimated to the layout and learning about the long history of this city of trade, the tour was remarkably entertaining. Between our tour guide, Quinten, telling stories of ex-girlfriends, tracking Orin’s success on Tinder, the lady whose umbrella got stuck between cobblestones, and the man giving a vigorous full cavity search to the famous Everard t'Serclaes statue, we enjoyed our stroll throughout the city. May you have better success with your acting career, than your romantic past, Quinten.
Rating: Must Experience
Belgian Chocolate Tasting: After enjoying waffles, fritas, beer, and other Belgian fine cuisine, we decided to try our hand at some famous Belgian chocolate. While the smells entranced us upon entering, the price tag on a meager piece of chocolate quickly sobered us up. Much to our delight, however, we discovered that if you appeared wealthy and interested enough, you would be offered samples of the delicious chocolate. Strapped to a budget and having success with free samples at the first store, we marched into the chocolate store next door. 30 minutes, countless stories of “Oh, I’m hoping to find a nice gift for my girlfriend, what do you suggest?”, and ten shops later, we ended our night on a high note with a sample of fresh oolong tea as Mike quoted his favorite movie character, Borat, saying “Great success!”
Rating: Must Experience
Day Trip to Bruges: Despite conditions as wet as a Boat House Christmas party, our day trip to Bruges was by far the best part of the trip. A preserved medieval town known as the “Venice of the North”, it was just a short 45 min train ride away. The quiet charm and ambience of the town quickly captured Mike’s heart as a budding romantic. Beyond strolling the cobblestone streets and finding cafes to pop in and out of, our stop at the Basilica of the Holy Blood to see a relic of a cloth stained with Christ’s blood was a highlight of the day.
Rating: Must experience
Manneken Pis: Overhyped and underwhelming, this supposed “must-see” landmark of Brussels was disappointing for even Mike’s childish sense of humor. The peeing boy was quite small, to the point that we missed it the first time we walked past. Besides the encouragement it provided and the man squirting water on innocent passersbys, a return trip to the Manneken Pis is something not on our agendas.
Rating: Tripadvisor Approved? Fake News.
The Dogs of Europe: Vol. 1
During the first month of our travel in Europe, we have seen many dogs of varying degrees of fluffiness. We'd like for you to share in the joy.
The Last Word
With New Year’s Resolutions to eat healthier and get in shape abounding, the cities of Brussels and Bruges were perfect places to wrap up our 13th and 14th consecutive cheat days and consume solely chocolate, beer, and carbs. And, as we both agree, there aren’t too many better feelings than being able to congratulate yourself and feel accomplished after eating your first vegetable in a week. You should try it sometime.
Cheers!
Mike and Andrew
Celebrity Foreword, by Orin from Seattle:
Disclosure: Orin was a fellow traveler staying at the grand Meininger Hostel in Brussels. We really wanted Orin to be our first celebrity writer, unfortunately, however, he pulled a fast one on us and left the hostel a day early to take a train to Amsterdam. In place of his own words, we feel it would be fitting to share what we learned about and from him during the short 24 hours we spent with him.
1) Traveling is a passion many of our fellow Irish studying abroad will catch. Orin, a 25 year old working for Amazon in Seattle (he says big things, besides settlement payments, are coming soon from Mr. Bezos), was on his third journey to Europe in four years after seldom traveling as a kid. His passion for experiencing other cultures pushed him so far as to book this impromptu trip to Brussels and Amsterdam without travel companions or any real plans. While reminiscing about his past travels with his now ex-girlfriend, we learned that traveling to Europe can be very economical using Google Flights searches, lead to incredible experiences, and be great stress tests for romantic relationships.
2) Hostels are a great way to travel. Beyond just meeting Orin, we also learned from him that hostels provide a hotbed of friendship among travelers. He suggested that the events organized at the hostel for the travelers provide ways to experience the city that are both easy on the budget and meet diverse groups of travelers. While we did not take him up on the offer to join him in the pub crawl, we did enjoy a walking tour together.
3) Love sees no international borders. Spending much of that walking tour making new friends on Tinder, Orin demonstrated that to those who put themselves out there, love can be found in foreign places.
Thank you for your words of inspiration and wisdom, Orin. Hopefully, the Dutch roads rose up to meet you in Amsterdam.
Brussels, In Brief
The unassuming city wedged between major global centers like Paris, Amsterdam, and London, Brussels provided us with a much needed transition from the dreamy and effortless travel with family to the difficulties navigating foreign cities and experiencing other cultures by our own intuition and more importantly, on our own dime. While this transition was, at times, akin to a kick in the pants as our struggles to locate the Grand Place or find the right train platform popped our growing “well-traveled” egos, the capital of Belgium provided us with welcoming locals, sufficient cafe wifi, and plenty of opportunities to indulge and forget our (Mike’s) worries. As we quickly discovered from Orin and other hostel travelers, we were not the only ones to book our trip to Brussels solely on the fact that flights in and out of the travel hub were the price of two time machines from the magical CJ’s Pub.
