belgium

Belgium was more than a pleasant surprise. I honestly had no expectations for Brussels before going, although I had heard that Bruges was supposed to be really beautiful. And indeed it was!

Maybe Bruges was everything that I expected the Netherlands to be, but even better. There were canals, swans, cutesy homes, windmills, even clogs.









And yes, Belgian beer is really really good. Didn't get to try as many flavors and varieties as I would've liked...



Diocesan Seminary in Bruges (we weren't supposed to be allowed in but the priest was nice enough to let us explore for a couple minutes).



The next day we were in Brussels, which the internet and other sources had called ugly, a concrete jungle, and other not so nice names. From what I saw, Brussels was none of the above. People were out at cafes, the architecture was nice, and the city was alive (not just with tourists!).

We were lucky enough to see the famous Flower Carpet, which is only there for 3 days, every other year.




Brussels' landmarks do not do it justice... the Atomium (for the 1958 World Fair), Manneken Pis (peeing boy), and other peeing statues.





With Brussels being 90% French-speaking, the cuisine was noticeably of higher quality.

First off, chocolate shops everywhere:



The escargot I had at a random flea market was delicious.



Being such an international city, Brussels was extremely diverse... the most famous areas are the Moroccan neighborhood, African neighborhood, Portuguese neighborhood. Here's a bakery in the Moroccan street:



And last, but certainly not least, the ubiquitous Belgian waffle