Edition 7 - Waffle, Beer, Fry, Chocolate; Repeat
If you’re still reading these newsletters after the novel that was the UK, I thank you. The rumor is that it took about 20 minutes to read so I feel truly honored that I have so many wonderful people in my life that want to follow along on my journey. With that being said, I promise this one (and most of those moving forward) will be much shorter!
Welcome to mainland Europe, specifically Belgium! This country was an obvious choice considering my passion for the four food and beverage items they are known for - waffles, beer, fries, and chocolate. After my long stay in the United Kingdom, I was excited to venture out and get back to the natural speed that comes with a usual backpacking trip. Keep scrolling to find out how I spent my 5 days in Belgium!
Belgium
February 9 - 13
Brussels
I arrived in Brussels around midday on Friday, February 9th after taking a train directly from London. As someone who comes from a city with no public transit, the train system in Europe is absolutely astonishing. The fact that I can take a train from an island and arrive in a new country in 3 hours is incredible. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it but for now, I don’t have to! Brussels is the capital city of Belgium and is home to (huge shocker) more stunning and well-preserved architecture. The Grote Markt is surrounded by large and beautiful buildings that belong to the craft guilds of Brussels - the main form of economic growth during the late medieval and early modern times. Today, this main center is considered a World Heritage Site, placing the area under legal protection from disruption. Here are some highlights from my time in Brussels:
Shabbat dinner at the Chabad of Brussels that basically ended up being held completely in French with the exception of when the Rabbi would pause the conversation to catch me up on what was happening in English - nevertheless, a wonderful and homey experience (not to mention a really good push for me to learn an additional language… will I do it? Stay tuned!).
An interesting free walking tour in the city where I met some wonderful ladies that span the globe (Brazil, Columbia, and Italy) and whom I would end up spending the rest of the day and night with.
Learning that Brussels has a strange obsession with statues of living things peeing? Seriously, look up Manneken Pis, Jeanneke Pis, and Zinneke Pis if you dare.
All the Belgian beer. All of it.
Bruges
After a really fun weekend in Brussels, it was time to expand my knowledge and experience in Belgium by taking a short train to Bruges. You might have heard of this northern Belgium city from the 2008 film “In Bruges” (if you know me, you know that I definitely haven’t seen it but don’t worry, it’s on my movie list now). Bruges is known as “the Venice of the North” because of its historical city center being surrounded by various canals. It has now become a pretty popular tourist destination because of its pronounced beauty, convenient trains to and from other cities, and its extreme walkability (as long as you don’t mind cobblestone streets). Here are some highlights from my time in Bruges:
My tour guide spending what felt like 45 minutes talking about the brick buildings, the different ways that the brick buildings in Bruges were made, and the change in size of bricks over the years - two months ago, I probably wouldn’t have cared about this but now… bricks and I have a very special relationship!
Having my first Belgian waffle like a local - nothing on it! It’s delicious and sweet enough as it is!
Meeting up with a friend I met in Brussels and spontaneously walking from one chocolate shop to another… and then into the Bruges Torture Museum.
Learning about my favorite vegetable, the potato, at the Frietmuseum!
Coming Up Next
Where am I off to next? Well, the next newsletter will be set somewhere:
with beautiful landscapes seen in a famous featured film from 1965
that is the birthplace of the very famous composer, Mozart
known for schnitzel
See you in Austria!