Our 48 hours left us feeling as though people really only go to Brussels for two reasons: a historical center of trade and indulgent gastronomy. The current home of the European Union, the city had quite the history of becoming a center of trade for western Europe. We discovered that most of this history was contained within the architecture of the city center and as you ventured further out of Grand Plaza, the city was really just all business and no fun or games. On the other hand, Belgium’s reputation for world class beer, frites, waffles, and chocolate was truly inescapable in Brussels and Bruges. By our estimates, the shops lining the streets of Brussels were roughly 35% bars, 30% chocolatiers, 20% waffle shops, 10% frites shops, and 5% all other establishments. For travelers with deep pockets, I’m sure this was delightful. For us and our shallow pockets, the smells were just torture.
Highlights
Historical Walking Tour: Per Orin’s suggestion, our trip to Brussels started off with a free walking tour throughout the historic city center. Beyond getting acclimated to the layout and learning about the long history of this city of trade, the tour was remarkably entertaining. Between our tour guide, Quinten, telling stories of ex-girlfriends, tracking Orin’s success on Tinder, the lady whose umbrella got stuck between cobblestones, and the man giving a vigorous full cavity search to the famous Everard t'Serclaes statue, we enjoyed our stroll throughout the city. May you have better success with your acting career, than your romantic past, Quinten.
Rating: Must Experience
Belgian Chocolate Tasting: After enjoying waffles, fritas, beer, and other Belgian fine cuisine, we decided to try our hand at some famous Belgian chocolate. While the smells entranced us upon entering, the price tag on a meager piece of chocolate quickly sobered us up. Much to our delight, however, we discovered that if you appeared wealthy and interested enough, you would be offered samples of the delicious chocolate. Strapped to a budget and having success with free samples at the first store, we marched into the chocolate store next door. 30 minutes, countless stories of “Oh, I’m hoping to find a nice gift for my girlfriend, what do you suggest?”, and ten shops later, we ended our night on a high note with a sample of fresh oolong tea as Mike quoted his favorite movie character, Borat, saying “Great success!”
Rating: Must Experience
Day Trip to Bruges: Despite conditions as wet as a Boat House Christmas party, our day trip to Bruges was by far the best part of the trip. A preserved medieval town known as the “Venice of the North”, it was just a short 45 min train ride away. The quiet charm and ambience of the town quickly captured Mike’s heart as a budding romantic. Beyond strolling the cobblestone streets and finding cafes to pop in and out of, our stop at the Basilica of the Holy Blood to see a relic of a cloth stained with Christ’s blood was a highlight of the day.
Rating: Must experience
Manneken Pis: Overhyped and underwhelming, this supposed “must-see” landmark of Brussels was disappointing for even Mike’s childish sense of humor. The peeing boy was quite small, to the point that we missed it the first time we walked past. Besides the encouragement it provided and the man squirting water on innocent passersbys, a return trip to the Manneken Pis is something not on our agendas.
Rating: Tripadvisor Approved? Fake News.
Segments
Mike’s (inaugural) Beer Review
Mike’s (inaugural) Beer Review
To wrap up our first day in Belgium, we ended the night at Delirium, an underground bar famous for the world record 2,004 varieties of beer available for purchase either by draft or in a bottle. We each tried two beers: first, the popular College Craft beer and then we each ordered a different brew in order to get a fuller taste of the Belgian beer scene. My order, and the focus of the beer review, was the trappist monk creation, La Trappe Isid’or. The trappist monks are an order of brothers who brew all of their beers within the walls of their abbeys and only allow their fellow trappists to take part in the brewing process. The beers are known for their higher alcohol content and full taste. Isid’or had a 7.5% ABV level and tasted good. I am told it is a “amber ale” which I am assuming refers to its color. Its description online says that the “harmonious taste starts as a fruity flavour and then shifts to malty caramel; a perfect balance between complexity and simplicity” and then has a “pleasantly bitter” aftertaste. That sounds right to me. I’ll still take a mountains-slightly-blue Coors Light any day of the week but the trappist monks gave it a run for its money with their Isid’or brew.
The Dogs of Europe: Vol. 1
During the first month of our travel in Europe, we have seen many dogs of varying degrees of fluffiness. We'd like for you to share in the joy.
The Last Word
With New Year’s Resolutions to eat healthier and get in shape abounding, the cities of Brussels and Bruges were perfect places to wrap up our 13th and 14th consecutive cheat days and consume solely chocolate, beer, and carbs. And, as we both agree, there aren’t too many better feelings than being able to congratulate yourself and feel accomplished after eating your first vegetable in a week. You should try it sometime.
Cheers!
Mike and Andrew
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| Handsome Mike at the Burg Square in Bruges |
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| Grand Place in Brussels |
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| St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral |
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| Famous Belgian Fritas from Friterie Tabora |
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One of the many canals in Bruges |
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Panoramic view of Bruges |
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